Yes, a startup can do PR on a small budget. A young company's first media coverage rarely comes from a big agency contract: it comes from a sharp angle, pitched to the right journalist at the right time. It’s not the tools that cost money; it’s the time.

The question is what "low budget" actually means, and at what level each option becomes realistic. Here is what you can do yourself, what it really takes, and when outsourcing becomes profitable.

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What "low budget" really means

The term covers four very different realities, and the right strategy depends on which one you're in. The tipping point is around €2,000 per month: below that, no external provider can offer a strategy, an active contact list, and serious follow-up.

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The consequence is counter-intuitive. If your budget is between €500 and €1,500 per month, you will get better results doing it yourself than by paying a provider. Services sold below this threshold almost always involve mass-blasting press releases, which yields poor results and damages your reputation with newsrooms.

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Can you do PR without an agency?

Yes, especially at the beginning. Many founders land their first articles on their own by contacting a few journalists directly around a key milestone: a funding round, a launch, or a significant metric. The limitation isn't money; it's time and the depth of your network.

A journalist is more likely to respond to someone they already know. That is an agency's main asset and the biggest challenge when starting out on your own. As long as your news flow remains low—meaning less than one major announcement per quarter—doing it yourself is perfectly manageable.

However, you must be realistic about the actual time cost. A first serious in-house campaign requires several days of work: building the angle, targeting, writing pitches, following up, and being available for interviews. If that time is taken away from sales or product development, the math doesn't always add up.

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What you can do yourself, on a zero budget

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Build a short list of targeted journalists

There is no need for a paid database. Identify 10 to 15 journalists who actually cover your sector in the media outlets that matter to you, such as Maddyness, L'Usine Digitale, Les Échos Start, or Frenchweb for the French tech ecosystem.

The practical method: search for recent articles on your topic, note the bylines, and then read the last five pieces by each journalist. You will learn what subjects they cover, their level of technicality, and whether they have already covered a competitor. Plan for half a day to build a list of fifteen qualified contacts. It is the most profitable investment in the entire process. Our guide on building a press list details the process.

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Write a personalized pitch

A good pitch fits in just a few lines: why you are writing to this specific journalist, the news itself, and why it matters to their readers. A generic email sent to 200 addresses will yield nothing and burn bridges for the long term.

Personalization does not require rewriting everything. A common core and two opening sentences tailored to each journalist are enough—the kind that show you have actually read their work. Our guide on how to approach a journalist details the method.

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Prepare a clear press release

A press release that is well-structured, with the key information up front, a quote, and contact details, allows the journalist to write quickly. It does not replace the pitch; it complements it. The pitch creates interest, while the release provides the substance.

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Amplify with LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the most effective free lever for a startup, and it works both ways. Regular posts from the founder attract the attention of journalists, who often find their story ideas there. Furthermore, every piece of coverage you secure, when shared correctly, reaches an audience that the media outlet itself might not touch.

This is the point that startups under-exploit the most. A press article concentrates its traffic over 24 to 72 hours and then stops working, whereas the same coverage can fuel LinkedIn for three weeks. Our method for amplifying press coverage on LinkedIn details the sequence.

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The first 90 days on your own

A realistic plan for a startup starting out alone, centered around a key announcement.

Weeks 1 to 3, preparation. Build the angle and test it by rephrasing it without mentioning your company. If it doesn't hold up, it's not an angle. At the same time, build a list of 10 to 15 journalists and read their recent articles.

Weeks 4 to 6, execution. Write the press release and personalized pitches. Block out interview slots before sending the pitches, not after: an interested journalist who doesn't get a quick response will move on to something else. Send, then follow up only once with a new piece of information.

Weeks 7 to 12, exploitation. This is the phase almost no one does, and it's where the return on investment is determined. Share every piece of coverage on LinkedIn from the founder's profile, break the topic down over several weeks, and integrate the articles obtained into your website, sales materials, and investor deck.

This sequencing avoids the most costly mistakes, which we detail in our article on the 10 mistakes that cause a PR campaign to fail.

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Mistakes that cost dearly, even on a zero budget

• Sending a press release in bulk without targeting: low impact and a damaged reputation with journalists that will take months to repair.
• Pitching without an angle : "we launched a product" is not a story.
• Getting the timing wrong : a monthly magazine closes several weeks in advance, while an online daily decides its content on the day.
• Neglecting preparation before an interview: with a tight budget, every opportunity counts double.
• Doing nothing with the coverage you get : that is free budget left on the table.

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Intermediate options: freelance, one-off projects, agency

Between doing everything yourself and ongoing support, there are several levels.

• An independent PR consultant : hired by the day for ad-hoc advice or light monthly support. Their network is often highly relevant to their specialty, but limited to one person.
• A one-off project centered around a key event like a funding round or a launch, rather than a monthly commitment. This is the most suitable format when your news flow is irregular.
• A specialized agency when visibility becomes a recurring business priority and multiple spokespeople need to be established.

The choice between a freelancer and an agency isn't about price, but the nature of your needs: we break down this trade-off in our comparison PR agency or PR freelancerFor benchmarks by mission type, see how much public relations costs in France.

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When does delegating become profitable?

Delegating becomes profitable when the time you spend on PR would be more valuable elsewhere, when your network hits a ceiling, or when a key moment requires flawless execution. Before a fundraising round, a failed media campaign represents a much higher opportunity cost than an agency's fee.

The right calculation isn't "how much does it cost" but "how much is the generated visibility worth, and what am I not doing during that time." An agency specialized in your sector starts pitching from the very first month, whereas it would take months to build the same network on your own.

A simple indicator: if you have more than one major announcement per quarter and no one in-house has the time to manage them, you have outgrown the DIY stage.

At Linker, we support tech startups and scale-ups looking to transition from ad-hoc visibility to a structured media presence by combining public relations and LinkedIn. Discover our approach.