The Press42 workshop on PR, Communication and storytelling for startups. Learn how to deal with bloggers, journalists and how to tell a powerful and engaging story!

1. Communication
Ninja
Workshop
Alex Barrera (@abarrera) ROCKEY SPACE, SF

2. Communication Ninja workshop
Alex Barrera (@abarrera)

3. Communication Ninja workshop

4. Communication Ninja workshop
“If you know your enemies and know
yourself, you can win a hundred battles
without a single loss” - Sun Tzu

5. Communication Ninja workshop

6. Communication Ninja workshop

7. Communication Ninja workshop
What can you
tell me about
them?

8. Communication Ninja workshop
No experts
Hate spam
Forced to write
What can you
tell me about
them?

9. Communication Ninja workshop

10. Communication Ninja workshop
YES
YOU
ARE

11. Communication Ninja workshop
YES
YOU
ARE
and you know it!

12. Communication Ninja workshop
m
ble
pro
Th e

13. Communication Ninja workshop
When to
contact
the press?

14. I don’t need to
contact anyone

15. What
is
PR?

16. Communication Ninja workshop

17. Communication Ninja workshop BLOG
ME!!!

18. Communication Ninja workshop
The Binary Conjecture

19. Communication Ninja workshop
I pass...
The Binary Conjecture

20. Communication Ninja workshop
I pass...
Now I want!
The Binary Conjecture

21. Communication Ninja workshop
Branding is about relationships

22. Communication Ninja workshop

23. Communication Ninja workshop

24. How many do you know?

25. Communication Ninja workshop
How many do you know?
Tweet this!
Tweet this!
“Gather a list of bloggers/journalists you’re
“Gather a list of bloggers/journalists you’re
interested in, follow them and interact
interested in, follow them and interact
with them, DAILY”
with them, DAILY”

26. Communication Ninja workshop
How many do you know?
Tweet this!
Tweet this!
“Gather a list the marketers: Write stuff
“Market of bloggers/journalists you’re
interested in, follow them and interact
anywhere where they can see it but don’t
with them, DAILY”
spam”

27. Communication Ninja workshop
How many do you know?
Tweet this!
Tweet this!
“Gather a list the marketers: Write stuff
“Market of bloggers/journalists you’re
interested in, follow them and interact
anywhere where they can see it but don’t
with them, DAILY”
spam”

28. Communication Ninja workshop
They write
whatever
they
want!!

29. Errr...

30. Communication Ninja workshop
How many do you know?
Tweet this!
Tweet this!
“Gather a list of bloggers/journalists you’re
“Your startup pitch should be exempt of
interested in, follow that your grandma
any technical term them and interact
with them, DAILY”
wouldn’t understand”

31. Communication Ninja workshop
Pitch me, bro!

32. Communication Ninja workshop
10 min
Write me da PR!

33. Communication Ninja workshop
BORN IS NOT NEWS

34. Communication Ninja workshop

35. Communication Ninja workshop

36. Communication Ninja workshop
How many do you know?
Tweet this!
Tweet this!
“Gather a talking about your startup,you’re
“Before list of bloggers/journalists make
sure anyone can find them contact (email,
interested in, follow your and interact
Twitter withFacebook) on your site”
and them, DAILY”

37. My inbox on a Monday
Communication Ninja workshop

38. My inbox on a Monday
Communication Ninja workshop
Your story better be awesome

39. Communication Ninja workshop
But...
what is
a story...?

40. Communication Ninja workshop
A story is a universal human experience
wrapped inside a culture-specific expression
Robert McKee

41. Storytelling Facts
IS
balance
IMAGINATION

42. Communication Ninja workshop
Simplicity

43. Communication Ninja workshop
Literary vs Story

44. Communication Ninja workshop
How many do you know?
Tweet this!
Tweet this!
“Gather a the storyteller in your startup,
“Find list of bloggers/journalists you’re
match him with your them and interact
interested in, follow writer and put them
towith them, DAILY”
work on YOUR story”

45. What are
our building
blocks?

46. An EVENT
creates meaningful
change in the life situation
of a character that is
expressed and
experienced in
terms of a
What are VALUE.
our building
blocks?

