Free press coverage,
without the agency bill.
A traditional PR agency costs a fortune and takes months. A small bot can do most of the same work for you in the background. It listens, finds the right writers, warms them up, and hands them a story they can publish in minutes. Here is exactly how it works, and the prompts you can use to build your own.
PR is mostly finding the right person, at the right time.
Big agencies make this look complicated so they can charge for it. In practice most coverage is a journalist who already writes about your topic, gets a relevant message at the right moment, with a story so well prepared they barely have to lift a finger. This bot does that for you, quietly, in the background. Here is who it is for, what goes wrong without it, how it works, and what you get back.
Who it’s for
Anyone who wants press coverage and refuses to spend agency money on it. Founders, course creators, coaches, consultants, anyone with a story worth telling and no patience for retainers. If you have ever envied the press an agency-backed competitor gets, this fixes the gap.
What goes wrong
Mass cold pitching annoys journalists and earns nothing. Hiring an agency works but bleeds money. Doing it by hand is so slow that you stop after two weeks. So you settle for no press at all, while the people who already write about your topic are reading something else.
How the machine works
The bot listens to publications for a small list of keywords you care about. When something comes up, it finds the journalist who wrote it, enriches the contact, and starts a warm, polite sequence that builds rapport first and pitches later. A relevant message, to the right person, at the right time.
What you get back
Free press in publications that already cover your space. A handful of mentions a quarter is enough to change how a business is seen, and the same bot keeps quietly working in the background while you do your real job.
I was tired of paying for press that should be earned.
PR is one of those things where the bill makes no sense compared to the work. A boutique agency wants thousands of euros a month, sends a few generic pitches, and tells you to be patient. Six months later the only thing that has moved is your bank balance.
I tried doing it myself. I wrote pitches, copied lists of journalists, sent emails, got ignored, and quit within a month. The work was honest but the volume was killing me. Every email was a tiny piece of a job that needed to happen at a different scale.
So I built a small bot that does the boring parts for me. It listens to a list of publications for the keywords I care about, finds the journalist behind each piece, and warms them up before any pitch goes out. By the time the offer arrives, they already know my work. They are not being cold-pitched, they are being handed a story by someone they have already seen twice.
The clever part is the warm-up sequence. It does not start with a pitch. It starts with a polite message that references their actual recent work. A few days later the bot shares a piece of mine that is genuinely relevant to what they cover. Only after that does the proposal arrive, and the proposal includes a ready-to-publish piece so the journalist barely has to write a thing.
The result is the kind of press an agency would have charged me ten thousand euros for, run quietly in the background, on my terms. And the same bot keeps working every week, picking up new writers, never burning out.
Proof point: I have documented my actual numbers on YouTube, including the growth hacking series and the Freedom by Choice podcast, so the modest figures on this page are real and checkable.
Listen, warm them up, hand them a story
What made this work was the order. Most PR fails because the pitch goes first. Listen before you pitch, build rapport before you ask, and arrive with a story so prepared the journalist can publish it the same day. Three moves, made in sequence.
Listen before you pitch
The bot quietly monitors publications for a small list of keywords that matter to you. Whenever a piece goes up, it identifies the journalist who wrote it, enriches their contact, and adds them to your list. You never send a message to someone who does not already cover your space. That alone changes the reply rate. You are not interrupting a stranger, you are joining a conversation they are already having in public.
Rapport before the ask
Before any pitch, the bot sends one polite message that references the journalist’s actual recent work. A few days later it shares one piece of yours that is genuinely useful to what they cover. By the time the offer arrives, this is the third touch, not the first. You have stopped being a cold email and become a name they recognise. That is the gap between a delete and a yes.
Hand them a story they can run
The final move is the proposal itself, with a ready-to-publish piece attached. A journalist is busy. The harder you make their day, the less likely they are to cover you. The bot prepares the angle, the quote, the data, and a short version of the article so the writer can publish it in minutes. Make their job easy and you get the coverage. Make it hard and you join the ignored pile.
Listen, warm them up, hand them a story. Do those three moves in order and free press starts to flow. Skip any one and you are back to mass cold pitching, which earns nothing and annoys everyone.
The shouty cold-pitch approach
- A list of journalists copied off Google
- One pitch sent to everyone, no context
- Replies that never come back
- An agency retainer that drains the bank
- Months of effort with one mention to show
The quiet PR loop
- Journalists picked because they already cover your space
- A polite touch first, a useful piece second, a pitch third
- A real reply rate because you are no longer cold
- Free press at the cost of a few API calls
- A handful of features a quarter, quietly compounding
How I pick the right keywords to listen for
The bot is only as good as the keywords you feed it. Too broad and it picks up noise. Too narrow and it picks up nothing. This first prompt helps me pick the small set of words that surface the right journalists.
