Beginners Guide to Startup Pr for Dummies

1. The Beginners Guide to
PR for
Startups
presents

2. Table of Contents
Foundation Research Perfecting the Pitch
● Defining PR in 2014
● Public Relations vs. Human Relations
● Making Friends, Not Contacts
!
!
● Defining Success
● Choosing the right journalists
● Understanding the media
● Niche vs. Broad outlets
● Putting together a press kit
● Positioning statements
● Making things personal
● What’s in it for them?
● Keeping it concise
● Newsjacking 101
Media Outreach Measuring Success Best Practices
● Sending your pitch
● Timing is everything
● The follow-up process
● Accepting ‘no’ and moving on
● When to guest blog instead
● Setting up analytics tools
● Media doesn’t guarantee success
● Knowing when to say ‘no’
● Brainstorming creative new ideas
● Media Monitoring
● Tools of the Trade
● Use all your resources
Slides 4-8 Slides 9-14 Slides 15-20
Slides 21-26 Slides 27-31 Slides 32-35

3. Many startups still believe public relations begins and ends with receiving a
nod from TechCrunch.
Startup success stories are no longer written with thanks to the media. In
today’s ecosystem overflowing with startup ideas, to ‘launch’ is simply not
enough justification for media coverage.
Overnight success stories are a thing of the past, and we say it’s time for a
refreshing new take on PR.
What worked last year isn’t going to work today.
The secret is in adopting a human approach to PR.
Introduction

4. Foundation
Step away from the keyboard. Don’t send another haphazard
pitch to a journalist without understanding the basics.
The golden rule? Always make friends before you need them.

5. Defining PR in 2014
The name of the game is changing. No longer just about press releases
and embargoes - the definition of PR isn’t as cut and dry as it once was.
The homepage of Forbes? Yes, that’s PR, but so is your contributed
piece to Entrepreneur or HubSpot. In 2014, thought-leaders are just as
much media rockstars, as Mick Jagger himself.
Whether you’re a publicist, a growth hacker, or rockstar - you’re in the
business of PR and it’s time to take advantage of it.

6. Public Relations vs. Human
Relations
A PR person has coverage and favorable
public image in mind. They’re self-serving.
A human relations pro works hard for
meaningful, social relations that provide
value and create long-lasting relationships.
They’re selfless.
Which do you think has a greater impact
on your business in the long run? Which
would you rather have represent your
company?

7. We Say: Make Friends, Not Contacts
1. Cold Call No More - Long gone are the days of generic pitches, cold
calls or emails. If you don’t know the person you’re pitching,
consider putting on the brakes and heading back to the drawing
board.
2. Cut the “Blah Blah” - If your pitches lack authenticity (and worse
yet - if they don’t deliver value), all a journalist hears is “blah, blah,
blah.” Cut the buzzwords and focus on value.
3. The Value of One Friend - Another golden PR rule? Quality over
quantity. Focus on strengthening the relationships you have with
your existing contacts to make them more meaningful and
personal.

8. Forget playing the numbers game.
Pitching 100 journalists may be less effective than building a
relationship with three.
Pick three, and start getting to know them today.
- What do they write about?
- Where do they socialize online?
- Who might you have in common?
TIP:

9. Not

10. sure

11. where

12. to

13. start?

16.
Use

17. a

18. tool

19. like

20. Followerwonk

21.
to

22. search

23. for

24. journalists

25.
active

26. on

27. Twitter

28. using

29.
specific

30. keywords.

31.
Try This At Home [Exercise]:
Find 3 Journalists You Think Will Love Your
Idea

32. Research
You wouldn’t vacation somewhere without
doing a little digging first, would you? Then
why would you pitch a journalist you know
nothing about?

33. Defining Success
PR is only part of a comprehensive
marketing and branding strategy.
Always take the time to define what
your ‘big picture’ of success looks like,
integrating PR effort throughout the
process.
Avoid vanity metrics (like the number of
PR mentions you collect.) Instead, focus
on the return on your PR investment:
new relationships, inbound leads and
of course - new customers.

34. Choosing the Right Journalists
The key to getting great coverage is to
start with a journalist that covers your
industry!
!
Once you’ve identified writers who have
covered similar themes, get to know
them.
• Engage with them on Twitter.
• Comment on their articles.
• Introduce yourself over email in a
non-promotional way.
Tip:

35. Start

36. engaging

37. long

38.
before

39. you

40. need

41. them

42. to

43.
cover

44. your

45. startup!

47. Understanding The Media
Though they can be intimidating,
journalists are people too. They have
deadlines and long to-do lists just like us.
They’re also cautious of PR pros without
their best interest in mind.
Don’t be that guy. Always be mindful of
this and pitch respectfully. Keep it tight
and to the point.
Know your WHY, know your hook. The
rest are minor details they can ask
later.
TIP:

48. Fight

49. all

50.
temptation

51. to

52. be

53. salesy.

