Many small business owners think that doing PR means filling up reporters' inboxes with email after email detailing how their companies are the greatest thing since sliced bread, when in truth, they're just another startup.
I'm not saying your company isn't interesting, but I am saying that what reporters and influencers find interesting could differ very widely from what you do. Once you've launched your startup, you'll want to interest as many reporters and influencers as possible. To do this, you need to follow these six PR tips for startups:
1. Build relationships with reporters or influencers.
That first “touch” with a reporter can be a little tricky. You don't want to spam reporters with emails, but you also don't want to be disingenuous. Here is an example of an email I like to send members of the media to get the relationship ball rolling:
Hello John Media,
Caught your article in reallygreattechsite.com and, wow, really good stuff. My company [your company name] works in that space, specifically [relevant area]. You offered some great insights about our industry, especially that part about the [specific portion of the article]. That is especially cool.
Full disclosure, I'm writing as both an admirer of your work and to make a connection. If you should ever need a resource for a quote or clarification about [something your company does], I'm at your disposal. Or, I can connect you with any member of our product team who can go into more detail. My contact information is below.
Again, great work!
Best,
Mike Kappel”
You can say something very similar to this on social networks, only smaller. A good mix of transparency and purpose goes a long way.
2. Understand what subject(s) they cover.
Nothing will get your startup PR efforts shut down faster than pitching a story to a reporter about a subject they do not cover. What it tells a reporter is that you think of them as nothing more than a glorified megaphone. I can tell a reporter about my company's payroll software for small business, but if they only report the latest sports news, I would be wasting my time.
Think about it. What if you just struck up a random conversation with someone you met on the street, and you just started talking about whatever you found interesting, without the slightest concern for their time or what they do. How do you think that person would feel? How would you feel? Now, think about the times you've run into someone at an event where you were both passionate about what was going on. You exchanged opinions. You shared personal stories. You made a relationship.
3. Pitch your story during times when it's relevant.
A common thing I hear from PR professionals is that they hate when, right after they write an article on a particular subject, people immediately pitch more ideas about that same subject–as if all that reporter does is write articles about online payroll and startup tech companies, for example.
Another complaint: asking reporters to write about topics that are out of season for that reporter's readership. If you really want to implement a good startup PR strategy, you need to know when stories and angles originating in your company might be relevant to the readerships of those reporters you're pitching to.
Finally, understand that it takes time to get bigger stories written. Tweets and social shares can happen in seconds, but articles and editorial spreads can take months. If you're looking at a website's editorial calendar and are pitching stories that you believe might be a fit, you'll want to do that months in advance.
4. Craft your story to highlight themes and points that the reporter commonly covers.
Here at Patriot Software we use a concept called the Patriot Story Cow. Basically, we say that we have one big hunk of “story beef” that we carve into many story cuts, depending on the tastes of the venue we're pitching to.
For example, here are three facts about my company:
- Patriot Software got started in the basement of a factory.
- We're a Software as a Service (SaaS) company that does accounting and payroll software.
- We serve American small business owners.
These three things can all be “spun” different ways. A pitch to a venue that covers small business ownership may highlight poignant examples of how we've helped small business owners in the past. Alternatively, a pitch to a more entrepreneur-focused venue may include details about the hard lessons learned through starting up my company in a wet, cold basement.
5. Know the dos and don'ts of building connections.
When I began doing PR for myself, I researched the ideal method to present a “pitch” to a reporter. Here is what I learned:
Don't pitch content to reporters that's not relevant to their audience. In other words, if a reporter doesn't cover what your business is doing, why are you telling them about it?
Do read a reporter's previous work to see where their interests lie, and what type of content they've already covered. Reporters work hard to be successful at their craft, so put some purposeful effort into discovering the topics that they cover.
Don't spam reporters with requests for media coverage if they don't respond to you. They receive a lot of requests on a daily basis, and they can't respond to all of them.
Do make yourself available as a resource to be tapped into at their convenience. You'll have a better chance at getting publicity working with a reporter's schedule rather than if you try to coerce them to work according to your schedule.
Don't assume that writing about a niche topic means that they are interested in writing about the same topic immediately afterward.
Do invest in making your story as concise, interesting, and relevant as possible. A short intro about who you are, what your startup is doing, and how it stands apart is much better than a novel detailing every aspect of your operation's existence.
Don't follow up with aggressive or angry emails if the reporter hasn't responded. It's not becoming of a professional, and there isn't a chance that it will deliver the result that you're after.
Lastly, do not get discouraged. Pitching stories about your company and making connections with members of the media is all about being persistent.
6. Respect the media.
If one of your pitches does get accepted by a member of the media, work with them, not against them.
Nothing is more annoying for a professional writer and journalist than when a non-professional tries to dictate everything that professional must say and do. There is a difference between correcting errors and making sure that facts are respected and correct, but beyond that, you should respect a media member's ability to craft a story that their venue and readership will care about.
PR is about relationships. I'll say it again: PR is about relationships. If you want to maintain a relationship with a member of the media, you need to be collaborative with them. When they agree to write your story, they are not agreeing to be your personal caretaker or scribe. Guide them, but do not suffocate them.
DIY PR
Many small business don't have the money to do extensive marketing, let alone pay a PR professional on retainer. That's okay–you don't have to. All you have to do is be a good networker and relationship builder. PR firms may have standing connections they can reach faster than you can make them, but they still control the access. If you've made your own connections, you have your own network and can rely on yourself.
The post Here's How to Make Headlines: 6 Best PR Practices for Startups appeared first on AllBusiness.com
The post Here's How to Make Headlines: 6 Best PR Practices for Startups appeared first on AllBusiness.com.
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