I am releasing a new startup product. What is the best way to get press coverage? (Should I write a press release?)

I just did this within the past couple of weeks and got coverage in 5 different papers, 1 radio show, 1 blog, and we were invited to TechWeek NYC- here is the exact process I followed. 1. Create a media list in advance. I used excel and started listing all the papers, blogs, etc that I wanted to get featured in. Then I turned to who is the most likely person that would cover us. So now I had the paper and the reporter. Then I created a couple more columns including their potential reach and likelihood of writing about us. 2. After all that was done I hit up social media and followed all of these people on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+. 3. I started with a very brief message like this: I have read your work in _____ for a while and I love that you cover________. We've been working on a new product that does __________. I plan on releasing it on ________. Think this will be great for your readers. 4. Then I waited a few days and really got no replies.. but now they all knew who I was. 5. I followed that up with a direct email offering about why the timing was so important (for us it was the government shutdown and Obamacare). And shared a brief paragraph on our platform with links to the site. 6. for the really popular sites like Techcrunch and Venturebeat I really think you need to make a direct connect with one of the journalists. I choose VentureBeat because I thought it was a better fit for us plus their was a journalist who I had followed for some time and wrote about our market. 7. the local papers should be pretty likely to run a story so for them build up the fact that you are local and you are doing great things... they will eat it up. 8. I then called any of the ones that expressed any interest to make sure we pulled it over the finish line and we got the coverage. 9. when they ask you a question or to back up one of your statements follow up with them ASAP since they are waiting for that to complete the story. 10. after the article goes live, promote the hell out of it.. the more readers, the more buzz, the more likely they will take your call the next time. 11. make sure you follow up with a thank you and offer to help them if they have any other stories related to your industry. This process take a lot of time and energy so if you half-ass it you will not be successful. This is also a great read on the subject:  http://jasonlbaptiste.com/featured-articles/how-i-pitched-techcrunch-and-13-ways-to-get-press-when-you-launch-your-startup/

There is a lot written about that topic. My normal procedure goes something like this: Release as early and as often as possible to get feedback. Start with fff (Friends, Family & Fools) Find early adopters that love your product. Where you directly solve their problem statement. (e.g. http://betali.st is a great website to drive traffic) Talk a lot to them. Extend them also with media contacts. Then you should have some contacts already, that also helps you when you want to generate more traffic. If you are ready for a press release, read this: http://www.slideshare.net/BallouPR1/ballou-pr-startup-pr-how-to-get-it-startup-week-europe-oct-2011 Some basic things: Have media content for print & online (screenshots, images of founders, pr articles) on the website. Find the most important media contacts in your target group and write them personally Find local press contacts and write them personally (people love to report from new local companies, unless you are from the bay area) Always optimize your products for social sharing. What are the things in your product that you would share with your friends? If you get the viral factor over 1.000001 your product will be a success, given enough time. A press release works best, when the journalists already heard from your product... hope this helps.

You will definitely require a press release. But where that press release will go, that is the question.So, the question remains, how to get their attention and not end up landing in the spam/delete folder.We recently did a video interview for our expert interview series called #BiteSize. Steve Young, Founder of AppMasters, who has been doing app marketing and PR for a very long time, gave away a brilliant hack to get a reporter's attention. So, here's the thing, step-by-step process to get press coverage:Step 1:Figure out the exact name, designation, location, and publication of the reporter to whom you want to pitch your startup[Yes, this includes a lot of research. But, it is better than sending 100 mails to random reporters]Step 2:Once you get the name and the other details, search for that reporter on Instagram. Yes, Instagram. Not Twitter, not Facebook, but INSTAGRAM.Step 3:Go through that person's profile and figure out his/her interest areas. Yes, spend some time going through the profile and get those interest areas, like, food, travel, fashion, makeup, etc.If the account is private, send a request and then do the Step 3.LOGIC: Because Instagram is really personal to who you are as a person, unlike Twitter and Facebook where people share content which is both for personal and professional interest.Step 4:Once you know that person's liking, pick up the most recent post of his/her Instagram account and make that as your subject line. (I am assuming you know how to find the email addresses of reporters, if not, https://emailhunter.co/)Got the drift?Here's an example, how Steve created his subject line: http://arkenea.com/blog/steve-young-press-coverage Step 5:Once the reporter replies to your mail, talk a little bit more. Build a relationship and then, go into your actual pitch!and then, Voila!Disclaimer: The success rate of this hack is directly proportional to your communication skills and the quality of your product.Hope this helps!All the best entrepreneurs!

