PR do's and dont's for startups

1. PR do’s and dont’s for Startups

2. •Founded in 2009
•Since August 2012 back at The Next Web
•Started as an “Online Press release service”
•Now becoming a full-featured PR toolkit
PressDoc

3. •Your online newsroom, fully customizable
•Press releases, optimized for SEO and Social Media
•Pressmarks, bookmark third-party articles
•Distribute to journalists with the Presslists feature
•Manage your Presskit with the Media library
•Real-time statistics on your campaigns
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4. 5 PR dont’s for startups

5. •Getting coverage for a product that is not yet ready
•“We are in pre-alpha, but we want everybody to sign up!”
•Journalists and potential users will want to try your
product
Don’t get coverage too early

6. •Quality > quantity
•Journalists receive spam all day long
•You’ll get a bad reputation with journalists
•Avoid distribution networks, it doesn’t work that way
•“I’ve sent my press release to 5000 media contacts in
BCC”
Don’t spam journalists

7. • “I blogged about it, now they will write.”
•Word-of-mouth is hard to measure
•Take initiative to get coverage on your news
Don’t rely on word-of-mouth

8. •Most stories journalists receive isn’t really news
•“We 'exist', hurray! Can you write a post?”
•Be sure what you wish to announce is news (ask
yourself what you would want to read about other
startups).
Don’t push a story that is not news

9. •Journalist want an interesting story for their audience,
not an ever-long pitch on how awesome your product is.
•Always point out why the news is interesting for the
readers/journalists.
•Avoid exclamation marks behind each sentence!!!
Don’t make it a commercial story

10. 5 PR do’s for Startups

11. •PR = Personal Relations
•Give heads up about news
•Get to know them before you need them
•Do your homework
•Be a source
Do form relationships with journalists

12. •Don’t rule out the lazy journalists, if it’s written properly
they’ll copy your paragraphs.
•It forces you to think about what is important for your
and the journalists’ audience.
Do write as if it where actual an article

13. •Give favorite journalists early-access under Embargo
•Save your embargoes for journalists with a high chance
to write about you.
•Be honest about it (who else got the embargo)
Do make journalists feel special

14. •There are more newsworthy stories to tell besides your
launch, and acquisitions.
•You might’ve broken a cool record in sign ups, social
shares, revenue or a new feature.
•Keep the buzz going, don’t fade to the background.
•Keep presskits, images, FAQs and other press related
materials up-to-date!
Do invest time in PR constantly

15. •Build a great product that people love and care about!
•Journalists love to write about companies people like
Do show it when people love your service

16. Any questions?