54.
Just

55. be

56. human.

58. Niche Vs. Broad Outlets
Identify your target outlets based on your desired audience. While the
homepage of TechCrunch will get you recognition and a spike in traffic,
coverage in your industry’s niche outlets is more likely to convert to
customers.
1. Choose Niche If You Are… Seeking high quality leads generated
from your target demographic.
2. Choose Broad If You Are… Seeking some time in the spotlight and
looking for recognition in outlets your fans, friends, and family will
recognize.

59. Building A Press Kit
!
It may sound silly, but a press kit (and press page) can be a killer resource. A press
kit is the one-stop-shop for everything a journalist or influencer will need to get a
snapshot of your company. Your press page? A brag worthy showcase of your
hard work.
Don’t be modest - you’re doing something incredible, share your story and the
journey you took to get there with everyone: in one location (Dropbox, zip folder,
your website.)
By having items like your press release, founder bios, head shots, team photo(s)
and screenshots easily accessible, it will save both you and the journalist time.
Time that can be dedicated to preparing an awesome piece on your company.

60. Perfecting the Pitch
Practice makes perfect. Your pitch is no
exception. It can mean the difference
between a killer launch or a snooze fest.

61. Crafting Positioning Statements
A strong positioning statement is the
elevator pitch of the media world.
Perfect it and you’re in.
What problem is your startup aiming to
solve? How would you explain that to
someone?
Your positioning statement will look a
lot like your value proposition.
TIP:

62. Brevity

63. is

64. key.

65. Less

66.
is

67. more.

68. Avoid

69. buzz

70.
words.

72. Making it Personal
Journalists receive hundreds of emails a
day - how will you ensure that your pitch
stands out?
By making it personal. Keep it human.
Use a casual subject line instead of one
baited with buzz words or flashy
embargos. A simple “Hey Joe!” works 90%
of the time.
Hey Joe!

73. “What’s in it for them?”
Treat others the way you want to be treated. No matter how badly
you want coverage, always respect the journalist and their time.
No one likes being on the receiving end of a sales pitch. It’s
important to be mindful of how you can help them.
Real PR is about building relationships that will be mutually beneficial for
the long term. [Tweet this]

74. Keep it Tight
A common mistake is trying to include every last detail into your pitch.
Instead, prepare for Permission Based PR. We mentioned that an
introduction email to journalists is helpful. Permission Based PR takes it
one step further. Introduce yourself and ask the journalist if you can
share a few high level points about what you’re working on.
For example: Hey Jane! I’m with company XYZ and I’d love to share a few bullet
points with you on what we’re working on if that’s ok with you!
Be mindful of the journalist and the message you are trying to send.
Ask First. Pitch Second. (We’ll address this more in the next section.)

75. Newsjacking 101
Oh, newsjacking! The fine art of taking someone else’s news and
piggybacking on its worth.
While this may sound shady, if done properly (and tastefully)
newsjacking can be a great opportunity to weigh in on hot new industry
trends as a thought leader.
How will Apple’s new iOS affect your platform? Why is your App the
replacement for those in Flappy Bird withdrawal?
By constantly listening and monitoring the media and industry trends
and news, you can strike while the iron is hot and score yourself a great
story in conjunction with hot topic everyone’s already talking about.

76. Media Outreach
The time has come. It’s time to pitch. While
the idea of sending your life’s work into the
universe in the form of a few strong
sentences in an email can seem daunting -
you’re ready and you’ve got this.

77. Sending Your Pitch
You’ve worked hard to craft a great pitch -
don’t let it go to waste in inbox purgatory.
Always pitch during Pitching Hours aka
optimal times of day and the week.
While it’s a nice idea to get ahead on the
weekend or late at night - most main stream
media aren’t responding to emails at all
hours of the day. The result? Your email is
banished to a horrible inbox fate.

78. Best Day Time to Send
To be most effective, stick with
weekday mornings. Any time
during EST or PST business hours
is ideal.
Take a Cue from Social: Wait for
journalists to be active on Twitter
before you hit send on your pitch
email. If they haven’t tweeted in
days, they may be out of the
office.
TIP:

79. Early

80. morning

81.
(before

82. 9:30am)

83. and

84. on

85.
Tuesdays,

86. has

87. been

88. known

89.
to

90. be

91. the

92. most

93. effective

94.
time.

95. -

97. PR

98. Daily

100. The Follow-up Process
Every day, thousands of emails get lost in
inboxes everywhere. Chances are, your
email will be among the missing more
than once.
It happens to the best of us.
It’s totally acceptable to send a follow-up
to journalists, but always wait at least 48
hours to do so and try to keep your
follow-up limited to one or two lines.
TIP:

101. You’ve

102. already

103. sent

104.
your

105. pitch.

106. Don’t

107.
regurgitate

108. in

109. your

110.
follow-up.

