Congratulations! You’re a new startup founder. Perhaps you already have sales traction or raised some venture capital or both. Your product may be unique, impactful, and groundbreaking, but the fact of the matter is - one day, you will be ready to take marketing to the next level with some PR.
When that day comes, you could very well choose to ignore PR and continue focusing on ads and sales. It’s a legitimate option, especially for bootstrapped startups focusing on consumers. You could also begin your PR journey early and reap the rewards that come with it. But even so, there’s a lot that can go wrong, and allocated resources to PR could end up being wasted or not fully made use of.
An issue with PR is often that the first PR needs arise at times when no PR expertise is present. Founders are often lacking a ‘PR hat’. This guide is intended for everyone - those with a real PR need, those that are cynical of PR, and those that simply want to be prepared in advance. I’ll aim to cover the information gap and provide a realistic framework for early-stage startups.
You might still wonder, why PR? Well, firstly, what is PR? Is it vanity for self-obsessed founders? Well, for some, maybe. But for the vast majority, it’s a tool to use as part of your startup arsenal. A good public image can smoothen the process of attracting investors, partners, talent, and customers. These stakeholders need to make decisions. Whether it’s investing in you or joining your company as an employee, any stakeholder needs to be able to judge whether they are making not a good decision.
Good ‘earned media’ is not the only factor to consider with PR. Before you pull your bells and whistles out, as a PR friend of mine says, you will still need to do all the other basic things right. Making a good impression in a call or face-to-face meeting, good customer experience trying out your product, and good reviews on platforms like TrustPilot, Google, and the app stores. You name it.
Then there’s the type of PR that deals with third-party validation from the media. One advantage is that it carries the brand of the media outlet, which could be a valuable brand already. An actual human who makes a living out of, and a reputation out of, writing articles on industries, themes, and stories is now making you part of the conversation. Made it!
Sometimes, even looking good won’t cut it. You need to be and look ‘best in class’. Your stakeholders, in every decision they make, will have a cost of opportunity. You have to stand out from the choice not taken. Your stakeholders could invest in, or join, another startup. But they won’t just take it from you that you are the best choice. Over time, storytelling and PR will become more and more important as you fine-tune to increasingly come out as the winner in these decisions.
But PR can be particularly challenging for early-stage startups that lack time and resources, especially in countries where English isn't the native language and marketing talent is less abundant. However, it’s not impossible. The startup PR game follows a few fundamental principles that, if understood, can alleviate much of the perceived burden, enabling even small teams to begin executing and accumulating PR victories.
Here are six key areas with the most important actionable and theoretical insights to help you kickstart your startup's PR journey.
Make an effort before you speak to journalists
Let's begin with the basics. Prior to initiating any media relations efforts, it is crucial to ensure a presentable appearance. If you're prepared to engage in PR activities, there's no justification for not having a well-designed, user-friendly website. Journalists value clear information regarding products, benefits, and features, but they also seek details about the company and its founders. An 'About Us’ section is essential, and including a dedicated press section is highly recommended.
Likewise, maintaining a polished social media presence is crucial. In the realm of PR, Twitter and LinkedIn stand out as the most significant social platforms. Many startups may feel uncertain about their Twitter presence. The key here is to create a well-curated profile. Content shared on LinkedIn can be condensed and adapted to fit the Twitter format.
Too many worry about needing to keep up with a flood of content on Twitter if they open an account. Don’t over-worry at this stage!
Newsworthiness is the key to everything in PR
To grasp the workings of PR, it's essential to comprehend newsworthiness and the thought process of journalists. Journalists and editors determine what is worth covering daily, and when you send a pitch, they evaluate the newsworthiness of your story or startup. Think of it as a ‘score’ that your story gets from journalists. You should figure out this score and how to maximize it before you even send out the pitch. But be careful, journalists can smell BS, and exaggerating or lying will mean your story won’t get covered!
