PR for Startups: The 10 Step Process I Use to Get Press (2018 Update)
How do you do PR for startups?
For starters, you don’t hire an expensive public relations agency.
They cost you a ton of money – more than what you will spend if you build your own media relations[1]. They also cost you a ton of time that you waste explaining your product, service, story, and mission to the PR experts – without them being able to grasp the message in its entirety.
What’s more frustrating? They also try to dissuade you from reaching out to top media people, highlighting why it can be tough for a small business owner, like you, to grab the attention of a big journalist.
In short: They can’t get the job done. But you can and do it way better.
This translates into one action: STOP trying to hire the right PR agency and START doing press outreach yourself.
To do PR for Startups, use this straightforward process:
- Nail your One Sentence Value Prop
- Create a Contact List of Relevant Journalists
- Find Email Addresses of those Journalists
- Connect and Network with Journalists
- Write a Banging Email Pitch[2]
- Track your Email Pitches
- Improve your Pitches based on Open and Response Rates
- Follow up with the Journalists
- Prepare your Site for Media Coverage
- Perfect your Landing Page
Over time, the majority of startups realize that doing their own public relations saves them TONS of money, time and frustration plus gets better stories published about you.
The truth is that PR for startups is similar to building relationships with customers[3], its’ important work which takes time and effort but has a HUGE ROI.
I’ve done my public relations for 13+ years, published 1400+ articles[4] and got a startup acquired by Google[5] by employing unconventional PR methods. These days I run a software company which helps businesses pitch journalists and get featured in press all on their own.
Why do I do this? Because I don’t want startups to hire PR firms or just send a press release. I want startups to learn the skill of effective Public Relations themselves.