112. Accepting Rejection
Just like many of our emails get lost in inbox limbo, even
the most seasoned PR pros are faced with rejection on a
daily basis.
It’s all part of the experience. We promise.
Next time a journalist says no, keep your chin up. Stay
motivated. A strong backbone is key to surviving the world
of PR.
While you should never take rejection personally, if it’s
happening frequently, do take a moment to consider it and
ask yourself if your pitch could be stronger. Is it littered
with buzz words? Are you coming off too salesy? While
some journalists can be unnecessarily harsh, many are
trying to help.
Sometimes

113. ‘no’

114. just

115. means

116. ‘no.’

117. And

118. that’s

119. ok.

120.
TIP:

121. One

122. journalist’s

123.
“not

124. a

125. good

126. fit”

127. may

128. be

129.
another’s

130. perfect

131. fit.

132.
Don’t

133. give

134. up

135. on

136. a

137. great

138.
story

139. you

140. believe

141. in.

142. Guest Blogging
Guest blogging is an incredible way to build your
influence and establish expertise in your field.
Often a well positioned guest post will lead to more
engagement than an article in the media. This may be
your opportunity to share your opinion on a topic
related to your startup.
Remember: The content you contribute should be
authentic and original.
Look for contributing guidelines and follow the process.
If there are none, reach out (via email or Social Media) to
the editor to ask if you can contribute a piece of content.

143. Measuring Success
While PR by nature is focused on visibility (which
can be intangible at times) - it’s important to
always understand the impact of your efforts.

144. Setting Up Analytics Tools
The key to measuring success is a great analytics tool.
Google Analytics is a no-frills solution. If you need something
more user-friendly and advanced, tools like KISSmetrics are
available (especially great for products that have a checkout).
All analytics tools will have you insert a snippet of code on
your website, so be sure they are committed to preserving
fast load times.

145. When Media ≠ Instant Success
When setting out with your eyes on the prize, it’s important
to know that even the best media placements don’t always
guarantee a conversion.
But they do add to top-of-mind awareness and stronger
reputation.
Just because your potential customer didn’t click through to
your website or sign-up for their free trial, doesn’t mean that
you failed to leave an impression. In many cases, they may
find themselves Googling you days or even weeks later.

146. Knowing when to say No
Some media opportunities may not be worth the investment in time.
Here’s when:
• If the audience / readership doesn’t match with your product
offering;
• When the news outlet or blog gets very little traffic;
• When you’ve posted to that outlet before and it’s generated no
traffic / interest;
• When you sense an ulterior motive;

147. Brainstorming Creative New
Ideas
Eventually, your pitch is going to run its
course.
Measuring engagement analytics over a
period of time will give you an idea of
what type of media works and what
doesn’t.
Even the best story will eventually run it’s
course with the media. Injecting new
ideas into the mix is critical.
TIP:

148. Set

149. a

150. calendar

151. invite

152.
to

153. yourself

154. to

155. sit

156. down

157.
every

158. few

159. weeks

160. or

161. at

162.
the

163. beginning

164. of

165. every

166.
month

167. to

168. come

169. up

170. with

171.
2-4

172. new

173. angles

174. for

175. your

176.
pitch.

178. Best Practices
Braving the world of PR can be scary, but
armed with the right tips and tricks, it’s
your world for the taking. Here are 10 of
our best practices to help you achieve
media success.

179. Best Practices
What are the industry experts saying? What are the top startups
doing? Here are some of our #StartupPR best practices.
1. Know your story. Use your story to differentiate yourself from the
competition. Having a relatable story is a fast-track to establishing
authentic relationships.
2. Go Niche. While mainstream media generate the clicks and the
attention, niche outlets are where your customers are.
3. Ask first, pitch second. When you’re just getting to know a
journalist, always execute permission based PR first to generate trust.

180. Best Practices (cont.)
4. Follow up respectfully. Don’t harass journalists over the phone or via
every social network that was ever invented. Send one strong follow-up
48 hours later and respect their time.
5. Brevity is key. Less is more. This applies to everything from your
media release to your pitch. Know your WHY, know your hook. The rest
are minor details.
6. Try reverse pitching. Sign up for Help a Reporter Out and receive
three emails a day filled with journalist queries in a number of
industries - including yours!
7. Ask for advice. Use a platform such as Clarity to ask journalists for
advice instead of asking them to cover your story.

181. Best Practices (cont)
8. Make friends first. Follow your favourite journalists on Twitter
and engage with them regularly. Comment on their articles and
share via social. Do all of this before you need their help.
9. Practice your pitch out loud. If it sounds stupid or salesy
when you read it, don’t send it.
10. Timing is everything. Try to reach out to journalists during
business hours and wait for them to be active on social media.
!

182. Public Relations is Human
Relations. It’s time to change
the perspective of PR and put
the “human” back into our
relations.
Conclusion

183. www.onboardly.com