HOW TO APPROACH THE PRESS

CLARITY PR

Y U WANT PRESS?

“We want to be on TechCrunch” is not a reason

• User acquisition

• Business leads/key hires• Investors

Do you even need press? What are your goals?

• Brand awareness

CLARITY PR

• Have a marketing & PR strategy

• Name a spokesperson

• Have a detailed list of target media

• Nail your messaging!

• Have a record of actions and follow-ups

CLARITY PR

GET ORGANISED

HAVE MESSAGING

• What are you? Who is behind you? • What three words describe you? • What problems do you solve? • How does it work? • Who are your customers? Competitors? •Differentiators/benefits? • Challenges? • Future? • Industry insights?

CLARITY PR

CLARITY PR

THE JOURNALIST’S BRAIN

“I wrote an average of 5 posts a day, churning out nearly 1,740 articles over the course of 20 months”

“Days were a blur of furious typing, rushed calls, and ignoring everything that wasn’t news (like food and water)”

CONFESSIONS OF AN EX TECH JOURNALIST - BEKAH GRANT VENTUREBEAT

“Keep in mind that your pitch is one amidst hordes. Our

inboxes are overwhelming”

“Reporters can sometimes seem standoffish, skittish,

bitter, unresponsive, or downright grumpy”

• Know which journo you are talking to

• A product launch or investment is NOT enough

CLARITY PR

HELP JOURNALISTS TO DO THEIR JOB

• Cover the news, NOT your company

• Know their “beat”, their passions, their deadlines

• Don’t pester or be unpleasant

CLARITY PR

• Your story needs to be NEWSWORTHY

• Timeliness, significance, proximity, prominence and human interest

• Don’t “spray and pray”

“If your pitch sucks, you won’t get published”

CLARITY PR

• Give the “the why” ASAP

• Include next steps and ALL resources

• Keep it brief - add additional info at end

• Industry endorsements and other press

• Get a great subject-line

THE PRESS RELEASE

Hi there, I’m writing to you about COMPANYNAME (www.COMPANYNAME.com) CrunchBase profile. They have just Xxxxxxxx. They currently have close to x million clients across xx countries and offer xxxxx in xx different languages. Their main competitors are: • COMPETITORNAME• COMPETITORNAME• COMPETITORNAME The full press release is pasted below and their logo can be found here:wp-content/uploads/COMPANYNAME.png A few key stats - the company currently: - develops around Xxxx apps a month- has increased revenues by xx% over the last x months- counts the US and UK as its 2 biggest markets followed by Brazil and Italy Your colleague Xxxxxxx xxxx covered their first round of funding in 2012. Here's the URL....

THE EFFECTIVE PITCHCLARITY PR

FROM MIKE BUTCHER – TECHCRUNCH

• A quirky back story/narrative• Exclusive access to key players

• Pitch analysis/opinions/white papersANALYSIS - unique, useful content

PROFILES - give us a personal view

EXPERIENCE - sharable insights and actions• Share what you know/what you’ve learned• Industry transparency

CLARITY PR

CONTRIBUTE CONTENT

• Be helpful. Give tips if you have them

• Get on panels, debates and discussions

Get known as the “go-to guy” for your industry

• Be pro-active. The media *needs* content

CLARITY PR

PIMP YOURSELF

• Align these things

IN SUMMARY

• Think about what a journalist wants to achieve• Think about what you want to achieve

• Get connected in real life

• Offer your expertise

• Be nice, be human, be helpful

CLARITY PR

GET IN TOUCH

clarity.pr

•@linseyfryatt• linkedin.com/in/linseyfryatt• www.slideshare.net/linseyfryatt

CLARITY PR