10 Common PR Mistakes Startups Make (And How PRISM Can Help You Avoid Them)

For startups, PR is often the secret sauce that builds brand awareness, drives growth, and establishes credibility. However, in the race to gain traction, many startups make critical mistakes that can reduce their PR efforts or harm their brand. Understanding these pitfalls—and knowing how to avoid them—can make a significant difference in how effectively a startup tells its story.

PRISM, Marquet Media's proprietary PR framework, is designed to guide businesses through the complexities of public relations with a structured, actionable approach. Here's a closer look at startups' ten common PR mistakes and how the PRISM methodology can help avoid them.

1. Neglecting to Define Clear Objectives

The Mistake: Many startups start PR campaigns without a clear purpose, treating it as a catch-all for "getting noticed" rather than a targeted approach. PR campaigns often need more direction and clear objectives, leading to scattered results that align with business goals.

How PRISM Helps: The PRISM framework begins with "Purpose," emphasizing the importance of defining precise goals. Are you looking to drive brand awareness, position yourself as an industry thought leader, or attract potential investors? By clarifying these goals early on, PRISM ensures your PR efforts are purposeful and aligned with your startup's broader mission.

2. Failing to Understand Your Target Audience

The Mistake: Startups frequently approach PR with a "one-size-fits-all" mentality, assuming that their message will resonate with everyone. But this can lead to generic messaging that fails to connect.

How PRISM Helps: The "Research" phase in PRISM emphasizes identifying and understanding your target audience. Through thorough research, PRISM helps startups pinpoint who they're talking to, what matters most to this audience, and where they spend their time. This insight allows for messaging that resonates deeply and reaches the right people.

3. Inconsistent Messaging Across Channels

The Mistake: Startups often need more fragmented messaging across social media, press releases, and customer interactions, which can create confusion around their brand identity.

How PRISM Helps: PRISM emphasizes consistency in the "Identity" phase, focusing on crafting a cohesive brand voice and messaging that aligns across all channels. This consistency strengthens brand recognition and trust, ensuring that each piece of communication supports a unified image.

4. Overlooking Media Relationships

The Mistake: Some startups see PR as a purely transactional process—send out a press release and get published. This short-sighted approach overlooks the importance of building relationships with journalists and media outlets.

How PRISM Helps: PRISM's "Media" phase is dedicated to relationship-building, encouraging startups to view PR as a long-term strategy rather than a quick fix. By focusing on authentic engagement with media contacts and offering valuable insights, PRISM helps startups establish credibility and foster lasting connections.

5. Focusing Solely on Product Launches

The Mistake: Many startups only engage in PR around product launches, missing out on opportunities to keep their brand in the spotlight year-round. This sporadic approach can limit visibility and create gaps in brand awareness.

How PRISM Helps: The PRISM framework encourages startups to maintain an ongoing PR presence rather than limiting it to launch events. By continuously generating news, sharing insights, and promoting thought leadership, startups can keep their brand relevant and top-of-mind for customers and investors alike.

6. Using Jargon and Buzzwords

The Mistake: Startups sometimes assume that industry jargon and buzzwords make them sound more credible. However, this language often confuses readers or comes across as insincere.

How PRISM Helps: PRISM's "Identity" phase emphasizes clear, authentic communication. By focusing on approachable language that conveys value without unnecessary complexity, startups can build a more trustworthy and relatable brand image. PRISM encourages simplicity and clarity in messaging to make a genuine impact.

7. Neglecting Crisis Management Preparation

The Mistake: Startups rarely anticipate the need for crisis management. However, in today's fast-paced media environment, issues can escalate quickly, and a lack of preparedness can turn small problems into PR disasters.

How PRISM Helps: PRISM includes crisis management strategies that help startups prepare for potential issues. By proactively planning responses to common crisis scenarios, startups can mitigate damage and handle crises in a way that reinforces their credibility. PRISM equips startups with tools to respond confidently and transparently, minimizing reputational harm.

8. Ignoring the Importance of Social Proof

The Mistake: Startups often need to remember the power of testimonials, case studies, reviews, and customer success stories in PR. Without social proof, potential customers may view the startup as unproven or unreliable.

