How to Create a Successful Company Backgrounder

If the press is unfamiliar with your company, they may ask for your company backgrounder. This is a document that profiles your company, its objectives and its executives. Written in a narrative style, your company backgrounder can range from 1-20 pages or more, depending on your company’s size. Most small companies find it best to provide one to three pages.

Your backgrounder may be the first (and perhaps only) information the writer has about your company. A good backgrounder will help writers understand what your company stands for, what kinds of products you market, the quality of your management and your financial and marketing muscle. Done well, your company backgrounder can enhance the article the reporter writes. Done poorly, it may dissuade the reporter from writing about your company.

See the “Backgrounder” template included with Publicity Builder

Fact Sheets

A company fact sheet is a one-page backgrounder that encapsulates the “highlights” of the company. Think of it as a resume for your company. Like a resume, left-justified headings organize the information provided. Reporters use fact sheets to learn the most important facts about your company with a quick read. Young companies may prefer to use a fact sheet instead of a backgrounder since they don’t have a long story to tell. You may also create product fact sheets to include in your press kits to show the scope of your company’s offerings.