Get Featured in The Greenville News

Space in a local publication goes first to public affairs, emergencies, schools and sports. That leaves little room at The Greenville News 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 removes that uncertainty: the piece is arranged with the publication in advance, you approve the draft, and it publishes on greenvilleonline.com inside a written window, 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 The Greenville News covers

The Greenville News is a local news publication serving readers in South Carolina. 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 The Greenville News

A local audience is small compared with a national one, and far more relevant to a local business. Readers of a publication like The Greenville News live, work, shop and vote in the community it covers in South Carolina. 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 The Greenville News adds to both, and it can be shared on your site, in your office, in proposals and across your social profiles.

Why coverage in South Carolina matters

A business that serves South Carolina benefits from being seen where people in South Carolina already get their news. A feature in The Greenville News 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 South Carolina 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 South Carolina and want to introduce themselves to the community.

Out-of-area companies and longtime locals face the same test: is there a reason for people in this community to care? For a newcomer, it may be jobs, a new location or a service not offered nearby. For an established name, it may be growth, history or community work. Either way, specifics carry the story.

We start by choosing one of the angles below. Most businesses and practices have two or three that would work, and the best choice is usually the one with the clearest local connection and timing.

What weakens a pitch

• No local connection. If the story could run unchanged in any town, readers of a community publication have little reason to stop on it.
• Sales copy presented as news. Readers come for information about their community, so a list of offers and slogans reads as out of place.
• Vague claims. “Best in the area” and “top-rated” mean little without something a reader can verify, and everything we write must be true.
• Too many messages. One opening, one milestone or one person, told clearly, is stronger than a tour of every service you provide.