

How I got techcrunched and some stats - earlyriser
http://robertomartinez.info/posts/how_i_got_techcrunched.htm

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cosgroveb
So they weren't interested because they didn't like your _font_? Your site is
awesome, honestly. Did anyone else's wtf-meter go off reading that?

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ma2rten
Like OP posted before, it's probably more that he was on the frontpage here.

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earlyriser
same impression

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kevin_morrill
Do you have a sense what kind of lasting user base comes back from the TC
referrals?

I was pretty impressed that we got a 25% conversion rate for signups on
textWeight.com from a TC write up. This was especially amazing, given that you
have to give your personal phone number. I think we've had about 10% attrition
in the past 2 weeks, but otherwise a very healthy user base.

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earlyriser
-Actually the TC visitors returned less than the others. -I got more Twitter followers during the TC-HN spike than in the others. -The visitors who returned the most are from xatakafoto, it seems they really like the Flikr channel.

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cjeane
It's always inspiring to hear someone's launch narrative, but I don't agree
with a couple of your conclusions.

Is Techcrunch that important to get traction? They sent a ~2 day traffic spike
your way, but after that not much. Is it the sacred cow of launching?

I agree with your fix quickly mentality, but coming away with the conclusion
that you should listen to the critic without context is a bit rash.

You changed your site for 1 blog post. I do agree with their advice, but what
if you where told that the logo was terrible, or your navigation scheme was
wrong? How much would you be willing to change for the coverage, and at that
point who's site is it?

Wow this kinda turned into a rant. I don't want the groupthink to lend itself
toward; bending to the will of a tech blog, because it's the only way to
launch.

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earlyriser
The TC spike doesn't matter. The important thing is that TC is The source for
other blogs around the world. I can't submit my site to a Japanese blog for
example (I don't write this language), but a Japanese blogger read the TC post
and reposted it. Multiply that for 100 and you can see where do the 70K Google
results come from.

I don't change the design to appear there. But 60% of the users at that moment
( my girlfriend and TC) didn't like the font and to be sincere I wasn't sure
anyway. Honestly I don't think that the font change made the site techcrunch
worthy, I think the HN frontpage was most important.

We are always bending to others, everyone fixes the limit of tolerance
according our goals and means.

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ismaelsow
I agree. One of the most important thing is that great PR means tons of
valuable links. And in the SEO game, the formula is: "get the links, win the
game".

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dabent
This is similar to my experience when Glancely was on TC. The TC traffic was
great, but the Lifehacker/Gizmodo traffic that came later were actually
bigger. Beyond that, there's some credibility in saying your startup was on
TechCrunch, Lifehacker, etc.

It's great to be written up in TC, but the real benefits come from more than
just the article itself. A TC article is a great accomplishment for a startup
and has benefits beyond the article. But it's just a step, so don't celebrate
for too long.

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arepb
You were pretty forward and quick in your intro emails. Not being a TC author
but understanding that they get a ton of emails, I think you hit the nail on
the head with how to get their attention.

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earlyriser
I read some posts of how to get covered. Guy Kawasaki's, Jason Labaptiste's
and TC guidelines.

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swombat
I presume that the spike includes both TechCrunch and Hacker News. Based on 22
upvotes, I guess you got about 1-2'000 hits from HN, so that works out at
about 7-8'000 hits from TC over 3 days?

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earlyriser
You are right. However the HN spike was of very short duration, just the 2-3
hours it was on the frontpage.

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swombat
Yeah, that matches my experiences of a 22-point post. Thanks for clarifying!

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armandososa
Sans-serif is almost always a best choice than serif for UI Copy. I'd left
Arial as a second option in favor of Helvetica, though.

Congratulations btw, Roberto, you are a fighter.

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earlyriser
Thanks Armando. I'll keep that in mind. When is Georgia a best option?