How PRISM Helps: PRISM's focus on building credibility extends to encouraging startups to gather and share social proof actively. By incorporating customer stories and testimonials into PR efforts, startups can create a compelling narrative highlighting real-world impact, making it easier to gain trust and traction.

9. Failing to Track and Measure Results

The Mistake: Many startups need to measure the outcomes of their PR efforts, making it difficult to understand what's working and what isn't. With data, strategies can be refined and better results achieved.

How PRISM Helps: PRISM's "Metrics" phase prioritizes tracking and evaluation, helping startups implement systems to measure the impact of their PR initiatives. By analyzing metrics such as media coverage, social engagement, and website traffic, PRISM provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of campaigns, allowing startups to make data-driven adjustments.

10. Setting Unrealistic Expectations

The Mistake: Startups sometimes expect immediate results from PR, viewing it as a shortcut to success rather than a long-term investment. This mindset can lead to disappointment.

How PRISM Helps: PRISM sets realistic expectations from the outset, emphasizing that PR is a marathon, not a sprint. The framework encourages startups to adopt a steady, consistent approach that builds credibility and visibility over time. By setting achievable goals and focusing on sustainable growth, PRISM helps startups maintain motivation and see the value of PR as an ongoing strategy.

Navigating the PR world can be challenging for startups, but understanding these common pitfalls is the first step in developing and implementing a successful PR strategy. The PRISM framework provides a roadmap to avoid these mistakes and maximize PR impact. By focusing on purpose, research, identity, media, and metrics, startups can build a strong PR foundation that supports growth and longevity.

PR isn't just about getting attention—it's about building a brand that resonates, endures, and leads. With the guidance of PRISM, startups can achieve their PR goals and create meaningful, lasting connections with their audience and industry influencers.

How Startups Can Leverage Cutting-Edge PR Strategies to Propel Growth

In today's hyper-competitive digital landscape, startups require more than innovative products and services to succeed. They need robust public relations strategies that help carve out a unique market space and foster sustainable growth. Marquet Media, a pioneer in advanced public relations solutions, has introduced a new suite of PR strategies designed specifically for startups, helping them maximize visibility, engage effectively with target audiences, and accelerate growth. This guide provides a comprehensive breakdown of these strategies and offers a step-by-step approach to integrating them into your startup's growth plan.

Understanding the Importance of Tailored PR Strategies

Startups face distinct challenges differentiating them from established companies, including limited resources, brand recognition, and a limited customer base. Traditional PR tactics often need to address these challenges. Marquet Media's tailored PR strategies are crafted to meet the specific needs of emerging businesses, offering them the tools to compete and stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Step 1: Develop a Customized Brand Narrative

Building a Connection Through Storytelling

A compelling brand narrative is crucial for startups. It transcends basic product descriptions to convey your business's values, mission, and vision, forming an emotional connection with your audience.

• Identify Core Values: Clearly define what your startup stands for. What problems are you solving, and why should people care? These values will form the backbone of your narrative.

• Craft Your Story: Work with Marquet Media to turn these values into a story that resonates with your target audience. This narrative should be engaging, authentic, and reflect your brand's identity.

• Maintain Consistency: Consistently integrate this narrative across all platforms. Whether through website content, social media posts, or press releases, ensure your brand's story is unified and compelling.

Step 2: Enhance Digital Visibility

Expanding Your Online Presence

In the digital age, visibility is critical to attracting and retaining customers. Startups must be visible online and captivating enough to maintain audience interest.

• Implement SEO Best Practices: Use SEO techniques to improve your website's visibility on search engines. This involves optimizing content with relevant keywords, enhancing site speed, and ensuring mobile compatibility.

• Create Valuable and Relevant Content: Design a content marketing strategy, including blogs, infographics, and videos that provide value to your audience and position your startup as a thought leader.

• Leverage Social Media: Use all social media platforms at your fingertips to amplify your content and engage directly with your audience. Tailor your messages according to the specific demographics of each platform.

Step 3: Execute Precision-Targeted Media Strategies

Crafting and Placing Impactful Media Pitches

Effective media outreach can dramatically increase a startup's visibility and credibility. It involves identifying the right media outlets and crafting pitches highlighting your startup's unique aspects.

