In the past week, I've had FOUR different people approach me asking for advice on how to create a PR strategy for their startup. I've never created a PR strategy, but over 5 years as a journalist I've had one or two spectacular relationships with startups (that I've covered multiple times, and passed on to others) and one or two terrible experiences with companies/individuals I would never write about again.
Here are some things that I've noticed (and some that I've messed up)
1) Relationships with the press are actual relationships. Journalists are people, not just PR-spewing machines. What does this mean? Find and cultivate relationships with journalists whom you enjoy working with and whose behavior you find professional. Keep them updated with occasional newsy - and ideally personalized - notes about what's happening at your company. If you throw a company party, invite them. If you're a real champ, remember occasional common interests/facts about them and use those to tailor your notes. Why? Because you will develop people who are familiar with your company, familiar with you, who actually like you, and who will call you for comments not just about your specific company, but also about your industry and sector. Encourage give-and-take in these relationships. Understand that sometimes they will write about you and sometimes they won't. (But the caveat here is: don't be fake about this. Don't pretend you like someone if you don't. Don't issue invitations and then blow people off. Don't pretend you remember the name of their sister, their dog and their favorite movie - when you don't. Don't be an asshole about your relationships, and don't give people an opportunity to question your sincerity.)
I know a guy in California who is great about this. Every 3-6 months, I get a friendly two-paragraph email that begins "Dear Anika - hope things are going well at CNN IBN" and then goes on in a casual and chatty way to mention what they've been up to lately. It's more like a Christmas card than a press release, and it keeps his company on my mind without being annoying.
2) Cultivate the bloggers. Everyone dreams of that six-page spread in the New York Times Magazine. But the vast majority of the media landscape comprises bloggers, trade publications and other small newsletters. These people can make or break a new company's name long before the NYT gets on the scene. These are the people who track developments in a specific industry, and they are people worth knowing and cultivating since they will write about your company again and again. Know your blogs. Know your beat writers. Most newspapers and websites assign reporters to cover specific subject areas, or "beats." If, for eg, you are a health startup, know who covers the health beat at the papers of note in your town. You will find beat correspondents at trade shows and industry events. These are the people to reach out to with exclusive insights/scoops and early demos of new products. They are the ones who will get excited about stuff like that.
Blogs are a great, great source of publicity for early-stage companies as well bc they're always on the lookout for content. They might even ask you to write yourself.
3) Tell your own story. I have gotten a ton of very pleasant, informative, interesting emails from new CEOs themselves. This is one of those things that startups can do. If your English is even halfway decent, write yourself. You know your company's story and what you're trying to do better than anyone else, and believe me, it shows. The resulting letter, even if it goes to several media houses, just feels different from a press release written by a random outsider. (I know some people don't have the time. But it really does make a difference, and it highlights one of the big differences between startups and big corporations - the personal attention that founders/leaders give to every detail of the company's presentation.) This also means: don't rely on friends to "pass your info along." If someone volunteers to do that, politely ask for the reporters' email so you can write to him/her yourself and follow up.
4) Do not be an annoying pest. Once you've made contact with a journalist, resist the urge to stalk them on FB, send them twice-daily emails asking about the status of a story, threaten them with violence if they don't write about you, etc. If someone declines to write about you, take it politely and - if they cover your beat and you would still be interested - say that you'll stay in touch. And then stay in touch!
5) You cannot control the narrative. Look, you just cannot do this. It sucks, but those are facts. It's a journalist's job to reach out to you for comment on a story that concerns your company. It's also their job to reach out to your competitors, your former employees, activists who think you're the Devil and possibly a whole lot of other people who may say bad things about you. If you happen to be in the situation - as a young nonprofit I know recently was - where you were the subject of a 500 word profile in a major national paper and 3 of those words were adjectives about your product that you did not like - that story was probably still a success for you. There is a difference between balanced reporting and bad reporting. Bad reporting is one-sided and incorrect. If neither of these is the case, then the reporter is doing his/her work, even if you don't love the end result.
6) Prep for a journalist the way you prep for an investor. You know how, before pitching/meeting an investor, you'll research his prior deal history, his interests and his firm? Do the same thing with the journalists you meet. Read a few of their articles, know the news outlet they work for. It will help you give them content that is relevant and that they can use. At the end of the day, it should be easy for them to write about you.
7) You can't expunge the record, but you can clarify. So you said something on the record, and now you wish you hadn't. This happens all the time. Resist the urge to call back and say, "Don't put that on the record!" The journalist may or may not comply with the request, but they will certainly hate you. That said, if you have to do a "takeback", call up, apologize, explain the problematic bit and your issue, and (if you can) clarify what you meant. And then let it go. Don't demand that it be struck from the record. Don't claim afterwards that things were "off the record" if they clearly weren't. That's deeply annoying and unprofessional.
