A Local Business Owner's Guide to Getting Covered by Gwinnett-Area News
By Mike Miller, founder of Local Lift - Media & Marketing
Gwinnett County is one of the fastest-growing counties in Georgia, and local news outlets are constantly hunting for community stories. That's good news if you own a business in Dacula, Buford, Lawrenceville, Suwanee, or anywhere else in the county — the demand for your story exists. You just have to deliver it the way newsrooms need it.
I spent nine-plus years inside TV news before founding Local Lift - Media & Marketing. Here's the playbook I'd give any Gwinnett business owner.
Know your outlets and what they actually cover
The Gwinnett Daily Post covers county government, schools, business openings, and community events — they genuinely want local business news with a community angle. The Atlanta TV stations (and their assignment desks) cover Gwinnett when a story has broad appeal or strong visuals. Hyperlocal Facebook groups and community pages move faster than any of them and often reach more of your actual neighbors.
Match the story to the outlet. A new hire is a Daily Post brief. A business owner rescuing a historic downtown Lawrenceville building is a TV story.
Tie yourself to what's already happening
Gwinnett runs on events: Suwanee Town Center festivals, concerts at The Bowl in Sugar Hill, Friday night football, county fair season. Newsrooms are already planning coverage around these. A business that plugs into that calendar — hosting a watch party, sponsoring a team, doing something noteworthy during a festival — rides coverage that's already in motion instead of trying to create it from zero.
Pitch like this
- Subject line that's a headline, not an announcement: 'Dacula vet clinic treats injured K-9 officers for free'
- First sentence: who, what, when, where — and why a viewer would care
- One named, available person to interview
- Exactly what a camera can shoot and when
- Your cell number, answered by a human
Don't sleep on the non-traditional outlets
In Gwinnett, a post in the right community Facebook group or a feature in a school newsletter can drive more foot traffic than a 15-second TV mention. Local podcasts, HOA newsletters, and church bulletins are all 'media.' The businesses that win treat every one of them as worth doing well.
One warning from the other side of the desk
News coverage is a spike, not a strategy. It's incredible for credibility — that 'as seen on' moment changes how customers see you — but it works best paired with the boring stuff: a solid Google Business Profile, reviews, and social content that keeps you visible between the spikes.
That's the full system I build for clients across Gwinnett and the CSRA. If you'd like a hand with any of it, the strategy call is free.
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