• Target Appropriate Media Outlets: Identify which publications and platforms cater to your audience and industry. Marquet Media's proprietary database can help pinpoint these outlets.

• Develop Custom Pitches: Create tailored pitches for each outlet. These should highlight how your startup's story aligns with its content and audience interests.

• Monitor and Adjust Strategies: Track which pitches gain traction and why. Use this information to refine future media strategies.

Step 4: Build Strategic Influencer Collaborations

Enhancing Reach and Credibility through Influencers

Influencer marketing can be particularly effective for startups looking to establish trust and expand their reach quickly.

• Choose Relevant Influencers: Select influencers with significant followings and audiences that align closely with your target market.

• Collaborate on Authentic Content: Work with influencers to create genuine content that provides value to their followers. This could include product reviews, behind-the-scenes looks at your startup, or co-created content.

• Measure the Impact: Use tools to track the effectiveness of influencer collaborations in terms of engagement, reach, and, ultimately, conversions.

Step 5: Implement Robust Crisis Management

Preparing for Potential Setbacks

No startup is immune to potential crises. Effective crisis management involves preparation and quick, transparent communication.

• Develop a Crisis Response Plan: Identify potential crises and outline response strategies for each scenario. This should include designated spokespeople and pre-approved messages.

• Conduct Regular Training: Train your team on crisis response techniques to ensure everyone knows their role during a crisis.

• Engage Proactively: Monitor online mentions and customer feedback actively. Quick, thoughtful responses can mitigate damage and demonstrate your commitment to customer service.

Leveraging Marquet Media's PR Expertise

Marquet Media's new suite of PR strategies provides startups with the tools they need to survive and thrive. By developing a strong brand narrative, enhancing digital visibility, executing targeted media strategies, engaging with influencers, and preparing for crises, startups can build a solid foundation for lasting success.

Following this guide, startups can leverage Marquet Media's cutting-edge PR strategies to propel their growth and establish a strong market presence. Each step is designed to build upon the last, creating a comprehensive approach to startup marketing that attracts attention and builds lasting customer relationships and brand loyalty.

Digital Publicity and Design Thinking: Navigating the New Age of Marketing

Digital publicity and design thinking have become increasingly intertwined in the digital transformation era, forming a powerful duo in the marketing world. This article dives into how these two concepts synergize to create impactful marketing strategies in the digital age. We will discuss design thinking, its application in digital publicity, and its effects on consumer engagement and brand building.

The Evolution of Digital Publicity

The Digital Landscape

Digital publicity, the practice of promoting brands through digital channels, has evolved dramatically with the advent of the Internet and social media. It encompasses various activities, including social media marketing, content marketing, email campaigns, and search engine optimization (SEO). The digital ecosphere delivers a vast playground for brands to interact with their target audience, gather insights, and build lasting relationships.

The Power of Analytics

One of the most significant aspects of digital publicity is the ability to track and analyze consumer behavior in real-time. Tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, and various CRM platforms offer a wealth of data, allowing marketers to customize strategies to audience needs and preferences.

Design Thinking: A Catalyst in Marketing

Understanding Design Thinking

Design thinking is a problem-solving approach traditionally associated with product design and engineering. It involves empathy, ideation, prototyping, testing, and iteration. In marketing, design thinking shifts the focus from the product to the user experience, emphasizing a deep understanding of the customer's needs and desires.

The Five Stages of Design Thinking

1. Empathize: Understanding the customer's experience and perspective.

2. Define: Identifying the core problems the customers face.

3. Ideate: Brainstorming creative solutions.

4. Prototype: Developing a minimum viable product or campaign.

5. Test: Evaluate the effectiveness and make necessary adjustments.

Integration of Design Thinking in Digital Publicity

Customer-Centric Campaigns

Marketers can create more customer-centric campaigns by applying design thinking to digital publicity. This involves crafting messages and designing experiences that resonate with target audiences, leading to higher engagement and loyalty.

Agile Marketing Strategies

The iterative nature of design thinking aligns perfectly with digital publicity. Marketers can quickly prototype various digital campaigns, test them in real time, gather feedback, and refine their strategies. This flexibility is essential in the fast-paced digital world, where consumer trends and preferences constantly evolve.

