How to Do Startup PR - and Why
A conversation with Illume PR's co-founder & partner, Aurli Bokovza
Early stage startup founders can do a lot themselves to start getting press coverage. To illuminate the topic, we brought in an expert, Aurli Bokovza, co-founder & partner of IllumePR - to share some context and ideas. She answered a lot of typical questions that many founders have when they are just starting out. We discussed how to:
Build thought leadership in tandem with your product.
Position your offering relative to the market.
Tactics for getting press coverage and distributing accurate messaging.
Get started with outside help when you’ve outgrown your DIY strategy.
More on Startup PR 101 below in a summarized, easy-to-digest version of our interview with Aurli.
Plus, a full round-up of all our upcoming talks, workshops & other events for early stage startup founders and teams.
When should startups start thinking about PR?
Startups should always be thinking about PR and their public voice. It's important to get your messaging down and understand what makes you unique before starting PR.
Start building your brand and thought leadership early, even before launch. Have clear messaging on your competitive differentiation first.
How should a startup or founder position themselves?
There is a big difference between pitching investors and pitching reporters. Investors are more focused on the bottom line. Reporters care about your position in the market, how your story relates to other trends, your unique differentiation, and how your story relates to other larger trends. Focus more on the sizzle and less on the dollars and cents.
Consider what helps attract attention. That can be a good founding story, notable founders, board members, advisors and investors.
Constantly refine the messaging as you iterate. You’re always looking for the strongest hook and newsworthiness.
The product should be the priority. Personal brand building is great if you have the bandwidth, but not required for success.
We like to think about it in entertainment terms - what’s the snappy, 1-sentence logline?
Does getting covered by the press make a difference for startups? What should startups expect?
Yes. Good press helps establish your relevancy and share of voice, helping you rise above the competition.
You should also always be able to align press with your business goals. Good press helps startups reach new customers, excite investors, and attract talent. Also, press begets press.
There are some important misconceptions to understand. You can’t necessarily always link good press directly to sales. There are a lot of steps in between and you have to ensure that all those step sof the funnel are also set up properly.
Also, big brand coverage doesn't always drive business. You might generate the same amount of customer interest from a huge Good Morning America appearance as from a really small, niche blog that speaks directly to your target audience.
Finally, you can’t control press, you can only do your best to optimize it. So manage your own expectations on timing and outcomes.
So how should founders go about securing positive press coverage for their startups?
Give yourself plenty of time and space so you can launch at the right time with a product and value proposition that will resonate.
It’s all about quality vs quantity. Make a list of 10 target reporters and outlets. Do thorough research on who is covering your space.
Follow the reporters on social media, engaging thoughtfully by commenting on their posts, creating your own content to establish yourself as a thought leader, and only reaching out when you have something relevant to offer them.
Strive to create and share your own content to establish expertise.
Building a media profile takes time. Don't expect overnight results or to go from zero to the New York Times without building your presence over time.
One strategy that works well if a founder is doing their own press is to give reporters an exclusive on a piece of news, meaning they are the only ones you’ll give the news to. When you have something newsworthy, like a product launch, reach out to a target reporter to offer them the news exclusively. Give them a couple of days to get back to you before you follow-up. If you’re not making traction, try a different reporter. Give yourself plenty of lead time for outreach - it can take time to find someone who your story resonates with. But of course, this is why you hire a PR agency/consultant to handle this outreach and strategize on the best way to get your news and message out to media.
How far can you get on your own, and when should one think about hiring someone else to help with PR?
It depends on the founder’s time, bandwidth and budget. They can do a lot on their own, and many founders and CEOs continue to always be very involved in some part of the process, even as their organizations grow.
If they don’t have enough time but they have a small amount of available budget, then finding a freelancer can be good for early stage, basic needs - $2-5k/mo. Agencies provide more services, at higher prices. For example, they can offer more content creation, thought leadership strategies, help managing speaking opportunities or events, etc. They can go from $5k to $20k to $100k (and upwards), depending on the scope of the services.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you again to Aurli & IllumePR for sharing these insights - and good luck to everyone out there.
Upcoming Lynx Collective Programming
All upcoming programming can be found at lu.ma/lynx
Startup Bootcamp: Building An Authentic Culture (NYC, March 5, 4 pm ET) - In this session, we’ll focus on how to build the right culture for your startup.
Startup Founders and Operators Lunch (NYC, March 6, 12 pm ET) - Join us for lunch with other NYC startup founders and operators.
How to Quit Your Job and Launch Your Startup (NYC, March 7, 6 pm ET) - This session is for people who want to transition from their current job to launching their startup.
Inside Union Square Ventures with Jared Hecht (NYC, March 20, 5:30 pm ET) - A fireside chat and Q&A with Jared Hecht, the newest partner at Union Square Ventures at their NYC offices.
Startup Founders and Operators Lunch (NYC, March 27, 12 pm ET) - Join us for lunch with other NYC startup founders and operators.