Pick the right PR keywords
My product is [describe your product] and my ideal coverage looks like [examples of publications or stories I would love to be in]. Help me pick a short list of keywords my PR bot should listen for so it surfaces journalists who already cover my space. Output: - 5 to 8 narrow keywords that match my exact niche. - 2 or 3 broader keywords that catch adjacent coverage. - For each keyword, one line on why it works. - A short note on which keywords to drop if the volume is too noisy.
Get this list right and the journalists who show up will already write about what you do. Listen narrowly first, broaden only if the volume is too low.
How I write the first rapport message
The first message is not a pitch. It is a polite, specific reaction to a real piece the journalist wrote. This is the prompt I use to write it so it reads like a human, not a marketing blast.
Write the first rapport message
A journalist just published [title of the piece] in [publication]. Their main point was [the angle]. My business is [what I do], which connects to their piece through [the genuine link]. Write me a short, human first email that: 1. Refers to a specific line or idea in their piece, by name. 2. Adds one small useful thought of my own, no pitch yet. 3. Closes with a polite line, no ask, no link to my product. Keep it under 90 words, conversational, no marketing speak. Output a subject line and the email body.
This email never sells. It earns the right to be remembered, so the next message lands in a real inbox, not a junk folder.
The 3-minute overview of how this works
Before the build steps, watch this short overview. It’s the exact video from the Automations Made Easy page, and it walks through the mechanics behind machines like this one. 1,000+ students have used these mechanics to save two hours a day, with zero coding.
Want to build a PR machine like this in your business?
1,000+ students. Save 2 hours a day. No coding required. In Automations Made Easy you’ll learn the simple skills to build little machines that monitor publications, warm up journalists, and hand them a story to run, just like this one.
What quiet PR quietly does every quarter
Let me keep this small and believable. Most people who hear PR think of a magazine cover. That is rare. The honest version is a handful of small features and mentions a quarter, in publications that already cover your space.
Say the bot earns you 3 small features a quarter. Each one sends a slice of traffic, a few warm leads, and a backlink that helps the rest of the site. Modest numbers, real wins, no agency invoice.
Earned features per quarter: about 3
Cost: a few API calls, no agency
Roughly 12 features a year, building up your search footprint
All without you doing anything once it is set up
Now let it compound. 12 small features a year on relevant publications add up to a search footprint and a quiet reputation that money cannot buy at the same pace. Over three years that is a backlink profile and a credibility shelf an agency would have charged you thirty thousand euros for. I documented my real income and growth tactics on YouTube, including the growth hacking series.
I wrote more about earning press without agencies in my Substack, including how I keep this bot polite and on-tone over the long run.
How I write the warm-up share
The second message is the bridge. The bot picks one piece of mine that genuinely helps the journalist’s work and shares it without any expectation. This is the prompt I use so the share lands as useful, not as a marketing nudge.
Write the warm-up share
I am writing the second message to a journalist who covers [their beat]. Their last piece was [recent piece]. I have a piece of mine that is genuinely useful to that beat: [my piece, with the link]. Write a short message that: 1. Explains, in one line, why my piece helps with [their beat]. 2. Quotes one specific finding or angle they can use. 3. Offers it freely, no ask, no pitch, no "would you cover this". Under 100 words. Friendly, not pushy. Output a subject line and the email body.
By now you are not a stranger. You are a name they have seen, who has written something useful, and that is who they answer when the pitch arrives.
How I write the done-for-them pitch
The final message is the offer, with a ready-to-publish piece attached. The easier I make the journalist’s job, the higher the hit rate. This is the prompt I use to make sure they can publish in minutes if they choose to.
Write the done-for-them pitch
I am writing the third message to a journalist I have already warmed up. They cover [their beat]. My story for them is [angle]. Write a pitch that: 1. References the previous two emails in one short line. 2. Offers a clear story angle that fits their beat in one sentence. 3. Includes a ready-to-publish piece (around 500 to 700 words) with a working headline, an intro, two short sections, and one quote from me. 4. Closes with one line offering an interview if they want more. Output a subject line, the pitch body, and the ready-to-publish piece under it. Make the journalist's job as easy as humanly possible.
A busy writer with a ready-to-publish piece in their inbox is a yes. Hand them a story they can run today, and you become the easiest thing on their schedule.
The exact build, step by step
List the publications and the keywords
First, the machine needs to know where to listen and what to listen for. One-time setup. You give it a short list of publications that already cover your space and a small set of keywords that match your niche. From that day on it monitors every new piece in the background.
Find the journalist behind every piece
When a piece appears, the bot identifies who actually wrote it, looks them up, enriches the contact, and finds a working email. Not a generic press address, the real person. The list builds itself, one relevant writer at a time, every week.
