The document discusses the importance of public relations (PR) for startups, highlighting the need for effective positioning, messaging, and storytelling to attract media attention. It outlines strategies for getting noticed, such as defining uniqueness and relating stories to current affairs. Additionally, it provides practical steps for startups to connect with media and suggests creating engaging content to enhance visibility.

1. PR
for
STARTUPS

2. BENJAMINJOFFE
PARTNER
HAX/SOSV
BEN@HAX.CO

3. 1,477,753 views

4. Media coverage
Guest posts
Presentations
Reports (Robotics / Trends / Etc.)

7. Today’s Menu
1. What is PR and why it helps
2. The mindset of getting noticed
3. Three easy things you can do right away to get started

8. What is PR?

9. What people say about you

10. Google Yourself
• Company name
• Category
• Search terms
• Competitors

11. Why do you care?

12. Why do you care?
• Customers
• Partners
• Investors
• Staff
• No “cold call”

14. Getting PR

15. Getting PR
• Start with positioning
• Define uniqueness
• Messaging
• Stories

16. What’s a Story?

17. Story can…
• Entertain
• Inform
• Inspire

18. Interest
• Inform: You, 10x Technology, Pilot / customers
• Inspire: Giant enemy, Grand vision
• Entertain: Metaphors / Pop culture references

19. Stories Structures

20. Stories (via Mike Butcher @ TC)
• Competition/Drama “X will Kill Z”
• Gossip “CEO/Company rumor…”
• Insight “Trend X will change the world”
• Evolution “Startup Y is like the X for Z”
• Success “Awesome Y created!”
• Failure “Company X dying/screwed up”
• You “Kid creates FB”
• Celebrity “Ashton Kutcher invests!”
• Event “Krakow startup hacks Facebook!”
• News cycle Relate to current affairs

21. Let’s try!
• Competition/Drama “X will Kill Z”
• Gossip “CEO/Company rumor…”
• Insight “Trend X will change the world”
• Evolution “Startup Y is like the X for Z”
• Success “Awesome Y created!”
• Failure “Company X dying/screwed up”
• You “Kid creates FB”
• Celebrity “Ashton Kutcher invests!”
• Event “Krakow startup hacks Facebook!”
• News cycle Relate to current affairs

23. Nura's headphones
custom fit music
to match your hearing

24. $1,000 tea infuser startup Teforia shuts down
Posted Oct 27, 2017 by Matthew Lynley (@mattlynley)

25. Border-Wall Bidders Plead for Trump's Help
to Fend Off Opponents
By Mark Niquette
November 1, 2017, 9:22 AM PDT

26. Messaging

27. Testing Stories
• Conversations
• Reverse-engineering
• FB ads

28. Example: Orenda Coffee Maker
• Vision: “Coffee science”?
• Technology: “Vacuum brewing”,
“Turbo-brewing”
• Metaphor: Barista at home?

29. Your message?

30. Reaching out to Media

31. 3 Ways
• Friend
• Warm intro
• Cold intro

32. Cold Intros
• Sniper: Very specific influential editors for your category
• Grenade: Covered your category
• Carpet bomb: General editors

33. Finding relevant editors
• UpWork
• Past 12 months coverage
• Find Email, twitter with Rapportive, etc.
• $0.5/contact?

35. Hi @ben, we are making smart helmets
for contractors - safety, tag team, etc.
Launching Nov 1st. Interested?
Twitter works best

36. Adjust message, remind gently
Don’t give up yet

37. Don’t forget visuals!

40. Communities

41. Makers
Parents
Insomniacs
Musicians
Photographers
Arduino/Pi

42. Influencers

46. Make it easy

47. Material
• Clean / clear website
• Twitter account
• Web-ready photos of product & team
• Logo
• Videos for viral
• Be “on brand”

48. Long Term Starts NOW

49. “Be interesting
and they will come”

50. Become a Source
• Follow, RT, Comment on Twitter
• Send emails
• Offer insights / connections

51. Publish Your Own
• Your blog
• Guest posts
• Slideshare

52. To do NOW
1. Find the 5 top editors in your category.
Follow, RT, Email about a recent piece.
2. Write 3 Insights and 10 Trends/Tech/Startups
that matter in your category
3. Publish a slideshare
and share the link with above editors

53. ben@hax.co