A ready reckoner on how startups can do PR themselves.

1. RECIPE
PERFECT
-2014

2. INGREDIENTS
The Perfect PR Recipe For Startups
#01
One ripe product
A generous helping of a media list
A flavourful pitch note
A sprinkle of social media extensions
A social media strategywell marinatedwith consumer insights
Preparation time: Depends on how efficient you are
Cooking time:It takes a while so be patient!
Servings: A whole lot of press people!
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3. Mise-en-place
Take the description of
a ripe product and shave
it down till you have a
well greased pitch note
Step 1.
Sprinkle the pitch note
with painpoints that your
product is solving
Step 2.
Divide your Media-List* into the
following categories. Calibrate
your outreach in terms of the
significance of your message
and stage of your business.
a) Startup Media
b) Trade Media
c) Financial Media
d) Mainline Media
e) Tech Blogs
Step 3.
#02
The Perfect PR Recipe For Startups*Refer to the glossary

4. The Perfect PR Recipe For Startups
#11
The essence of a PR plan lies in your media list and how well organised it is. Think of this list as a
basic and essential ingredient that will bring out the flavour of your PR dish.
Here are some groups across Facebook and Google where you can request people to share
relevant media lists
https://www.facebook.com/groups/medialist/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mediamovements/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/media.update/
https://groups.google.com/group/indian-pr-forum
#03
CHEf's TIP - The Media List

5. Chef’s Tip
Make sure your pitch note goes something like this
Greet the journalist
Introduce yourself and your startup and mention the intent of your email
Give a one line introduction to your delicious product followed by three to four aromatic
and tummy tickling lines on what your product does
Back your product with some statistics thereby implying why it’s going to do well
Give the journalist the link to your website where they can have a look at your product in
more detail
Offer to meet at the journalist’s office as per their convenience
Sign off using your complete name, Designation, Mobile Number, Website and Social
Media Channel Hyperlinks
If you have any prior press on the product, you may add that as well to the bottom
just to add a little spice
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The Perfect PR Recipe For Startups
#04

6. The Perfect PR Recipe For Startups
#05
Chef’s Sample Pitch Note
Hi,
My name is Aman and I am the co-founder of SocialFlip. I am writing to you to seek an
appointment to introduce our brand new offering, SocialFlip, and some of our upcoming
initiatives.
Social flip is a SAAS based drag and drop tool to create beautiful visual posts for Social Media.
Our tool helps:
In Nov 2013, Facebook claimed to have over 30 million active facebook brand pages managed
by Small Businesses, so we have market opportunity of $300 million. You can check us out on
www.socialflip.com.
I would be happy to meet you at your office in the coming week. Look forward to your response.
Regards
Aman Raj
Co-founder, SocialFlip
+91 9211 536956
a) SMEs and SMBs to leverage the power of visual content in their social media campaigns
b) Removes the hassle of recruiting and managing a design agency to create social media content
c) Helps marketers cut cost on designing and instead use that money for content promotion
Follow us on LinkedIn
We were recently covered by e27.

7. The Perfect PR Recipe For Startups
MEDIA BUFFET
Select the media you’re approaching keeping in mind the strength of your message and the
stage your venture is in
Appetizing Media Matrix
Media Type
Startup Media
Bloggers / Social Celebs
Trade Media
Financial Media
International Tech Blogs
Mainstream Media
5
3 .5
4 .5
3
2 .5
1
Approachability Reach Impact
1
1 .5
2
3
4
5
2
3
3 .5
4
5
5
#06

8. The Perfect PR Recipe For Startups
#07
The Side Dish
By now, all your social media extensions* should be ripe and ready to be served to the
public at large
Make sure you have a well thought out content strategy, so when your audience
follows you, they have reason to stay connected
Tip: Social Media is not to blow your own trumpet. Think of your customers and
what kind of content would they like.
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Serve a blend of owned and aggregated content
Usually: 1b. Pictures and text > plain text
2b. Text > Links
soediV>skniL.b3
a.
b.
*Refer to the glossary

9. The Perfect PR Recipe For Startups
#08
Garnish
Whenever your product gets covered, share the article/video on your social media
extensions
Never forget to thank the journalists - it helps in keeping the PR flavor rich

10. The Perfect PR Recipe For Startups
#09
Chef’s Media Engagement Recommendation
To make sure your PR is well seasoned at all times here’s how you need to continue
marinating your PR to ensure your startup gets the much needed boost to get noticed
Media Engagement Tools
Tool Type
Press Release*
Exclusive Pitch Note
Press Interactions
Huddles/casual meet ups
Mailer/Newsletter
1 / quarter
1 / month
1 / fortnight
1 / fortnight
1 / weekly
Frequency Significance
of pegs
Impact
5
3
2
0
1
5
3
Depends
1
1

11. The Perfect PR Recipe For Startups
#10
Baking A Good Press Release
A tasty press release* is something you need to use when you have a development
or a launch to announce. Here is what all you need to put in to bake a good press
release
An informative headline (make sure it’s not a sales pitch – makes the press release taste sour)
Dateline to make sure people reading it know it’s relevant
Lead paragraph that tells everyone reading it- who, what, when, where and why your reader
should taste your product
Body of your press release should have quotes from you (the founder), an advisor or mentor
relevant to the industry and any statistics or charts to give your press release depth and weight
The press release should also have a short note, Boiler Plate, towards the end
Top off your press release with your contact details at the end and sprinkle the details of your
social media extensions as well
Here’s a sample press release you can refer to: http://bit.ly/1rxxwxd
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*Refer to the glossary

12. The Perfect PR Recipe For Startups
#11
Glossary
Pitch Note - A suggested story idea that’s submitted to individual journalists via email. It gives
the reporter an idea for a story that they could write. If the journalist likes the idea and their
editors approve, they then write a story for their media outlet based on the suggestion. Pitches
tend to be shorter and more informal than press releases. The more personalized you make it
the better.
Press Release - A press release is generally longer than a pitch and provides details of
something newsworthy.
Social Media Extensions - These will comprise of your pages for your product or startup across
various social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn etc
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Media List - A list of reporters, their contact info & the name of the publication, website or channel
that they report for. A good media list should be updated once every few months as journalists
shift publications and roles .
Boiler Plate -A boilerplate is usually found at the end of a press release, and briefly describes
the company or organization related above. The short paragraph consisting of just a few
sentences concisely explains the company or organization.
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