Get Featured in Florida Today

Space in a local publication goes first to public affairs, emergencies, schools and sports. That leaves little room at Florida Today for a business owner or professional who sends in a story idea cold, even when the story has a real local tie. A guaranteed placement works differently: it is arranged with the publication before any writing starts, you sign off on the draft, and it goes live on floridatoday.com within a window stated in writing, usually one to two weeks. It is a real article on the site that you can put in a proposal, a deck or a profile.

What Florida Today covers

Florida Today is a local news publication serving readers in Florida. Publications in this category report on the things that shape everyday life in a community: local government and public services, schools, business openings and closings, development, public safety, weather, sports, arts and events. The coverage is defined by geography. If it happens in the area or affects the people who live there, it is a potential story.

Stories about people are a natural fit for local news because readers may know the subject, or may walk past the storefront every week. A profile of an owner, a look at a new location, a firm’s anniversary, a fundraiser, a book by a local author: these are familiar formats for a community publication, and they work when they are specific about the place and the people.

Who reads Florida Today

A local audience is small compared with a national one, and far more relevant to a local business. Readers of a publication like Florida Today live, work, shop and vote in the community it covers in Florida. Many of them are deciding where to spend money, whom to hire and which organizations to support close to home.

That matters for anyone whose work depends on local reputation. Real estate agents, advisers, physicians, attorneys, contractors and restaurateurs all win business through familiarity and word of mouth. A story in Florida Today adds to both, and it can be shared on your site, in your office, in proposals and across your social profiles.

Reaching readers and customers in Florida

A business that serves Florida benefits from being seen where people in Florida already get their news. A feature in Florida Today places your name in front of nearby customers, suppliers and referral sources who can act on it without leaving the area. It also adds a local reference point for anyone in the state who researches you before making a call or signing an agreement.

Coverage in Florida is commonly sought by service businesses, restaurants, medical and legal practices, real estate professionals, contractors and nonprofits that depend on local customers. It also suits companies from other states that are opening an office, a store or a franchise location in Florida and want to introduce themselves to the community.

You do not need a big announcement to be local news. You need something real: an opening, a milestone, a new offering, a community effort, a personal story with roots in the area. What matters is that the details are accurate, the local link is plain, and the story tells readers something they did not know.

The angles below are where we begin. One clear angle, backed by real details about your work in the community, makes a better local story than a list of everything you offer.

What weakens a pitch

• A national message with a town name added. Local readers can tell when a story was not written with their community in mind.
• Jargon. Industry terms that work in a trade magazine lose a general local audience, so plain language serves the story better.
• Overstated community ties. If the connection to the area is thin, say what is true and build the story on something else.
• Everything at once. A feature that tries to cover history, services, awards and future plans together leaves readers without a clear takeaway.