How to Get Featured in Inc. Magazine
Inc. has covered entrepreneurs and growing businesses for decades. Its audience is founders and operators, which makes a feature there commercially useful rather than merely flattering.
What Inc. covers
The practical business of building a company: growth, hiring, leadership, funding, operations and the mistakes founders make along the way. It is best known for the Inc. 5000, its annual ranking of fast-growing private American companies.
The tone is useful rather than ceremonial. Its readers are running businesses and reading for things they can apply.
The routes in
- Staff and columnist editorial. An editor or columnist decides to cover you. Free, and their call.
- The Inc. 5000. A ranking with published eligibility criteria and an application process — chiefly verified revenue growth over a defined period.
- Sponsored content. Paid and labelled.
- Agency-assisted pitching. An agency develops the story and pitches the right person on your behalf.
What makes a story they will run
Specific, transferable lessons. Inc. runs well on the decision that nearly broke the company, the hiring approach that actually worked, the pricing change and what it did to the numbers.
Give a reader something they can use on Monday and you are most of the way there. Announce a milestone and you are not.
What we do
We find the lesson inside your business — usually the thing you would tell another founder over coffee — and build it into a piece written to editorial standard. You approve it before anything is submitted.
Frequently asked questions
Can you pay to be in Inc.?
Sponsored content is a paid, labelled product. Editorial coverage is an editorial decision and cannot be bought.
How does the Inc. 5000 work?
It ranks fast-growing private US companies against published criteria, principally verified revenue growth, through a formal application. If you qualify, it is worth understanding the timeline well in advance.
Do I need to be big to be covered?
No. Inc. covers small companies constantly. What matters is whether your experience teaches other founders something.