Newsworthiness consists of five primary elements. The first is timeliness. Certain news items, such as fundraising announcements, partnerships, product launches, and country expansions, are extremely time-sensitive. These announcements, sent to the appropriate publications, will be covered. Why? These publications make a living (attract traffic) thanks to being a go-to source for real-time news.
Another aspect of timeliness is understanding how the current news agenda relates to your pitch. For example, following the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, journalists might be more receptive to pitches that talk about banking for startups or fintechs. During this AI craze, there are also opportunities to pitch stories around AI that may have not come to light yet - an overlap with a vertical, a new use that can be of benefit, or a case study of a small business that grew big thanks to it. We’re already seeing it. AI in fintech, AI in PR,, AI in startup investing… you name it!
The second element of newsworthiness is impact. Impact relates to size. Bigger is typically better. It can be assessed in terms of funding raised, yearly revenue, employee count, user numbers, or the number of international offices. However, less tangible factors, like the effect or potential effect your product has on an individual's life, are also important. For instance - can your new technology save lives in a way that was impossible before? Even if just one life was saved, if you can prove it, that is a huge impact. Generally, as your startup grows, its impact, and therefore newsworthiness, increases.
The third aspect is geography, an important one for very early-stage startups. Simply put, a Lithuanian startup will interest Lithuanian media outlets before potentially being ready for international outlets. Even at an early stage with minimal traction, local media opportunities will arise. There are country-level publications (e.g., El Referente, Spain) and city-level publications (Silicon Hills, Austin and San Antonio). There are even multi-country regional media, such as Arctic Startup for the Nordics/Baltics, AIN Capital for Central and Eastern Europe or e27 and Tech in Asia for Southeast Asia. To have a realistic shot at top-tier global outlets that don’t prioritize based on geography, more newsworthiness in areas like impact and timeliness is necessary.
Lastly, we have celebrity and conflict. These are less common for startups to leverage for newsworthiness and more in the remit of more mature organizations. Celebrity investors like football players or actors can help make your story more newsworthy or secure additional coverage, as is the case with Raheem Starling and the startup Oja. On the other hand, hiring a celebrity for an ad or as an influencer is an expensive matter. The current state of the startup industry prevents most startups from looking into it.
And when it comes to conflict, we’re not really talking about a David versus Goliath narrative. It’s rather the nasty business of lawsuits and accusations. It's generally not employed intentionally and may be better left off to the remit of crisis comms.
For startups and their fast-paced yet vulnerable journey, it’s wiser to avoid conflict when it comes to PR.
Founder PR, thought leadership and contributed content
Thought leadership can be an influential strategy if pursued with commitment. In the startup realm, founders are vital, as the startup idea and execution often hinge on their story and ability to execute. Journalists recognize this and consistently seek the founder's perspective. In fact, it would be unusual, or even a warning sign, if a journalist could not find information about the founders. Therefore, we view founders as indispensable in a startup's PR strategy.
What sets startup founders apart from lifestyle business owners is their motivation to make a real difference in the world, rather than simply aiming for financial gain. They identify industry inefficiencies or products that can benefit people and seek to drive change. This means they likely have strong opinions on their industry, global affairs, and business management. Sharing these perspectives and fostering public conversations is the essence of thought leadership.\
Elevating a founder's profile can lead to various opportunities, such as interviews, podcasts, and speaking engagements. Founders should be encouraged to maintain a polished social media presence, preferably in English.
Another benefit of cultivating thought leadership is the appeal it holds for publications seeking contributors. The media landscape is shifting, with publications needing to produce more content with fewer staff members. But, at the same time, the quality of the content needs to be upheld. This has led to the rise of contributed content from guest authors possessing deep expertise, which presents an excellent opportunity for startup founders with demonstrable expertise and experience.