Harnessing the Power of Multiple Platforms

In digital publicity, using multiple platforms is not just a trend but a necessity. Today's digital landscape comprises many channels - social media, websites, email, mobile apps, and more. Navigating this multifaceted environment requires a strategic approach leveraging the strengths of each platform while maintaining a cohesive brand message. This is where the application of design thinking becomes crucial, as it provides a framework for creating integrated, cross-platform strategies that resonate with diverse audiences.

Understanding Platform-Specific Dynamics

Each digital platform has its unique set of rules, user behaviors, and engagement patterns. For instance, the content that thrives on Instagram may have a different impact on LinkedIn. Design thinking, with its emphasis on empathy, helps marketers delve into the specific characteristics of each platform and understand the nuances of the audiences they cater to. This understanding is pivotal in crafting content and campaigns that are platform-appropriate but also compelling and relevant.

Creating a Unified Brand Experience

One of the critical challenges in using multiple platforms is maintaining a consistent brand experience. Consumers engage and interact with brands across digital touchpoints; their experience should be seamless and unified. Design thinking aids in mapping out the customer journey across these platforms, ensuring that every interaction aligns with the brand's core values and messaging. Consistency builds trust and strengthens the brand's identity in the digital space.

Leveraging Data for Cohesive Strategies

Data plays a significant role in formulating effective cross-platform strategies. Marketers can get insights into consumer behavior by analyzing data from different channels. Design thinking integrates these insights into the ideation process, where strategies are developed based on creative intuition and grounded in user data. This data-driven approach ensures that cross-platform strategies are creative and effective in reaching and engaging the target audience.

The Benefit of Iterative Testing Across Platforms

The iterative nature of design thinking is particularly beneficial in a cross-platform context. It allows marketers to test different strategies, content types, and campaigns across various platforms, gather feedback, and make real-time adjustments. This iterative process is vital in a digital landscape where consumer preferences and platform algorithms constantly change. It enables brands to stay agile and responsive, continually refining their strategies to maximize impact.

Integrating Emerging Technologies

Cross-platform strategies also benefit from the integration of emerging technologies. AI can customize content across platforms, while AR and VR can create immersive experiences from social media to mobile apps. Design thinking helps in exploring and implementing these technologies in a way that they complement and enhance the overall cross-platform strategy rather than functioning in silos.

The synergy of cross-platform strategies in digital publicity is a testament to the complex and interconnected nature of the digital marketing landscape. By applying design thinking, marketers can navigate this complexity, creating cohesive strategies across various platforms and resonating deeply with their target audience. This approach is critical to building a strong, versatile, and impactful digital presence in today's ever-evolving digital world.

Case Studies: Successful Application of Design Thinking in Digital Publicity

Example 1: Social Media Campaigns

A notable example is a fashion brand that used design thinking to revamp its social media strategy. The brand identified a desire for more authentic and interactive content by empathizing with its young audience. They prototyped various content formats and iteratively tested them, resulting in a highly engaging social media presence.

Example 2: Email Marketing

Another example is an e-commerce company that applied design thinking to email marketing campaigns. By defining the problem of low engagement rates, the company ideated and tested different email formats, subject lines, and personalized content, leading to a significant increase in open rates and conversions.

Challenges and Opportunities in Combining Digital Publicity with Design Thinking

Overcoming Resistance to Change

One of the main challenges is the resistance to change, as traditional marketing methods are deeply ingrained in many organizations. Adopting a design thinking approach requires a cultural shift towards a more iterative and user-centric methodology.

Opportunity for Innovation

However, this integration presents significant opportunities for innovation. By focusing on the user experience and continually testing and refining their approaches, brands can create more effective and memorable digital publicity campaigns.

The Role of Technology in Digital Publicity and Design Thinking

Leveraging AI and Machine Learning

AI and machine learning advancements are pivotal in digital publicity and design thinking. These technologies enable marketers to analyze vast amounts of data, predict consumer behavior, and personalize campaigns at an unprecedented scale.

