Before I worked in marketing, I spent more than ten years as a technology reporter at The Globe and Mail, the National Post and Bloomberg News.
I got a lot of pitches, and most of them never got my attention for almost the same reason every time, which was that there was no story.
So when founders ask me about PR, I answer from that side of the desk. Here's what I've learned about getting media coverage for a startup, and when it isn't worth the effort.
PR isn't magic
A lot of founders see media coverage as a lottery ticket. If TechCrunch writes about us, everything changes, because leads arrive, investors call and the competition takes notice.
It rarely works that way, since hundreds of startups want the same coverage and many have better stories than yours. Even when an article runs, the traffic spike usually fades within days, so coverage is really the cherry on top of the sundae.
I once met a startup that wanted to plan and launch a PR campaign in less than a week. They had an idea and nothing else, not even a website that explained what they did. They assumed the product was cool enough that the media would find it. That's not how coverage happens, because it's the result of a lot of preparation nobody sees.
Why most pitches get ignored
Reporters are busy and get dozens of pitches a day. Most fail for simple reasons:
- No personalization. I once got a press release from a startup with no greeting, no introduction and no explanation of why they were writing to me. It went straight to the bin.
- No hook. Interesting isn't the same as newsworthy. "We built a great product" isn't a story.
- Wrong reporter. Pitching someone who has never covered your space wastes both your time and theirs.
- Too long. A good pitch is three or four short paragraphs, with links for anyone who wants more.
Relationships matter more than pitches
Here's what I can tell you from experience: reporters write about people they know, which is just human nature. When I was a reporter, the entrepreneurs and PR people I knew got my time, and everyone else had a much harder time getting through. A single lunch with an analyst meant I could get a quote from them whenever I needed one.
So build relationships before you need coverage:
- Make a list of the 10 to 100 people who matter in your market. Reporters, freelancers, bloggers, analysts and podcast hosts. Note what each one covers and what they've written recently.
- Follow their work. Share it, comment on it and send a note when you have a useful insight or data point, without a pitch attached.
- Meet people in person when you can. Offer to buy a coffee near their office, or say hello at a conference. Skip the pitch and just tell them who you are and what you do.
- When big news breaks in your industry, reach out quickly with a useful perspective. Reporters on deadline need context, and being helpful once often leads to being called again.
One more thing. If a competitor gets covered and you don't, never email the reporter to complain, because nobody wants to hear from a whiner. Compliment the story, mention that you work in the same space, and offer to help next time.
Find the story
If you don't have news, you can create it. When I worked with Sysomos, a social media analytics company, it got a lot of coverage by publishing short reports on how people used different social networks. The data came straight from its own database, written up as blog posts with simple charts. It wasn't complicated, but reporters found it useful.
DocSend did something similar when it studied how long investors spent on startup pitch decks. The answer (less than four minutes) was so interesting that the coverage took care of itself.
Other angles that work: a real milestone, a notable hire, a customer using your product in an unexpected way, or a fresh take on a trend that's already in the news. The founders' own story can work too. And smaller publications are often a better place to start than the biggest names. Early coverage makes the next reporter more likely to take you seriously.
Should you hire a PR agency?
For most early-stage startups, I'd say not yet. An agency can't fix a weak story, and with no news to share, the money is usually better spent elsewhere.
I'll admit I learned this personally. After I left journalism and started consulting, I assumed I could do PR because I knew how to tell a good story. I was wrong, and my results were poor because I didn't have the relationships a good PR agency builds over years. That's what you're really paying for when you hire one: access.
When the time is right, because you have traction, budget and real news, here's how to hire well:
- Find an agency that already knows the reporters in your industry. A hot agency that doesn't work in your space won't help much.
- Ask who they know and what coverage they've earned for clients like you.
- Find out who will run your account. Senior people often win the business and hand it to someone junior.
- Start with a two or three month campaign instead of a long retainer. If it works, extend it.
- Stay involved. Agencies need direction on your story, audience and goals. Companies that hand everything over and walk away are usually disappointed.
Even with an agency, I often suggest founders pitch the most important reporters themselves. Founders bring passion and credibility that an agency can't fake, and reporters like hearing from them directly.
What to do instead
If PR isn't the right move yet, put the energy into stories you control, like your website, case studies, sales materials, LinkedIn posts, a newsletter or a podcast. These reach your buyers directly, and you can publish them whenever you want.
The foundation is the same either way, since you need a clear answer to what you do, who it's for and why it matters. If a reporter can't see that in thirty seconds, they'll move on, and so will buyers. A free marketing audit of your homepage will show you how clearly you're telling that story today. If you want help finding your story, get in touch.