8 ms·

Where to submit your startup for some coverage

235 points by peeplaja 16y ago

bradmccarty 16y ago
The Next Web - brad@thenextweb.com
- acangiano 16y ago
  I took you up on the offer. ;-)
  - bradmccarty 16y ago
    As have about 10 other so far. As an FYI, we're only writing up 1 tonight (AnyNewBooks?) and will sort thru the rest for posting soon. I really do appreciate the submissions though. Please, keep them coming. I live for this stuff.
    - acangiano 16y ago
      Thank you so much for the coverage, Brad. Link: http://thenextweb.com/apps/2010/10/05/any-new-books-is-a-killer-app-for-serious-readers/ http://thenextweb.com/apps/2010/10/05/any-new-books-is-a-kil...
      - bradmccarty 16y ago
        Really a killer idea. Love it. We have a few more we'll be covering later, as I said. I'm really impressed with what I've been sent tonight. Nice job, HN folks.
andjones 16y ago
This information is invaluable. This is a great way to attract some traffic / get valuable feedback. I once posted an early version of one of my sites on the craigslist forum for feedback. The responses were not helpful.
wensing 16y ago
Does anyone know how long it usually takes to get your startup added to CrunchBase? My submission for Stormpulse has been in pending status since 9/23.
- ElbertF 16y ago
  Mine took a couple of days at most, it was more than a year ago though.
- peeplaja 16y ago
  It was a couple of days for me too.
- mkuhn 16y ago
  Less than a day for me a few weeks back.
zuggywugg 16y ago
Nice list, thank you.
rafelio 16y ago
Maybe never :( it depends
jacquesm 16y ago
Interesting that HN is missing, I've seen sites launched (not always voluntarily!) by a single posting to HN, and I've seen how much coverage you can get from here when announcing my 'two week' project reocities.com . That seems like an oversight.
- chime 16y ago
  I thought the same. I posted cakesy.com last night and have already received over 10k uniques via HN. Even if it hadn't made it past top 10, it would still be 500+ uniques. Wouldn't compare against 80k hits via TechCrunch but it might end up a better plan if your potential users are hackers.
  - aaroneous 16y ago
    TechCrunch won't deliver 80k uniques. If you got 10k via HN then that's a lot more than TC has been sending these days.
    - chime 16y ago
      That's definitely news to me. I was quoting figures from 2007 and 2008 when two of my sites got covered. I was expecting 80k to actually be a conservative figure by now, seeing as how TC has grown.
      - webwright 16y ago
        Which two sites? I've had coverage on TC for 4 times since 2006 and never got anywhere NEAR 80k. Was 80k the total bump or just TC traffic?
        chime 16y ago
        Chime.TV & Sched.org. For Chime.TV, we had http://www.reinvigorate.net/ http://www.reinvigorate.net/ setup with real-time audio feedback. Every time a new user hit the site, my PC made a ding sound. Before the TC post, it made a sound once every few minutes and I would run into my computer room to see which country the visitor was from. It was such an exciting feeling. The minute TC published the post, the computer just went crazy. I think we had 40k or so uniques within the first 3 hours and another 35-45k over the next 12 hours, all from the TC post.
ai09 16y ago
Can anyone that has submitted their site to Killer Startups quantify the number of solicitations they received from vendors? I ask since I almost submitted my site a couple weeks back but was turned off by these lines in the Killer Startups' Terms of Service: "You herein consent that The Company will disclose to any third party your name, address, e-mail address or telephone number (you may opt out of this by not submitting your startup), except to the extent necessary or appropriate to comply with applicable laws or in legal proceedings where such information is relevant. The Company reserves the right to offer third party services and products to you based on the preferences that you identify in your registration and at any time thereafter; such offers may be made by the Company or by third parties."
- drubio 16y ago
  I didn't submit my info on their site. They actually just picked up my site from somewhere else. Looking at my analytics I realized they were the ones responsible for the sudden spike in traffic. But now that you mention solicitations, I was contacted by three PR companies in that same traffic spike. It appears to be a hot-bed for PR companies scouring for new clients. I just wonder if the site isn't run by one of these companies.
- thefreshteapot 16y ago
  As an owner of a site wanting to get my name and info out there, this part of the ToS doesnt read to bad. I certainly understand where your displeasure comes from, yet I do feel it needs to be kept in perspective. As in this would not be acceptable on your personal email. But on your generic site email. ( Which should still have a touch of personal, of course for your users! ) As mentioned in many places, if you are using email via google, you could always "+killerstartups" in your email. I just tested it myself and it worked great. Not with "+killerstartups" just "+test".
- peeplaja 16y ago
  I hand-submitted the site, but never received any third-party msg.
- mathewsi 16y ago
  I received less than 10 emails from people offering to review my site and/or interview me on their blog/site for prices ranging from $10 to around $50. About a week after my review on killerstartups I stopped getting them. Most were really generic and irritating. I could tell I was just being spammed. However, a couple were well-written and polite. I emailed them back thanking them and letting them know I'd consider their service in the future and they were very nice about things.
jasonlbaptiste 16y ago
Why isn't there a commonapp for startup press coverage? Same set of details, no PR fluff, and sent to these sites + one designated person at a publication. This would just make everyone's life so much easier.
- jsm386 16y ago
