How do you reach out to media/journalists for coverage of your startup?

Question

As a founder of a bootstrapped startup, I don't have the money to hire a big PR firm for paid media coverage.  Is it possible to cold email reporters/journalists in the relevant sectors to get organic coverage?  Really appreciate anyone here who can share their lessons and wisdom, in particular to the following questions:
1) Is it better to start with a long or short email? (A short email might not be able to tell a differentiated story but no one has the patience to read long emails these days.)
2) What should be my specific ask in the first email? (To connect seems too generic. To cover our company  seems too big an ask. To stay in touch seems no action item at all!)
3). What can I offer in return as a startup founder? (Good relationships should always be mutually beneficial.  In what ways can a startup founder be helpful to the journalist community? )

Yury Molodtsov · Accepted Answer

1. Find relevant reporters who wrote about this field a lot (maybe covered your competitors).
2. Decide if you want to go with a single exclusive article (bigger chance to land a big publication) or an embargoed outreach (you might get more coverage if you tell ask them to accept a certain embargo time/date first but they also might pass more easily).
3. Write a short pitch that tells a story. You should have some news: a launch, coming out of beta, new major release, etc. Don't ask just to connect, reporters have no time for that. You can provide more details in the end of the email where they can dig if they like your pitch but you have to explain the news in the first paragraph.
4. Don't use too many adjectives and don't use buzzwords. State the problem you're solving, why it's important, where you are on that journey.
5. You offer them news. They need good news to write about. That's the entire exchange. If you can offer them some stats on the market nobody else knows that would be good (if you have them of course). Don't worry, if one day they need an expert to comment they might reach out to you by themselves, don't push it.
6. Follow-up. There's a high chance they haven't seen your email. I landed an article on TechCrunch after the 4th email. But don't be pushy, if you tracked they saw your email or clearly said "pass" – that's a no.

Happy to answer any additional questions.

Axel DeAngelis · Answer

I highly recommend Cameron Herold and Adrian Salamunovic's book, Free PR.  The title is pretty self-explanatory, and I think you'll find some good insight on all of your questions in there. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MK3H1RS/

Mau · Answer

Couple of days ago Jonapr came out, if you have an app you can take a look at the-ultimate-top-100-list-of-websites-and-blogs-to-get-your-app-reviewed

Thomas Lang · Answer

@deangelis Genius title!

Jack Cooper · Answer

Spot-on advice. If your story is compelling enough, it will get picked up and written about.

Jack Cooper · Answer

@sisi_l Or as Mark Twain said, "I didn't have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one instead."

It's indeed difficult to distill your story down to a few sentences, but you can do it! The key is to be aspirational, yet specific. I worked in PR and advertising for years and the most compelling stories being told had big goals but small details.

For example:

It's not "the best razor in the world," but rather, "the best razor in the world for men with sensitive skin."

In our case with Brain Pick, it's not "a new way to share professional advice", but rather, "a new way to earn supplemental income letting people pick your brain on video chat."

Hope that helps!
JC

Yury Molodtsov · Answer

@sisi_l You can use any on the market, you can use Snovio (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/unlimited-email-tracker/gojogohjgpelafgaeejgelmplndppifh)

Sisi Liu · Answer

@deangelis Thanks Axel!  Getting the book on Amazon now!

Sarah Loertscher · Answer

As an addition to all the aforementioned advice, you can also sign up for HARO (https://www.helpareporter.com/) as a source. Just sign up for the general newsletter, don't sign up for specific ones or stories that may be relevant to you might get missed. This email goes out 3x day connecting reports who need sources with, you guessed it, sources (you!). It's a good way see what trends are and you might be able to connect with a reporter on a relevant topic.

David Jones · Answer

It takes time and the ability to handle being ignored and/or rejected.  Big PR firms don't have any magic. Sometimes they have folks who have great relationships and can at least get a call returned or email read, but that doesn't guarantee coverage. I'd do the following:

1. Get a small list together of targeted reporters who have written about startups like yours. Knowing what they cover is the key to making your pitch relevant.

2. Reach out with an introductory email.  Introduce yourself and briefly (one or two lines) explain what you're up to, send a link to something (site, video, press release) with this note.  Ask them what kind of startups they are interested in and what makes a good story for them as you are trying to get some coverage and you don't want to waste their time. Ask things like when is the best time to pitch your story, what milestones you need to hit for them to be interested, etc. You're playing a bit dumb here, which is fine.  Be sincere and if they understand that you are trying to help by understanding how they do their job they'll be more likely to help you with yours.

3. You may see an opportunity during this exchange to ask them if you could pitch your story now, or you may hear that it's too early or outside of their interest.  Listen well and play it smart.  You're looking to have a contact for life, not just this one pitch.

4. Keep in mind you will be the 100th person pitching them that day.  Their time is maxed out. So their time is what's valuable.  Take no for an answer.  You can follow up if you're ignored, but only a few times.  Don't spam them.  Take a long-term ignore as a no.

5. No need to offer a quid pro quo.  Ask if it's OK to stay in touch or reach out from time to time with what's happening and see if they'd be OK to receive it.  Ask for their twitter handle so you can follow them.  This willingness to be an asset to them vs a time-sucking annoyance will differentiate you.  If they are receptive to all of this, you can say that you can be available any time they need to talk to someone about your startup field, or being a new founder or a particular sector you're knowledgeable about.

6. Expect to get zero for this effort at first. The most you can hope for is a warm relationship with an influential journalist who'll remember you in the future.  These people deal with pushy, entitled people all day long who think their weekend brainfart that doesn't even have an MVP yet is deserving of media coverage.  Be humble, be gracious.  Journalists are a different breed.  They aren't investors and they aren't users.  Their job is to question you, your motivations, challenge your conclusions and be somewhat cynical.  Their job is not to promote you.

This turned out to be a lot longer than I planned, but I do have one short story from my own PR days.  I took a call from Shopify through a friend approximately a decade ago.  They were a rapidly growing startup from Ottawa that had some good traction, but hadn't really hit any major milestones at the time. They were frustrated their big PR firm in the US wasn't getting them the media coverage they wanted.  I told them they weren't a big enough story yet and they'd have to be patient as they hit various milestones that would get journalists interested.  I also told them to get a smaller PR firm that would make their budget go further and who would be more aligned with their business size.  I even told them that my firm wasn't right for them as we were a competitor of the big PR firm they were using and would likely get the same level of service from our SF office.

Needless to say, things worked out fine for Shopify over the next decade.  It will for you too.

Answer

Hay

Sarah Loertscher · Answer

@sisi_l sure, no problem!

Sisi Liu · Answer

@y_molodtsov Thanks Yury for your very thoughtful comment!  It's awesome you landed an article on Techcrunch!  Can I ask you what tool do you use to track if they saw your email?

Sisi Liu · Answer

@jack_cooper The hardest part is to tell a compelling story in just a few lines!

Sisi Liu · Answer

@jack_cooper Thank you Jack.  Your expertise in PR/advertising clearly shows :).  The examples really help!  They gave me good food for thought.

How do you reach out to media/journalists for coverage of your startup?

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