Press releases is a must, but don't count on them if your news is not really breaking. Journalists are looking through hundreds of press releases daily searching for smth really NEW, rocking and interesting. Prepare a press-kit of high quality and get in touch with journalists and editors of your field directly. Make research and find bloggers who may be interested in your startup (be sure to provide them with all the necessary info and visual materials to grab their attention from the first message) I can also advice you to send info about your startup to the resources specializing on new projects (http://www.killerstartups.com/ and etc. ) Good luck!

To be honest, I'd get traction and be sure the bugs are worked out before you seek out PR. A product that has 100 adopters isn't half as interesting as a product that already has momentum. Be the "secret" awesome thing taking off that they don't know about...not the thing waiting in the wings for them to kickstart. There is a big difference in perception there.

Here are some points that might be useful when contacting journalists to get press coverage. They are taken from our guide - https://www.hey.press/how-to-get-press-coverage-for-your-startup. For more and examples, check out the guide - hope it's useful! What's in it for their readers? Before even pitching a journalist, you need to ask yourself this question. A product launch is rarely a good story - it needs to be interesting to the journalist's readers. For example, an amazing new piece of tech that makes you think "wow, humans are pretty cool", or an inspiring story about a mum entrepreneur, or an idea so ridiculous it worked. If you're pitching a publication, read their latest articles to see what they write about. VentureBeat writes mostly about funding rounds - so is it worthwhile pitching them your product launch? Maybe not. If you're not sure why a publication's readers would be interested in you, then perhaps you shouldn't go after news coverage at all - but you might find Product Hunt or Hacker News or Reddit worthwhile. Targeted. We know first-hand that a relevant pitch to a handful of journalists (15 - 30) is far more effective than blasting a mail merge to hundreds of writers. If you're pitching someone, make sure you know what they write about. Don't pitch your Snapchat-esque app launch to someone who writes about acquisitions or SaaS startups. Try to find journalists you have a connection to (e.g. are you London-based? Do you know who likes to write about London startups?). See which journalists write about your vertical (e.g. are you a virtual reality gaming startup?). https://www.hey.press/ can help speed up your research to find relevant journalists - try searching for a) companies that are similar to you, or b) the city you live in, or c) your industry niche. Once you've done that, get to know the journalists by reading what they've written! Contact 1 week before launch. Journalists need time to write a story, so generally don't like being contacted the day before your launch with a message that says "hey, we're launching tomorrow!". That's like getting optional homework with a 1-day deadline. However, you don't want to contact too soon either - or you won't be a priority. From our research, most journalists agree 1 week is best. Offer the exclusive. This is mostly important for startup or industry niche news. Before contacting any other publications, contact the one publication you really want coverage at and offer them the exclusive - if they immediately decline, then offer the next publication on your list the exclusive. If there are now only 5 days until launch, then forget about the exclusive and contact everyone on your list! Persist. Journalists are busy, so if you don't hear back, don't be offended. Just send them a one-line reminder. Offering them the exclusive is a great excuse to send a reminder within a short period of time (the following day, or even later the same day). "Hi X, haven't heard back yet but would really like to offer you guys the exclusive. If you don't want it, please could you let me know today so I can offer it to someone else". You might get a short reply from the journalist, such as "Not interested". That's fine - don't email them again, but if you don't hear anything then I'd continue following up every couple of days until you've actually launched.

Whatever the product is, read the top 10-15 publications in tech, deeply, and find writers who might like it. Write a 125-word email to each one, uniquely, saying what it is, what it does, and ask if they'd like to try it before launch. If they say yes, also offer to have a chat with them. That's the best way to get press for just about anything. Forget about the press release.

I would definitely recommend writing a press release and targeting it to a very specific audience. If you choose the right service, it can be very low cost with potentially great returns. To get the attention of bloggers in particular, BlogDash (http://www.blogdash.com/) is a great tool to reach out and hopefully build some lasting relationships with up and coming influencers.

Press release is pretty standard, but does not get your very far usually. You usually want to have a very targeted launch press release. The most common approach for a lot of startups is to launch on Techcrunch, but that may or may not be the best approach for your startup. You need to first figure out where your users and customers are. There is no right answer. For example, if you are doing something social, Mashable maybe a very good platform to announce your product. However, if you are catering to the wine market, you may want to do it through Wine Spectator magazine. Usually, you should identity your users and figure out the sites your users usually visit, and the publication your users read. With these 2 information, you should know very well where to get the correct press coverage for your startup.