  http://www.blogreviewed.com/ http://www.blogreviewed.com/ (In beta - I believe i saw it on HN previously but can't find anything searching now) is an attempt at this. I think the product needs a lot of work - the tips on pitches and the way they evaluate sites all seem to have been done quickly/formulaically. The idea, as you mention is a good one. If they could improve the execution it would be useful. It's not a common app, but it makes pitching a repeatable process in an automated way (in theory). I don't know if it was random or not, but it seems like they start with really easy (and in often case worthless) targets and then just work you up to say a VentureBeat. We (GroupTabs) had already been covered there, along with a couple other of their suggested pitch spots - so they definitely are not looking at that, which would be a nice feature. That said I'm not sure a common app would really work. If you want coverage it's more than pitching the right publications, it's pitching the right people there.
takrupp 16y ago
Maybe there should be a tag and thread on HN for startups that are launching or looking for alpha/beta users (like the ASK tag).
- catshirt 16y ago
  a general product/feedback/product feedback tag would be useful
ddrager 16y ago
This is a good list to get started. I write for MakeUseOf - generally to submit your app there, use submit@makeuseof.com or if you want to send a direct message to me, dave@makeuseof.com. Your app must at least be in open beta, and must be free or 'freemium'.
drubio 16y ago
I got picked up by http://www.killerstartups.com/ http://www.killerstartups.com/ a few months ago. They have a submission page (though I didn't actually use it) I actually got about 200+ referrals from them, which was nice. In addition to multiple PR offerings.
- mathewsi 16y ago
  I got a nice bit of traffic from killerstartups as well (800some referrals I think). Before submitting there, one should figure out when their busy days are, when they seem to have slow days, etc.; my startup unfortunately got placed into a second page early on for their daily reviews and it stayed there most of that day. Also, despite their audience, I didn't receive a lot of feedback initially. That took some more time.
sshaff 16y ago
also try twist - http://thisweekinstartups.com http://thisweekinstartups.com
ashitvora 16y ago
"This week in startup" is missing. I like those guys.
hrabago 16y ago
I'm surprised at the size of the list here. Are all these sites legitimate, each with their own audience? I'm wondering if there are equivalents for iPhone apps (or mobile apps in general). Edit: Created a new post focusing on my mobile apps question so as not to hijack this thread: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1757510 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1757510
ohashi 16y ago
MO.com - Entrepreneur Interviews (from starting to successful). Tell me the most interesting thing about you, your company or about tech/startups in general if you want a better chance/get something posted faster. Email may be down, moving servers but Kevin@MO.com or use my personal contact form: http://ohashi.info/contact http://ohashi.info/contact
alain94040 16y ago
This is generally bad advice. To quote from the PR panel at the Founder Conference a month ago: the last thing a journalist wants to receive in their inbox is a bland e-mail that was obviously blasted to another hundred places. video at http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2010/08/24/pr2-0-doesnt-work-founder-conference/ http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2010/08/24/pr2-0-doesnt-work-fo...
- alain94040 16y ago
  Thanks for group-thinking the downvoting... So I guess I need to explain why I said it's bad advice. First of all, credentials: I have been covered on many of the sites listed including techcrunch, venturebeat, killerstartups, etc... I know first-hand the kind of response each site generates. Second: I forced journalists from VentureBeat, the San Jose Mercury News and Wired to spend 30 minutes discussing the best approach to get coverage, in public. I linked to that video. If you don't have time to listen to how the press wants you to pitch to them, don't be surprised that nothing is working out for you :-) Third. The answer is relationship. Build relationships with the various media & influencers. Not by buying them drinks, but by understanding who they are, what they write about, and why. You surely hate spam. They do to. And using such a list of 100 sites to send the same announcement is spam in their book. I thought you should know.
frisco 16y ago
The advice that TC won't cover you unless you're much bigger is bad. They'll cover you however small you are as long as you give them something worth writing about.
jonathanmarcus 16y ago
Nothing even comes close to Lifehacker, assuming your product is a good fit. It should be #1 on every start-up's list.
sahillavingia 16y ago
My iPhone app just came out. So far I've just been emailing bloggers and advertising on cheap sites. Also, tweeted about it! What do you guys suggest to market an iPhone app (more specifically, productivity/utility $1.99)? What has worked for you?
- davidwparker 16y ago
  I would probably make an website that specifically markets your iPhone app and then send that URL out.
  - sahillavingia 16y ago
    I have that, but where would I send it out? Here it is for reference: http://daytaapp.com/ http://daytaapp.com/
willlangford 16y ago
This is a great list. I do write web apps and am working on my 1st "startup" so this will be great. I would like to expand this, how would one who is opening an online store for example get coverage besides the normal press? I mean yes it is a startup but not, we make everything ourselves, so it's not reselling someone else's stuff, but at the same time doesn't fit the startup mold.
flardinois 16y ago
ReadWriteWeb (tips@readwriteweb) - email us and we will definitely take a look.
adlep 16y ago
Great list, thank you for compiling this for the rest of us
known 16y ago
AdWords ?