Here are some things that I've noticed (and some that I've messed up)
1) Relationships with the press are actual relationships. Journalists are people, not just PR-spewing machines. What does this mean? Find and cultivate relationships with journalists whom you enjoy working with and whose behavior you find professional. Keep them updated with occasional newsy - and ideally personalized - notes about what's happening at your company. If you throw a company party, invite them. If you're a real champ, remember occasional common interests/facts about them and use those to tailor your notes. Why? Because you will develop people who are familiar with your company, familiar with you, who actually like you, and who will call you for comments not just about your specific company, but also about your industry and sector. Encourage give-and-take in these relationships. Understand that sometimes they will write about you and sometimes they won't. (But the caveat here is: don't be fake about this. Don't pretend you like someone if you don't. Don't issue invitations and then blow people off. Don't pretend you remember the name of their sister, their dog and their favorite movie - when you don't. Don't be an asshole about your relationships, and don't give people an opportunity to question your sincerity.)
I know a guy in California who is great about this. Every 3-6 months, I get a friendly two-paragraph email that begins "Dear Anika - hope things are going well at CNN IBN" and then goes on in a casual and chatty way to mention what they've been up to lately. It's more like a Christmas card than a press release, and it keeps his company on my mind without being annoying.
2) Cultivate the bloggers. Everyone dreams of that six-page spread in the New York Times Magazine. But the vast majority of the media landscape comprises bloggers, trade publications and other small newsletters. These people can make or break a new company's name long before the NYT gets on the scene. These are the people who track developments in a specific industry, and they are people worth knowing and cultivating since they will write about your company again and again. Know your blogs. Know your beat writers. Most newspapers and websites assign reporters to cover specific subject areas, or "beats." If, for eg, you are a health startup, know who covers the health beat at the papers of note in your town. You will find beat correspondents at trade shows and industry events. These are the people to reach out to with exclusive insights/scoops and early demos of new products. They are the ones who will get excited about stuff like that.
Blogs are a great, great source of publicity for early-stage companies as well bc they're always on the lookout for content. They might even ask you to write yourself.
3) Tell your own story. I have gotten a ton of very pleasant, informative, interesting emails from new CEOs themselves. This is one of those things that startups can do. If your English is even halfway decent, write yourself. You know your company's story and what you're trying to do better than anyone else, and believe me, it shows. The resulting letter, even if it goes to several media houses, just feels different from a press release written by a random outsider. (I know some people don't have the time. But it really does make a difference, and it highlights one of the big differences between startups and big corporations - the personal attention that founders/leaders give to every detail of the company's presentation.) This also means: don't rely on friends to "pass your info along." If someone volunteers to do that, politely ask for the reporters' email so you can write to him/her yourself and follow up.
4) Do not be an annoying pest. Once you've made contact with a journalist, resist the urge to stalk them on FB, send them twice-daily emails asking about the status of a story, threaten them with violence if they don't write about you, etc. If someone declines to write about you, take it politely and - if they cover your beat and you would still be interested - say that you'll stay in touch. And then stay in touch!
5) You cannot control the narrative. Look, you just cannot do this. It sucks, but those are facts. It's a journalist's job to reach out to you for comment on a story that concerns your company. It's also their job to reach out to your competitors, your former employees, activists who think you're the Devil and possibly a whole lot of other people who may say bad things about you. If you happen to be in the situation - as a young nonprofit I know recently was - where you were the subject of a 500 word profile in a major national paper and 3 of those words were adjectives about your product that you did not like - that story was probably still a success for you. There is a difference between balanced reporting and bad reporting. Bad reporting is one-sided and incorrect. If neither of these is the case, then the reporter is doing his/her work, even if you don't love the end result.
6) Prep for a journalist the way you prep for an investor. You know how, before pitching/meeting an investor, you'll research his prior deal history, his interests and his firm? Do the same thing with the journalists you meet. Read a few of their articles, know the news outlet they work for. It will help you give them content that is relevant and that they can use. At the end of the day, it should be easy for them to write about you.
7) You can't expunge the record, but you can clarify. So you said something on the record, and now you wish you hadn't. This happens all the time. Resist the urge to call back and say, "Don't put that on the record!" The journalist may or may not comply with the request, but they will certainly hate you. That said, if you have to do a "takeback", call up, apologize, explain the problematic bit and your issue, and (if you can) clarify what you meant. And then let it go. Don't demand that it be struck from the record. Don't claim afterwards that things were "off the record" if they clearly weren't. That's deeply annoying and unprofessional.
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