Should we pay 600$-1000$ for an article about our startup on Entrepreneur or TechCrunch?

Agreed with some of these responses, $600 actually feels like a pretty good deal!

Hi. We booked two of those articles for like 2k each and to be honest, it's about making noise. We're an existing startup of 5 years. Depending on your budget, $600 can be interesting from a backlink perspective & social proof on your website. If you're able to use to use those opportunities to get more reviews and kickstart an affiliate or referral program, then it would make sense(from a marketer perspective). You should track the results from one article at least and see if it make sense to book a second one. This kind of traction won't give immediate ROI though. However, depending on your stage, it might not necessarily be the time. Remember that there's always someone who will write about your product for free just to bring out value.

I think it's worth it. Besides the fact that this provides a lot of exposure and a valuable backlink, it can also generate more traction for your business.

Hey there) As you know I'm excited by your product))))) You've got my upvote on the day of your launch) And whatever I will advice you to others) Anyway, speaking about deal that you were proposed. Of course, it is great to be published a native article about your product. BUT usually it could be done with good and valuable info-tip. If you don't have such now I would agree on that deal)

Most deals I heard similarly were almost always above 1k, so I think it's not a bad deal. Overall, I believe, in terms of marketing and validation, it could be worth it. I don't know in terms of ROI, it depends on your profit per user ratios, number of expected of visits and conversion rates, very difficult to estimate at this stage. In my opinion, is to give it a shot with one article

Hi, you've got awesome product, I like it. You definitely have my vote for it. Regarding the article the answer depends on what your expectations are and what do you want to achieve. It's very useful if you plan to apply to an accel - having a link to an article in TechCrunch that you can showcase is a big competitive advantage in many programs. If it gets you in YC - it sounds like a descent outcome and a fare price to pay. If you expect to get more users after the exposure I wouldn't have my hopes raised to tell you the truth. PR never works like this - it might have an indirect outcome, but almost never results into direct sales. There are some historical exceptions but they're very rare. If you're planning to approach investors I'd say go for an article in Entrepreneur. But perhaps, I'm a bit old fashioned in this one:) Anyway, if I were you I'd expect more reputation-related and long-range outcome than direct tangible results. If you can afford it might be a good investment in future growth. If you struggle to raise this amount, I'd say it doesn't worth it. You might be disappointed in the sort term.

I am always a little leery on a "good deal" when it comes to content creation. An article deep inside of tech crunch is very different than being featured. I am sure there are two prices: the price to write and publish the article and the price to get it featured. But, it is VERY useful to have these articles to link to for existing or prospective users, since it shows traction and trust. So, don't assume there will be a lot of traffic FROM the article, rather use the article to convert deals. Either way, please let me know how it turns out! Feel free to refer them my way if you like them AND you might get a finder's fee :).