235 points by peeplaja 16y ago

bradmccarty 16y ago

The Next Web - brad@thenextweb.com

acangiano 16y ago
I took you up on the offer. ;-)
- bradmccarty 16y ago
  As have about 10 other so far. As an FYI, we're only writing up 1 tonight (AnyNewBooks?) and will sort thru the rest for posting soon. I really do appreciate the submissions though. Please, keep them coming. I live for this stuff.
  - acangiano 16y ago
    Thank you so much for the coverage, Brad. Link: http://thenextweb.com/apps/2010/10/05/any-new-books-is-a-killer-app-for-serious-readers/ http://thenextweb.com/apps/2010/10/05/any-new-books-is-a-kil...
    - bradmccarty 16y ago
      Really a killer idea. Love it. We have a few more we'll be covering later, as I said. I'm really impressed with what I've been sent tonight. Nice job, HN folks.

andjones 16y ago

This information is invaluable. This is a great way to attract some traffic / get valuable feedback. I once posted an early version of one of my sites on the craigslist forum for feedback. The responses were not helpful.

wensing 16y ago

Does anyone know how long it usually takes to get your startup added to CrunchBase? My submission for Stormpulse has been in pending status since 9/23.

ElbertF 16y ago
Mine took a couple of days at most, it was more than a year ago though.
peeplaja 16y ago
It was a couple of days for me too.
mkuhn 16y ago
Less than a day for me a few weeks back.

zuggywugg 16y ago

Nice list, thank you.

rafelio 16y ago

Maybe never :( it depends

jacquesm 16y ago

Interesting that HN is missing, I've seen sites launched (not always voluntarily!) by a single posting to HN, and I've seen how much coverage you can get from here when announcing my 'two week' project reocities.com . That seems like an oversight.

