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Confessions of a tech journalist: my advice to startups pitching the media

78 points by SeanBlanda 15y ago

rokhayakebe 15y ago
You can skip the whole thing and simply jump to the last part "Questions you should be prepared to answer". Journalists think a little bit too much of themselves and startups think a bit too much of their product. My advise is have a simple two three line pitch and below your signature copy and answer the question he has given. If the journalist is interested in your pitch they can read the additional info below. Second advise is keep at it. If you email a journalist and they do not respond, email again when you have made changes to your product, acquired more customers etc... In the end they will give in and give you a chance.
serkanh 15y ago
Is it me or the choice of font in this website makes terribly hard to read the article. I m using google chrome btw.(I think it's http://www.google.com/webfonts/specimen/Oswald http://www.google.com/webfonts/specimen/Oswald)
- SeanBlanda 15y ago
  It is Oswald. I admittedly don't know much about typography, so thanks for the heads up.
- azylman 15y ago
  Was very hard for me to read, too. The text looked pixellated, like it had chunks missing. It was fine after I zoomed in. (Also Chrome)
Mystalic 15y ago
From my perspective as a former tech journalist, Sean nails the key points. Keep it short, sweet and remember that journalists see dozens of pitches per day -- your startup doesn't deserve press because it's your baby. It needs to stand on its own merits. I have one additional thing to add, and this is important: build relationships with journalists BEFORE you need them. Build a friendship, ask for their advice, meet them for coffee, comment on their work. When the time comes and you're pitching your startup...you're going to be in a far better position and be far more likely to get covered. The other alternative: have somebody the journalist knows well introduce you.
- randall 15y ago
  I'd say journalists are just like investors. They have a lot of people who want their time, and it's difficult to discriminate when you don't have filters. Social proof is one kind of filter... intros are another. AngelList could really act as a really great filter too, if they built up the site to support journalists. hint hint Nivi and Naval.
startupstella 15y ago
As someone who has been doing PR for a startup for over 2 years, this article was spot on. The only point I'd bring up is that the author is speaking from the perspective of a local tech beat. Getting the attention of national reporters is much more difficult and takes a lot of effort before you have any news at all. PR is a lot of work...which most startups don't realize.
- mpclark 15y ago
  One more point -- just a little one -- is "don't pitch a journalist and then refer him/her to a story recently published by a competitor publication for the details."
jordanb 15y ago
This guy seems kinda full of himself. Although I suppose that comes with the territory when hundreds of people are constantly begging him to give them a bit of attention. But I also think that the importance of the "tech press" is often overemphasized by startups. I was involved in a company a bit ago that spent a great deal of energy chasing after the TechCrunch coverage, when in fact its target customers were middle-aged middle-america types, who don't read TechCrunch. Granted, the tech media may help just about any company get funding. But then, I imagine having plenty of customers is going to look better to investors than TechCrunch coverage.
- morisy 15y ago
  As a current tech journalist AND entrepreneur, I can definitely see your point regarding TechCrunch. Our mentions in "buzzier" publications got us a huge strike in interest with about zilch market fit. This writer's suggestions, however, really apply well to trade and niche press journalists, too. The right mention in the right publication is worth tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it's much more about whether they reach your market rather than whether you've heard about them. And yes, it's literally hundreds: I get about 300 pitches a day (a lot of them are "robopitches" that go out only semi-personalized), and his advice is key for making your story standout.
drunkenmasta 15y ago
I like the choice of colors.. And the code is well done imo.

78 points by SeanBlanda 15y ago

You can skip the whole thing and simply jump to the last part "Questions you should be prepared to answer". Journalists think a little bit too much of themselves and startups think a bit too much of their product. My advise is have a simple two three line pitch and below your signature copy and answer the question he has given. If the journalist is interested in your pitch they can read the additional info below. Second advise is keep at it. If you email a journalist and they do not respond, email again when you have made changes to your product, acquired more customers etc... In the end they will give in and give you a chance.

serkanh 15y ago

Is it me or the choice of font in this website makes terribly hard to read the article. I m using google chrome btw.(I think it's http://www.google.com/webfonts/specimen/Oswald http://www.google.com/webfonts/specimen/Oswald)

SeanBlanda 15y ago
It is Oswald. I admittedly don't know much about typography, so thanks for the heads up.
azylman 15y ago
Was very hard for me to read, too. The text looked pixellated, like it had chunks missing. It was fine after I zoomed in. (Also Chrome)

Mystalic 15y ago

From my perspective as a former tech journalist, Sean nails the key points. Keep it short, sweet and remember that journalists see dozens of pitches per day -- your startup doesn't deserve press because it's your baby. It needs to stand on its own merits. I have one additional thing to add, and this is important: build relationships with journalists BEFORE you need them. Build a friendship, ask for their advice, meet them for coffee, comment on their work. When the time comes and you're pitching your startup...you're going to be in a far better position and be far more likely to get covered. The other alternative: have somebody the journalist knows well introduce you.

randall 15y ago
I'd say journalists are just like investors. They have a lot of people who want their time, and it's difficult to discriminate when you don't have filters. Social proof is one kind of filter... intros are another. AngelList could really act as a really great filter too, if they built up the site to support journalists. hint hint Nivi and Naval.

startupstella 15y ago

As someone who has been doing PR for a startup for over 2 years, this article was spot on. The only point I'd bring up is that the author is speaking from the perspective of a local tech beat. Getting the attention of national reporters is much more difficult and takes a lot of effort before you have any news at all. PR is a lot of work...which most startups don't realize.

mpclark 15y ago
One more point -- just a little one -- is "don't pitch a journalist and then refer him/her to a story recently published by a competitor publication for the details."

jordanb 15y ago

This guy seems kinda full of himself. Although I suppose that comes with the territory when hundreds of people are constantly begging him to give them a bit of attention. But I also think that the importance of the "tech press" is often overemphasized by startups. I was involved in a company a bit ago that spent a great deal of energy chasing after the TechCrunch coverage, when in fact its target customers were middle-aged middle-america types, who don't read TechCrunch. Granted, the tech media may help just about any company get funding. But then, I imagine having plenty of customers is going to look better to investors than TechCrunch coverage.

morisy 15y ago
As a current tech journalist AND entrepreneur, I can definitely see your point regarding TechCrunch. Our mentions in "buzzier" publications got us a huge strike in interest with about zilch market fit. This writer's suggestions, however, really apply well to trade and niche press journalists, too. The right mention in the right publication is worth tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it's much more about whether they reach your market rather than whether you've heard about them. And yes, it's literally hundreds: I get about 300 pitches a day (a lot of them are "robopitches" that go out only semi-personalized), and his advice is key for making your story standout.

drunkenmasta 15y ago

I like the choice of colors.. And the code is well done imo.