Short answer: Pitch a genuinely newsworthy angle, like fresh data, a launch or expert comment, to the right reporter with a short press release and images. Sponsored placements are paid and should be labelled.
Plenty of founders want to get featured in Nigerian newspapers, and most start by emailing a generic press release to every editor they can find. That rarely works. Journalists need stories, not announcements, and the approach changes depending on whether you want earned or paid coverage.
Earned vs paid coverage
| Earned coverage | Paid (sponsored) coverage | |
|---|---|---|
| How you get it | A journalist decides your story is worth running | You pay the publication to run your content |
| Credibility | High | Lower, especially if clearly marked as sponsored |
| Control over wording | Little | Full |
| Guaranteed? | No | Yes |
Sponsored articles have their place, for example for a launch you need covered on a fixed date. But readers and editors can tell the difference, so I treat them as a supplement to earned coverage, not a replacement.
What makes your business newsworthy
- Original data. A survey of your customers or a trend from your own numbers.
- A real milestone. Funding, expansion to a new state, a major partnership.
- Expert commentary. A sharp view on news in your industry, like a policy change, delivered fast.
- A human story. How the business started or who it’s helping, told honestly.
“We launched a new website” isn’t news. A finding from your own customer data about how Lagos SMEs now pay or buy might be.
How to get featured in Nigerian newspapers, step by step
- Find the right reporter. Read the business, tech or lifestyle desk you’re targeting and note who covers your sector.
- Write a short pitch. Three or four sentences: the story, why it matters now, and what you can offer (data, an interview, images).
- Attach a clean press release. Headline, the key facts in the first paragraph, a quote, and contact details.
- Include good photos. High-resolution headshots and product images get used; blurry ones get your story dropped.
- Follow up once. A polite nudge after a few days is fine. Five follow-ups isn’t.
Why press coverage matters beyond the article
Mentions and links from respected publications build trust with customers and investors, and they’re signals that search engines and AI assistants use when deciding which brands to recommend. One strong feature often keeps paying off for years.
You can see how a structured media push worked for an AMVCA nominee in our Dezny digital PR case study. If you’d rather have someone run the pitching for you, see our digital PR service or contact me to plan your media coverage.