chime 16y ago
I thought the same. I posted cakesy.com last night and have already received over 10k uniques via HN. Even if it hadn't made it past top 10, it would still be 500+ uniques. Wouldn't compare against 80k hits via TechCrunch but it might end up a better plan if your potential users are hackers.
- aaroneous 16y ago
  TechCrunch won't deliver 80k uniques. If you got 10k via HN then that's a lot more than TC has been sending these days.
  - chime 16y ago
    That's definitely news to me. I was quoting figures from 2007 and 2008 when two of my sites got covered. I was expecting 80k to actually be a conservative figure by now, seeing as how TC has grown.
    - webwright 16y ago
      Which two sites? I've had coverage on TC for 4 times since 2006 and never got anywhere NEAR 80k. Was 80k the total bump or just TC traffic?
      - chime 16y ago
        Chime.TV & Sched.org. For Chime.TV, we had http://www.reinvigorate.net/ http://www.reinvigorate.net/ setup with real-time audio feedback. Every time a new user hit the site, my PC made a ding sound. Before the TC post, it made a sound once every few minutes and I would run into my computer room to see which country the visitor was from. It was such an exciting feeling. The minute TC published the post, the computer just went crazy. I think we had 40k or so uniques within the first 3 hours and another 35-45k over the next 12 hours, all from the TC post.

ai09 16y ago

Can anyone that has submitted their site to Killer Startups quantify the number of solicitations they received from vendors? I ask since I almost submitted my site a couple weeks back but was turned off by these lines in the Killer Startups' Terms of Service: "You herein consent that The Company will disclose to any third party your name, address, e-mail address or telephone number (you may opt out of this by not submitting your startup), except to the extent necessary or appropriate to comply with applicable laws or in legal proceedings where such information is relevant. The Company reserves the right to offer third party services and products to you based on the preferences that you identify in your registration and at any time thereafter; such offers may be made by the Company or by third parties."

drubio 16y ago
I didn't submit my info on their site. They actually just picked up my site from somewhere else. Looking at my analytics I realized they were the ones responsible for the sudden spike in traffic. But now that you mention solicitations, I was contacted by three PR companies in that same traffic spike. It appears to be a hot-bed for PR companies scouring for new clients. I just wonder if the site isn't run by one of these companies.
thefreshteapot 16y ago
As an owner of a site wanting to get my name and info out there, this part of the ToS doesnt read to bad. I certainly understand where your displeasure comes from, yet I do feel it needs to be kept in perspective. As in this would not be acceptable on your personal email. But on your generic site email. ( Which should still have a touch of personal, of course for your users! ) As mentioned in many places, if you are using email via google, you could always "+killerstartups" in your email. I just tested it myself and it worked great. Not with "+killerstartups" just "+test".
peeplaja 16y ago
I hand-submitted the site, but never received any third-party msg.
mathewsi 16y ago
I received less than 10 emails from people offering to review my site and/or interview me on their blog/site for prices ranging from $10 to around $50. About a week after my review on killerstartups I stopped getting them. Most were really generic and irritating. I could tell I was just being spammed. However, a couple were well-written and polite. I emailed them back thanking them and letting them know I'd consider their service in the future and they were very nice about things.

jasonlbaptiste 16y ago

Why isn't there a commonapp for startup press coverage? Same set of details, no PR fluff, and sent to these sites + one designated person at a publication. This would just make everyone's life so much easier.

jsm386 16y ago
http://www.blogreviewed.com/ http://www.blogreviewed.com/ (In beta - I believe i saw it on HN previously but can't find anything searching now) is an attempt at this. I think the product needs a lot of work - the tips on pitches and the way they evaluate sites all seem to have been done quickly/formulaically. The idea, as you mention is a good one. If they could improve the execution it would be useful. It's not a common app, but it makes pitching a repeatable process in an automated way (in theory). I don't know if it was random or not, but it seems like they start with really easy (and in often case worthless) targets and then just work you up to say a VentureBeat. We (GroupTabs) had already been covered there, along with a couple other of their suggested pitch spots - so they definitely are not looking at that, which would be a nice feature. That said I'm not sure a common app would really work. If you want coverage it's more than pitching the right publications, it's pitching the right people there.

takrupp 16y ago

Maybe there should be a tag and thread on HN for startups that are launching or looking for alpha/beta users (like the ASK tag).