The Use of Virtual and Augmented Reality

Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR and AR) technologies are also emerging as powerful tools. They offer unique ways to engage customers, create immersive brand experiences, and stand out in the crowded digital space.

The Dynamic Influence of Consumer Behavior

In digital marketing, understanding and adapting to changes in consumer behavior is crucial. The digital age has changed how consumers interact with brands and their expectations and decision-making processes. This section explores the dynamic relationship between consumer behavior, digital publicity, and design thinking.

Increased Demand for Personalization

Consumers now anticipate that brands will recognize them as individuals and cater to their unique preferences and needs. This demand for personalization has significant implications for digital publicity. Marketers must harness data analytics and customer insights to tailor their campaigns. Design thinking plays a pivotal role here, focusing on empathizing with users and creating solutions that meet their specific needs.

The Rise of the Informed Consumer

Today's consumers are more informed than ever before. They can access a wealth of information and are likely to research extensively before purchasing. This trend necessitates a shift in digital publicity strategies. Content marketing, for instance, becomes crucial in providing valuable and informative content that aids consumers in their decision-making process. Design thinking helps understand the kind of content that would be most beneficial to consumers, ensuring that it is informative and engaging.

The Preference for Authenticity and Brand Transparency

Consumers are increasingly valuing authenticity and transparency from brands. This trend impacts how companies approach their digital publicity efforts. Brands are now expected to be more open about their processes, values, and challenges. 

Engagement Through Interactive and Immersive Experiences

The digital era has also seen a rise in consumer preference for interactive and immersive experiences. This is where technologies like AR and VR come into play, offering new avenues for engagement in digital publicity campaigns. Design thinking aids in creating these immersive experiences by focusing on how consumers interact with these technologies and what kind of experiences will be most engaging and memorable for them.

The Influence of Social Media and Peer Reviews

Social media and peer reviews have a profound impact on consumer behavior. Consumers are not only influenced by what brands say about themselves but also by what others say about these brands. This means leveraging social media platforms effectively and encouraging user-generated content in digital publicity. Through design thinking, marketers can ideate and prototype different ways to engage users on these platforms and encourage them to share their experiences.

Adapting to the Ethical Consumer

The growing concern for ethical practices is an emerging aspect of consumer behavior. This consciousness affects how brands approach their digital publicity. Consumers are looking for brands that align with their values and are willing to change their purchasing behavior accordingly. Design thinking helps understand and integrate these values into digital marketing strategies, ensuring the brand's messaging aligns with its ethical stance.

The interplay between consumer behavior, digital publicity, and design thinking is dynamic and continuously evolving. Marketers can create more effective, engaging, and ethical digital publicity strategies by understanding and adapting to these behavioral shifts. This approach aligns with modern consumers' expectations, drives meaningful engagement, and builds lasting brand loyalty.

The Future of Digital Publicity and Design Thinking

Predictions and Trends

The future of digital publicity, intertwined with design thinking, will likely be characterized by even more personalized and interactive experiences. We may see a rise in voice search optimization, interactive video content, and more sophisticated use of AR and VR in marketing campaigns.

The Importance of Ethical Considerations

As digital publicity continues to evolve, ethical considerations will become increasingly important. Data privacy, consumer consent, and the responsible use of AI will be at the forefront of marketing discussions.

Conclusion

Integrating digital publicity and design thinking marks a new era in marketing, offering a more dynamic, customer-centric, and innovative approach. As technology evolves, so will how brands connect with their audience. The future of marketing lies in the ability to empathize with consumers, rapidly prototype ideas, and continuously refine strategies based on real-world feedback. This approach enhances the effectiveness of digital campaigns and builds more profound, meaningful relationships with consumers.

Overall, digital publicity and design thinking are not just complementary; they are now inextricably linked in the pursuit of marketing excellence. Brands that embrace this synergy will be well-positioned to succeed in the ever-changing digital landscape.

Publicity 101: 6 Proven Tips to Secure PR for Your Startup or Small Business

Getting publicity for your small business or startup can seem like an insurmountable task for even the most seasoned founder, entrepreneur, speaker, or coach. But it doesn’t have to be. When you have the right knowledge and tools in your marketing arsenal, securing media coverage in any publication or on any podcast or television show is attainable. 