47. An EVENT
creates meaningful
change in the life situation
of a character that is
expressed and
experienced in
terms of a
What are VALUE.
our building
blocks? VALUES are
the universal qualities
of human experience that
may shift from positive
to negative, or negative
to positive, from
one moment
to the next

48. Change is achieve through CONFLICT

49. Communication Ninja workshop
15 min
Who is your protagonist?
What’s your cast?
What’s are the values at play?
Where is the conflict?

50. Communication Ninja workshop
Protagonist: David, the succesful Spanish entrepreneur
Cast: Wife, kids, VC friend, VC, blogger A, blogger friend,
press42 team, blogger B, users, media
Values: success/failure, security/insecurity, trust/distrust,
gratitud/ingratitud, determination/undecisiveness,
happiness/unhappiness, fairness/unfairness
Confict: David vs SF, David vs Blogger A, David vs VC

51. Communication Ninja workshop
+/-
Scene

52. Communication Ninja workshop
+/- +/- +/-
Scene Scene ... Scene
Sequence (2-5)

53. Communication Ninja workshop
action/reaction
+/- +/- +/- Beat
Beat
Scene Scene ... Scene Beat
Beat
Sequence (2-5)

54. Communication Ninja workshop
action/reaction
+/- +/- +/- Beat
Beat
Scene Scene ... Scene Beat
Beat
Sequence (2-5)
Sequence Sequence Sequence
Act

55. Communication Ninja workshop
action/reaction
+/- +/- +/- Beat
Beat
Scene Scene ... Scene Beat
Beat
Sequence (2-5)
Climax Climax Climax
Sequence Sequence Sequence
Act

56. Communication Ninja workshop
What is your genre?

57. Communication Ninja workshop
What is your genre?
Romantic involvement 2 characters
Love story or search for love
Love is a cure
Happy up-ending
Love is a two-sided sword

58. Communication Ninja workshop
What is your genre?
Grandeur and spectacle
Recreate past events
Protagonist is a hero
Clear evil antagonist

59. Communication Ninja workshop
What is your genre?
Drama
Very bad to very good
Personal achievement
Redemption theme

60. Settings
Period of time
Duration
Location
Level of conflict

61. Communication Ninja workshop
Choose your
creative
constraint!
(Genre and settings)
5 min

62. Communication Ninja workshop
Genre: Drama
Settings:
Present
3 months
Spain / San Francisco
Inner, personal, extra-personal
5 min

63. Communication Ninja workshop

64. Inciting Incident

65. Communication Ninja workshop
expectation

66. Communication Ninja workshop
expectation
GAP
result

67. Communication Ninja workshop
Object of desire
(conscious or unconscious)
expectation
GAP antagonists
result

68. Communication Ninja workshop
Extra-personal conflicts
Personal conflicts
Inner conflicts
Individuals in society Family Mind Body Lovers Physical environment
Emotions
Friends
Social institutions

69. Communication Ninja workshop
expectation result
GAP antagonists

70. Communication Ninja workshop
expectation result
GAP antagonists
GAP
risk!

71. Communication Ninja workshop
expectation result
GAP antagonists
GAP
risk!
GAP
risk2!

72. Communication Ninja workshop
expectation result
GAP antagonists
Object
GAP risk3!
risk! of desire
GAP
risk2!

73. Communication Ninja workshop
action/reaction
+/- +/- +/- Beat
Beat
Scene Scene ... Scene Beat
Beat
Sequence (2-5)
Climax Climax Climax
Sequence Sequence Sequence Act Act Act
Act Story (3)

74. Communication Ninja workshop
What are
your
antagonists?

75. Communication Ninja workshop
What are
your
antagonists?
What are
your beats?
10 min

76. Communication Ninja workshop
Antagonists: Competition, noise/signal ratio, family, VCs, bloggers
Beats: Moving to SF (Inciting incident), Cost of life (knowledge/ignorance), VC deal (security/
insecurity, fairness/unfairness), Blogger contact (undecissive/determined), Blogger response
(ingratitude/gratitude), Press42 use (non progress/progress, distrust/trust), Publication
(unhappiness/happiness, failure/success)

77. Communication Ninja workshop
Character vs characteristics

78. Object
of
desire

79. Define
your
characters
5 min

80. David: Successful
entrepreneur, tech savy,
family guy, trip to SF 2
years ago, not good
with sales, money but
not rich, former poster
boy, not fluent in
English, driven
10 min