catshirt 16y ago
a general product/feedback/product feedback tag would be useful

ddrager 16y ago

This is a good list to get started. I write for MakeUseOf - generally to submit your app there, use submit@makeuseof.com or if you want to send a direct message to me, dave@makeuseof.com. Your app must at least be in open beta, and must be free or 'freemium'.

drubio 16y ago

I got picked up by http://www.killerstartups.com/ http://www.killerstartups.com/ a few months ago. They have a submission page (though I didn't actually use it) I actually got about 200+ referrals from them, which was nice. In addition to multiple PR offerings.

mathewsi 16y ago
I got a nice bit of traffic from killerstartups as well (800some referrals I think). Before submitting there, one should figure out when their busy days are, when they seem to have slow days, etc.; my startup unfortunately got placed into a second page early on for their daily reviews and it stayed there most of that day. Also, despite their audience, I didn't receive a lot of feedback initially. That took some more time.

sshaff 16y ago

also try twist - http://thisweekinstartups.com http://thisweekinstartups.com

ashitvora 16y ago

"This week in startup" is missing. I like those guys.

hrabago 16y ago

I'm surprised at the size of the list here. Are all these sites legitimate, each with their own audience? I'm wondering if there are equivalents for iPhone apps (or mobile apps in general). Edit: Created a new post focusing on my mobile apps question so as not to hijack this thread: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1757510 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1757510

ohashi 16y ago

MO.com - Entrepreneur Interviews (from starting to successful). Tell me the most interesting thing about you, your company or about tech/startups in general if you want a better chance/get something posted faster. Email may be down, moving servers but Kevin@MO.com or use my personal contact form: http://ohashi.info/contact http://ohashi.info/contact

alain94040 16y ago

This is generally bad advice. To quote from the PR panel at the Founder Conference a month ago: the last thing a journalist wants to receive in their inbox is a bland e-mail that was obviously blasted to another hundred places. video at http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2010/08/24/pr2-0-doesnt-work-founder-conference/ http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2010/08/24/pr2-0-doesnt-work-fo...

alain94040 16y ago
Thanks for group-thinking the downvoting... So I guess I need to explain why I said it's bad advice. First of all, credentials: I have been covered on many of the sites listed including techcrunch, venturebeat, killerstartups, etc... I know first-hand the kind of response each site generates. Second: I forced journalists from VentureBeat, the San Jose Mercury News and Wired to spend 30 minutes discussing the best approach to get coverage, in public. I linked to that video. If you don't have time to listen to how the press wants you to pitch to them, don't be surprised that nothing is working out for you :-) Third. The answer is relationship. Build relationships with the various media & influencers. Not by buying them drinks, but by understanding who they are, what they write about, and why. You surely hate spam. They do to. And using such a list of 100 sites to send the same announcement is spam in their book. I thought you should know.

frisco 16y ago

The advice that TC won't cover you unless you're much bigger is bad. They'll cover you however small you are as long as you give them something worth writing about.

jonathanmarcus 16y ago

Nothing even comes close to Lifehacker, assuming your product is a good fit. It should be #1 on every start-up's list.

sahillavingia 16y ago

My iPhone app just came out. So far I've just been emailing bloggers and advertising on cheap sites. Also, tweeted about it! What do you guys suggest to market an iPhone app (more specifically, productivity/utility $1.99)? What has worked for you?

davidwparker 16y ago
I would probably make an website that specifically markets your iPhone app and then send that URL out.
- sahillavingia 16y ago
  I have that, but where would I send it out? Here it is for reference: http://daytaapp.com/ http://daytaapp.com/

willlangford 16y ago

This is a great list. I do write web apps and am working on my 1st "startup" so this will be great. I would like to expand this, how would one who is opening an online store for example get coverage besides the normal press? I mean yes it is a startup but not, we make everything ourselves, so it's not reselling someone else's stuff, but at the same time doesn't fit the startup mold.

flardinois 16y ago

ReadWriteWeb (tips@readwriteweb) - email us and we will definitely take a look.

adlep 16y ago

Great list, thank you for compiling this for the rest of us

known 16y ago

AdWords ?