 Continue reading to learn how you can secure media coverage for your startup or small business within the next 30 days! You will save tens of thousands of dollars on hiring a public relations agency.  

If you’re a small business owner, coach, speaker or startup founder, crafting a compelling story for the media can seem like an overwhelming and intimidating task. It’s one thing to produce content for your social media channels, your company blog, your email newsletter, or communicate with customers over email and a live chat, but it’s an entirely new ball game to come up with content for a journalist, editor, television producer, or podcast host.

It’s important to understand that publicity is crucial to the long-term success of any business; however, trying to figure out what story or pitching angle that will resonate with the media the most is very difficult even when you have a PR background or a newspaper or magazine’s editorial calendar in front of you. So, don’t be fooled—PR people have just as hard of a time as regular entrepreneurs. 

But to help you maximize your chances of securing media coverage while shortening your learning curve, I’m going to share my top tried-and-true PR tips below.

1.     PR Newsworthiness and Media Interest: Figure out what makes you and your small business or startup newsworthy to secure publicity. Before you pitch any story, you will need to determine what makes your business newsworthy. A newsworthy story can be anything from a prestigious new hire, opening a new office in a new city, releasing a book, taking a controversial stand, or hosting an event. Announcing the launch or the release of something can be considered newsworthy. Just keep in mind why the media should care about this launch and how this angle will be of interest to whatever outlet you’re pitching. My best piece of PR advice is to consider how your story will help the media or be of interest to the media’s audience/viewership.

2.     Where Your Story Can Fit in What Outlets and What Columns: Now that you know what makes your business newsworthy, it’s time to determine where your story can fit in what types of publications, as well as which column. I encourage you to read all of the websites, blogs, magazines, and newspapers, as well as watch/listen to the television stations and podcasts where your story can fit.

Start by looking at your local news. If you own a restaurant or brick-and-mortar business, then your story can fit into your local newspaper, magazine, or on a local television segment. However, if you own an e-commerce shop, then depending on what you sell, your story can fit into a wide range of media. For instance, if you own a women’s apparel brand, you may be able to secure publicity on ELLE.com or Glamour.com. If you own a SaaS business, then try looking at Mashable.com or business outlets. Determining where your story can fit is just as important as figuring out what makes your business newsworthy enough to generate PR.

3.     Create The Media List of Your Top 10 Outlets: Now that you know why you and your business could be considered interesting to the media as well as which outlets that may want to run your story, it’s time to figure out which media professionals to pitch. I like to build my media lists in Google Sheets and segment it by Name, Outlet, Title, Location, Email, Beat(s), and Status (so you can keep track of who you pitched and when). Beats are topics that editors cover, btw. Keeping a spreadsheet allows me to know who, when, and what I pitched and helps me stay organized because it’s easy to forget who you pitched and when with what story angle. There’s nothing more annoying to journalists than sending the same pitches to them over and over again.

Please note--today it’s easier than ever to find the right media contact through LinkedIn.com, on Twitter, or Instagram. You can also find the right media contacts by looking at the masthead of a magazine, newspaper, or website. If email addresses are not visible, you can use this useful tool to find out the right email format. This resource will show you the format for the largest and notable magazines, websites, and newspapers.

4.     Start Building a Relationship with the Media Before Pitching Your Story: So now that you have your media list, it’s time to build a connection before pitching your story. But I’m sure you’re asking, “Kristin, how do I introduce myself to an editor or journalist without sounding awkward or like an idiot?” Well, I like to reach out to an editor or journalist before I pitch them, so they become familiar with who I am and the types of clients I represent. A short introduction goes a long way. I would use an introduction like the following one.

Subject Line: Introduction to Name or Company Name

Hi Name, (Make sure you spell their name correctly because it shows laziness if you don’t).  

I read your (article name) in (X publication) and I found it useful (in Y way). I wanted to reach out to introduce myself. I’m (name) and I do (insert job title), and in case you’re ever in need of (X), I’m available to comment on:

·      Topic 1

·      Topic 2

·      Topic 3

·      Topic 4

·      Topic 5

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kristin 

End with a short media bio. Here’s an example of mine.

