

Think like a reporter: Startup stories they want to write - joelandren
http://blog.pressfriendly.com/?p=43

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vonnik
Joel, Thanks for starting this conversation. Your list of story types is close
to the mark, but I think anyone who wants press needs to go a lot deeper.

I was a journalist for 10 years. Different kinds of reporters want different
things, but they all have one thing in common. They hate being
instrumentalized by press-hungry companies, and they do not exist to publicize
startups. They exist to inform and entertain their readers. If you try to use
them, they will ignore you. You need to figure out how you can help them
report better, not just on your company, but on tech in general.

Basically, journalists want scoops and fresh points of view. If they can't
surprise their readers with what they write, then they shouldn't be writing at
all. Think about the stories you like: they all caught you a little off guard,
either by the facts they contained or the quality of their analysis.

You need to reflect on where you fit into the supply chain of information. The
next time something makes you say "Really?" or "Holy sh*t!", your next thought
should be: Has this been reported yet, and if not, which journalist would want
to write this story? Then you should email them.

That's how news should work. It should be something that makes people talk.
Frankly, partnerships, metrics and product updates make for boring journalism
that leaves readers dissatisfied, but strokes the egos of the companies
involved.

You know what makes for exciting news? Finding a homeless dude and teaching
him how to code. I don't know if Patrick McConlogue wanted exposure when he
did that, but he got it, and if that was deliberate, the man is a genius.
Everyone on HN has the capacity to make news like this. Forget about the
latest app for an app that you're making, and do something big-hearted and
cool. The press will eat it up.

[http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/york-city-programmer-
homele...](http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/york-city-programmer-homeless-man-
software-coding-classes/story?id=20042021)

~~~
joelandren
Great comment. I think that technology news is generally too transactional in
nature and that both sides (entrepreneurs and reporters) suffer as a result.

I'm going to focus more in depth later on how to create these more
"qualitative" stories like trend pieces and founder profiles.

The way things are right now, though. A lot of people rely upon tech
publications for new product information, which startups have money (and might
be hiring) and what's coming down the pike. These are the most efficient means
of getting that information out these publications.

~~~
vonnik
You're right, people do rely on tech publications for news on who's hiring and
what they're making. I don't object to journalists reporting on either of
those. But the most interesting news goes beyond that.

It's OK if technology news is transactional. It's just that most people who
want press have not asked themselves what they're bringing to the table. Too
often, it's just a request for coverage, and that will fail.

Founders who want exposure should find out how they can help reporters do
their jobs better, by making intros, flagging interesting posts on HN, digging
into their own data for insights and generally working hard to make the
reporter look good. If a source can complete his side of the transaction, then
the journalist will want to help in turn.

The way things work now, tech PR firms serve up tech journalists to CEOs at
swanky dinners where no one says anything interesting, and the reporter goes
home with a bunch of canned quotes that would be useless in a story.

To sum it up: Anyone who wants press should be giving reporters access,
insights and information that will lead to stories that tens or hundreds of
thousands of people would want to read. Figure out how to do that, and you
have the basis for a relationship.

~~~
joelandren
Couldn't agree more. To get coverage one needs to...

1) Add value 2) Be honest and transparent 3) Build relationships over time

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andreasklinger
Two more tips i would love to add:

1) If your company is not currently newsworthy enough alone try pitching
broader topics. eg the raise of wearable tech. Startup hype in City X. etc

Help the journalist with intro to other (not 100% competitive) founders.

2) Ask the journalist what kind of article he wants to write and what role our
startup will play in this article (or where he sees you).

If you understand roughly what kind of article a journalist is going for you
can deliver by far better usable quotes.

~~~
joelandren
+1 Andreas.

There's lots of great things that you can do to be of help to a journalist
even when you're not pitching them. For example, follow reporters you want to
cover you on Twitter. They frequently have "hair on fire" requests that maybe
you can help them with. I saw a reporter ask the other day, "Have any of my
followers managed a Hadoop cluster?"

------
jkarneges
Good info. As a tech founder, this marketing/PR stuff is what I need the most
schooling in.

~~~
rfnslyr
If you have a great product it should speak for itself.

~~~
krmmalik
I don't understsnd why this person is being downvoted. Even Jeff Bezos said
words to the same effect when on Charlie Rose.

To paraphrase he said 70% of your marketing effort should go into building a
better product.

It's not some sort of naive idealism. It's reality.

And to quote Edwin Land: Marketing is what you do when you have an inferior
product.

~~~
melling
Sounds like horrible advice.

I guess you didn't see the Amazon drone on 60 Minutes? Marketing, showmanship,
etc are very important for companies and products. Here, I think you should
take a business course:

" Marketing is possibly the most important activity a business can partake in.
It is the one activity that most directly affects the amount of recognition
and sales that a company gets and this determines the level of profitability"

[https://www.udemy.com/blog/importance-of-
marketing/](https://www.udemy.com/blog/importance-of-marketing/)

------
lowglow
Supplemental: [http://www.techendo.co/posts/how-to-hack-the-
press](http://www.techendo.co/posts/how-to-hack-the-press)

