319: Lauren Kwedar Cockerell Shares How Small Business Owners Use Public Relations to Get Your Story Heard

Public Relations for Small Business Owners

You have a great business. You do good work. And when someone asks you to talk about it, you go completely blank. If that sounds familiar, you’re not broken — you’re just too close to it.

In Episode 319 of Gratitude Geek, I talked with PR strategist Lauren Kwedar Cockerell about how to use public relations for small business owners in a way that’s genuine, strategic, and actually gets results. No spin, no fluff — just a clear process for making your story visible.

Watch the full episode below, then keep reading for the step-by-step breakdown.

Understand What PR Actually Is (It’s Not Social Media)

Public relations and marketing are not the same thing — and mixing them up is one of the most common mistakes small business owners make.

Marketing is a function of sales. It has an ROI, it puts people in seats, it sells things. Public relations, on the other hand, is a function of management and leadership. It shapes your reputation and your brand — not just for today, but five and ten years from now.

When you get a story written about you in a newspaper, a trade journal, or a podcast, that third-party endorsement carries three to ten times the credibility of an ad you paid for.

PR includes internal communications, too. Everyone on your team needs to be rowing in the same direction before you start telling your story to the outside world. You don’t want to plaster a message everywhere only to pivot six months later.

Find the Story Only You Can Tell

It’s been said that you can’t read the label from inside the bottle. Most of us — especially Gen X women who were raised to be humble, be capable, and not take up too much space — genuinely cannot see our own magic.

Lauren uses a proprietary methodology called The Thread, and the core of it is deceptively simple.

Keep asking why.

Why do you do this? Why does that matter?

What is the real value — not just what your client buys, but what their life looks like on the other side of working with you?

You’re looking for the layer underneath the surface answer that everyone else in your industry would also give.

Toyota famously use a process of asking “why” five times before they diagnose a factory problem. Lauren’s Thread works the same way. You pull it until it’s taut. The first answer is never the story.

One question to get you started

Picture your absolute favorite client. What does their life actually look like? Why do they trust you? What is the real value of what you provide — not what they paid for, but what changed for them because you exist?

Once you can answer that clearly, with them in the foreground and you in the background, your story will come together naturally.

Build Your “Why Now” Hook

Knowing your story is step one. Getting the media to care about it right now is step two.

Unless you’re pitching a podcast (more on that in a minute), most traditional media outlets need a why now hook — a reason this story is timely. You can’t just announce that you exist. Something has to be happening. That’s where the press release comes in.

5 Reasons to Send a Press Release

Lauren rattled these off on the spot, and they’re solid:

1. A new product or service launch — clean, timely, straightforward
2. A new line of business — a meaningful pivot that signals growth
3. A new executive or director-level hire — someone joining the team at a level that affects the direction of the company
4. A major partnership or co-branding collaboration — especially if it involves a nonprofit or community benefit, because the story has to benefit more than just you
5. A significant milestone or anniversary — think big, like a 25th anniversary or a major expansion

Mergers and acquisitions also make the list if they apply to you.

Public relations for small business is as simple as the press release I sent out when I joined the Marketing Podcast Network. It didn’t get picked up — but it’s on the internet, it’s part of the record, and Lauren reminded me that sometimes the follow-up is where the magic happens. One drop in the bucket is still a drop.

Pitch the Media — Including Podcasts

Here’s where podcasting gets interesting for solopreneurs: podcast hosts are now part of the media landscape, whether we planned it that way or not. That means pitching a podcast guest spot follows the same core rules as pitching a journalist.

The number-one rule is put the recipient first. Your job is to show the host how you will make their life easier, their audience better served, and their episode worth amplifying.

A one-liner that says “I’d love to be on your show” tells a host nothing — and signals that your time is more important than theirs.

A strong pitch does three things:

• Shows you know the show and the audience
• Makes a clear case for why this topic fits right now
• Tells them exactly what happens after the episode goes live (yes, you will share it)

That last one matters more than people think. When you share an episode with your audience, you’re not just being polite — you’re signaling to your community that a trusted host thought you were worth their time.

That social proof works in both directions.

Lauren says, if you’re pitching hundreds of podcasts, you’re a parasite looking for a host, not a collaborator looking for a partner. Start with 12 really good ones. Nail your message. Then climb the ladder.

About Lauren Kwedar Cockerell

Lauren Kwedar Cockerell is the founder of Kwedar & Co., a PR firm based in Fort Worth, Texas that specializes in working with purpose-driven businesses who think they’re too boring for public relations.

Lauren has 23+ years of experience in strategic communications and has developed a proprietary storytelling methodology called The Thread — a process for excavating the real story underneath the surface-level answer every business owner defaults to.

Lauren’s clients aren’t the flashy ones. They’re doing meaningful work, leading with humility, and quietly making a difference in their industries and communities. Her job is to help them make the invisible visible.

Connect with Lauren

• Kwedar & Co.
• LinkedIn
• Free Gift: Pitch Perfect, A Guide to Crafting the Perfect Pitch

Also Mentioned

Note: Some of the links here are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission, at no additional cost to you, if you choose to purchase.

• 316: Julie Marty-Pearson on Why Gen X Women Are Dominating Podcasting (And Whether You Should Start One)
• Thank your for making Gratitude Geek a Listen Notes Top 3% Podcast
• Toyota’s 5 Whys
• Marketing Podcast Network
• Podmatch

Now here’s a stretch challenge for you! Share your message! Find a podcast that aligns with your message and pitch the host!

Gratitude Geek Podcast is made possible by:
MacKenzie Circle, Goddess Approach, Marketing Podcast Network, HoneyBook, SendOutCards, The Super Patch Co., Riverside.FM, Podmatch
and listeners like you.