In some cases, you will hear back from the editor or journalist, which is exactly what you want to happen. When you do hear back, be sure to respond within 24 hours with what the journalist is asking for, if not sooner. But if you don’t receive a response, it’s okay because now they’ve seen your name and your pitch yourself accordingly. Just be polite and respectful when you do send your pitch.

5.     Making Sure to Pitch Your Story to the Right Media Professionals: Okay, so you’ve reached out to the top 10 outlets to introduce yourself to all of the places where you want to be featured, but now you’re stumped on how to draft a pitch that someone actually wants to read and respond to. Your pitch should be relevant and timely, as well as concise and written in the tone of the outlet in which you’re pitching. Your pitch’s subject line should include who, what, and why, the text of the pitch should be fewer than 500 words, answer the five W’s and how in the first paragraph, include a handful of bullet points, and a media bio or boilerplate. Here’s an example of an outline/format of a pitch that I use for all pitches.

Subject Line: Include What You’re Pitching, When, and What Type of Story You Are Pitching  

Hi Name,

You recognize what beat the editor covers and the topic you're pitching (one sentence)

Your introduction (one sentence)

What/who you're pitching and how it relates to the editor's readership (one to two sentences) Why/where/when/how you're pitching it (one to two sentences)

Five to seven bullet points (each one has its own line)

Closing (one line)

Contact information (Telephone number, company, and email address)

Bio or Boilerplate (Four to five lines) Website (one line)

Social Media links (two lines)

If you haven’t heard back from an editor, journalist, or television producer after the first pitch, you can follow up two more times (over the course of two weeks) before marking that publication’s pitch a “no” and moving into the next publication. It doesn’t necessarily mean you were rejected, but it’s more than your story wasn’t the right fit at that time. It happens all of the time, so try not to let it bother you. You can always reach out with a new angle a few months later. 

6.     Syndicate your placements to leverage bigger media opportunities: You’ve secured publicity—a story on an industry website or the digital version of a national magazine or newspaper. That’s very exciting but it’s only the first step. To ensure you promote this credibility and attract more and larger media opportunities, you should syndicate your media features. Here are a few ways we encourage our clients to promote their publicity features.

·      Social Media: Promote all of your publicity features on your social media networks. Twitter.com, LinkedIn.com, Facebook.com, and Instagram.com are the best places to promote your PR stories.

·      Videos: Create videos featuring your publicity stories and upload them to Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories, and YouTube.

·      Email Marketing: If you send out newsletters, include all of your media features in the footer of the emails. These features enhance your credibility.

·      Email Signatures: Include links to your publicity in your email signatures.

·      Your Website: Add a media or press page to your website and include an “As Featured In” section on your website’s homepage. Featuring press on a single banner on the homepage is a great way to show off those media placements along with increasing your credibility.

·      Tag the Media that Cover You and Your Small Business on Social Media: Tag all the media in your social media posts that featured you. In some cases, they will repost your posts. This also helps make the editor’s job easier because the media run will get more traffic, reads, and shares.

·      Blogging: Write blog posts about each PR feature. This is great for showing off your credibility and can help improve search engine rankings.

·      Internal Team: Ask your team members to promote any and all features in their email signatures.

·      Content Syndication: Create a publication on Medium.com and post all of your media features there.

Keep in mind, if an editor or television sees you were featured in a top-tier publication—whether it’s on your website or in a magazine or newspaper--they will be more likely to reach out to you for a comment or quote, over someone who has not had any publicity. A perfect example of this is, a client of mine had been featured in many top-tier women’s publications, so an editor from one of the biggest women’s beauty magazines used her expertise and quote over all of the other experts in her field. This was due to the fact that my client had earned a tremendous amount of publicity and was notable.  

o   Please remember this one thing when it comes to content syndication, Google can penalize your content if it’s duplicated on multiple websites. My recommendation would be to add canonical tags to your duplicate content to prevent any penalties. You can learn more about canonical tags here.  

Getting publicity for your startup or small business can seem like a grueling task for an entrepreneur, but if you follow the six steps above, it will make the process of getting PR a lot easier than hiring a PR firm--which can cost in the mid-four to low five figures per month.