Some founders are worried about doing founder PR for being perceived as vain or not looking enough after other affairs. PR is always going to be one of the things a founder (or CEO) should be concerned with, together with fundraising and hiring. Only the founder will be an acceptable speaker at certain events, only the founder will get certain media attention, and these are all tools to advance the PR of the company. This does not mean you should obsess with growing your following on Twitter all day and getting media interviews every couple of weeks. It also doesn’t mean you should spend 33% of your time with PR. On the other extreme, no PR at all with the founder, at some point, will simply stand out as odd and eventually even suspicious.
Join the dots between your newsworthiness and the media that cares
Now that you have a grasp of what drives journalists to consider your startup's potential newsworthiness and the media outlets you should target. The best place to start is usually at the intersection of local and trade media - PR pros call this ‘niching down’.
Reflect on your location and the local startup media available. If you operate internationally, explore local media in other countries based on your presence there (impact). As you gain traction and possibly secure VC funding, consider podcasts covering the national or regional scene, as well as regional outlets. Although these outlets might be in the local language, it's essential to cultivate relationships with them.
Take into account your industry vertical. Typically, verticals align well with trade media. Traditional trade media often accommodate startups, and numerous trade media outlets focus on technology. For instance, if you are an HRTech, you should become acquainted with the numerous publications following the latest trends in technology and HR best practices. Regardless of your country of origin, be it the US, the UK or Belgium, these outlets are interested in news and insights from HRTech.
You should not just forget about your wish list of media outlets where you'd like to be featured. However, bear in mind the concept of newsworthiness, and evaluate the stage your startup must reach to have a realistic chance of achieving that coverage. For example, an early-stage startup is unlikely to land in TechCrunch without a funding round, and an engaging story pitched as an exclusive. Reading all of these publications and understanding them better will be a great habit that can also yield double benefits - you stay informed, and also you understand what makes news.
When targeting any publication, ensure you understand their coverage topics, and article types, and pay attention to informative articles on how their team prefers to receive pitches.
Finally, assess the founder’s potential to do thought leadership. Were the experiences before day one at the new startup already noteworthy enough that contributed content could be placed in bigger publications? Do they have a lot of podcasts, event speeches, and live interviews under their belt?
Ways to think about your PR activity
While you can achieve PR success with an ad-hoc approach, planning can make PR seem less like an enigmatic art and more like a structured, predictable system. With the steps outlined earlier, you should now have a basic understanding of the most important principles.
Now, it's time to "media map" and get practical. Use this to get your hands dirty, understand what newsworthiness you have to offer and pinpoint the precise opportunities to pursue for your startup. It might be that you can’t get wins today, but it will definitely not be a waste of time - you’ll have that “PR hat” available for when the time comes.
You can think of the activity phase in terms of different train tracks. Explore "timeless opportunities" such as founder Q&As, startup profiles, podcasts, and more. Understand what these outlets seek in a startup. Sometimes, they require a VC investment or substantial revenue traction. In other cases, they look for recently launched startups.
If you're able to write guest articles, verify if the publications accept them and do pursue them. Usually, there will be guidelines on how to write and pitch these articles or you can get in touch with the outlet’s editor. And of course, exploit the timeliness of news and announcements, but make sure they are actually newsworthy in your industry. Raising money is not the same as expanding to another country, which is not the same as launching a new feature. Please don’t announce a website revamp to the media.
Rock and roll
Ready to plan? Prioritize critical news and announcements. Anticipate what will transpire at your startup in the next 6 to 12 months, but maintain flexibility. Remember that dates are more likely to move at startups (God knows how many times we’ve witnessed this). Strive to be ready, though. Strive for steady, consistent PR activity, capitalizing on timeless opportunities during months with little news.
Ready to execute? There are various tracks in PR, and you can go at different speeds in each if necessary. The strength could lie in founder PR, or a truly innovative and game-changing product, or on the capability of the company to generate valuable data. Double down on your strengths and work on your weaknesses. Now you have a PR hat, so try it on and see the world through a new lens. Good luck out there!