81. Communication Ninja workshop
The more knowledge...
the better the story.

82. Communication Ninja workshop
Put everything together!
15 min

83. Communication Ninja workshop
1. Premise idea
2. Protagonist (Characterization)
3. Select genre and settings
4. Inciting incident + object of desire
5. Build your event’s (Scene) progressive beats
6. Each beat a GAP (antagonists)
7. Climax your scene
8. Distill the Controlling idea (value + cause)

84. Communication Ninja workshop
Change the angles

85. Communication Ninja workshop
1. Change your genre
2. Change your settings
3. Switch protagonists (team vs user vs product)
4. Change point of view
5. Change the plot (events + values)

86. Communication Ninja workshop
1. From love to war:
“Take pics of your love moments”
“Our crusade is to eradicate Microsoft’s ugliness from
this world”

87. Communication Ninja workshop
1. From love to war:
“Take pics of your love moments”
“Our crusade is to eradicate Microsoft’s ugliness from
this world”
2. From present to past-present:
“Speaking her mind is so easy now, she never though it
was possible”
“When Gutenberg created his printer, he couldn’t
forecast the true revolution yet to come when Internet
came into play”

88. Communication Ninja workshop
3. From you to your partner’s:
“Alice can now easily expose her paintings to all
corners of the world”
“Bob can track new artists and paintings to buy for his
clients, without going out of his apartment”

89. Communication Ninja workshop
3. From you to your partner’s:
“Alice can now easily expose her paintings to all
corners of the world”
“Bob can track new artists and paintings to buy for his
clients, without going out of his apartment”
4. Change point of view
“Alice can now easily expose her paintings to all
corners of the world”
“Daniel is so happy that Alice doesn’t travels so much
thanks to X, he’s even investing in it”

90. Communication Ninja workshop
5. From sad/happy to hate/love:
“Alice didn’t have time for her children. Work kept her busy
at all times. Her boss, an egocentric pig, made
sure her days where akin to walking through hell. Desperate
for time, she discovered X, which found her a new job, one
with free spare time and life balance for her and her
children”
“Alice hated her children. They required time she couldn’t
spare. She needed that raise and they where going to
trump it. [...] Finally free of everything she
realized her children save her soul. She found a feeling
long lost, something primal she didn’t let go again.”

91. Communication Ninja workshop
Rewrite your angle!
15 min

92. Communication Ninja workshop
With fewer words!
10 min

93. Communication Ninja workshop
Always know
who is behind

94. Communication Ninja workshop

95. Communication Ninja workshop
s Anal
ew ysis
N
Chess game pic

96. Communication Ninja workshop
How many do you know?
Tweet this!
Tweet this!
“Gather a list of bloggers/journalists you’re
“Always make sure you know who the
interested in, is and adjustand interact
audience follow them the story
with them, DAILY”
accordingly”

99. Communication Ninja workshop
How many do you know?
Tweet this!
Tweet this!
“Gather a list of bloggers/journalists you’re
“Your social in, follow them and interact
interested media channels are your story
trailers,them, DAILY”
with use them wisely”

100. Communication Ninja workshop
Bloggers textbook

101. Communication Ninja workshop
1. Not publication but journalist
2. Research the journalist’s topics
3. Send small excerpt (trailer) asking if interested
4. Build rapport bottom-up (3rd tier first)
5. Use different media: text + pics + video
6. Include all info: crunchbase profile+logo+other posts
7. Activity on Twitter, Facebook and your blog
8. Help them when they ask for info/contacts

102. Communication Ninja workshop
Tips & tricks: Twitter
1. Tease influential people into answering you
2. Space your tweets strategically (buffer app)
3. Share interesting links, not your own stuff
4. CC specific users (influencers, journalists, etc.) based
on the content you share
5. Tweet at least once a day
6. Bio + avatar extremely important
7. Personal accounts better - Personal branding
8. RT + comment on journalist’s stuff
9. Plaster your twitter everywhere! (@abarrera)

103. Communication Ninja workshop
DoUmo ArigatoU
http://www.press42.com
alex@press42.com
@42press / @abarrera
http://slideshare.net/press42