Send the first message, no pitch
Move 1 from the playbook becomes real here. The first email refers to the journalist’s actual recent piece, adds one small thought, and asks for nothing. No pitch, no link, no follow-up request. Just a polite first touch from a real person.
Share something useful, still no pitch
Move 2 in action. A few days later, the bot shares one piece of yours that is genuinely useful to the journalist’s beat. Still no ask. By now you are not a stranger. You are someone who showed up twice with something worth reading.
Send the done-for-them pitch
Move 3, finally. After two warm touches the bot sends the proposal, with a ready-to-publish piece, an angle, a quote, and a clear offer. By now the journalist has seen your name twice and read something useful. The pitch is almost easy to say yes to.
Let the coverage roll in, on autopilot
Now the machine runs without you. Every week new journalists are added, every quarter a handful run a feature, and your name shows up where it matters. You are not paying an agency, you are not writing cold emails, you are doing your real job while the loop earns the press you used to dream about.
The bot listens for your keywords
A small list of publications, a few words, no noise
It finds the writer behind every piece
Real name, real email, enriched and ready
Rapport first, share second, pitch third
Three touches before any ask, every time
A handful of features land every quarter
Free press, on land you do not pay for
Want to build this in your own business?
Automations Made Easy teaches you, step by step, how to build little outreach machines like the one you just read about. Zero coding. Plain English. 1,000+ students have already used it to land coverage they could not have afforded to chase by hand.
The six months after I switched it on
Here is the modest shape of it. The bot starts slow, builds a list of relevant writers over the first two months, then settles into a quiet rhythm of small features.
Earned features per quarter (modest estimate)
Notice the line never spikes. That is the point. A handful of relevant features a quarter, picked up by writers who already cover your space, is worth more than one viral hit a year, because the credibility compounds.
What other students built
I teach the simple skills behind machines like this in Automations Made Easy. Students who built their own version sent back what changed in their first month.
“I used to chase one agency quote after another. Now this bot earns me more coverage in a quarter than my old agency did in six months, for the cost of a few API calls.”
“The rapport step is the trick. The first email never sells. By the time the pitch lands, the journalist already recognises my name.”
“I land two to three small features every quarter, on publications that already cover what I do. Quiet, steady, no agency invoice.”
“Handing them a ready-to-publish piece is what does it. Busy writers say yes to easy stories.”
What’s inside Automations Made Easy
AME isn’t a library of pre-built automations. Every business is slightly different. What’s reusable across all of them is the underlying mechanics: how to set up little machines that listen, write, and follow up while you sleep, and how to wire the pieces together without writing code.
The program walks you through six modules: The Right Tools (the cost-effective, no-code stack I actually use), Task Selection Mastery (which automations are worth building first), Design Secrets (mapping an automation before you build it), Zero to Hero (complete beginner to confident automator), Real-World Application (we build a full automation together, end to end), and Monetization Mastery (turn the skill into a side-business).
It also includes done-for-you templates you import in two clicks, over-the-shoulder training videos, and the same playbook 1,000+ students have used to save two hours a day. No coding required. If you can copy and paste, you can build this.
The quiet PR loop: common questions
Pulled from what readers and Automations Made Easy students ask most.
Is this just mass cold pitching with extra steps?
No. The bot only contacts journalists who already cover your space, and never sends a pitch first. The first touch is a polite, specific reference to their actual recent work. The pitch only goes out after two warm touches. That is the opposite of mass cold pitching.
Will journalists actually answer this?
More than you expect. The reply rate goes up when you stop being a stranger. By the time the pitch lands, you have referenced their work, shared something useful, and made the next step almost zero effort for them. That is the version that earns replies.
Do I still need a PR agency on top of this?
No, not for most businesses. An agency adds value for very specific campaigns, awards, or media training. For ongoing coverage in publications that already cover your space, the bot does most of the work, quietly, for the cost of a few API calls.
What about big-name publications?
Big publications are still possible but slower. Start with the writers in publications that already cover your exact niche. Once you have a small shelf of features, bigger writers take the meeting more easily. The bot just keeps adding names, week after week.
Do I need to code to build one?
No. The whole machine is built with no-code tools, by connecting a few friendly steps together. If you can copy and paste, you can build it. That is exactly what Automations Made Easy teaches.
More Money Makers like this one
Built from the same handful of mechanics. Each one captures, converts, or earns money that would have walked out the door.
Build the PR loop yourself, or work with me directly.
If you want to learn the mechanics and build it on your own stack, Automations Made Easy is the playbook. If you’d rather work with me one-on-one to plan it for your specific business, I take a small number of consulting clients each month.
€497 one-time · Lifetime access · 1,000+ students
