Mastering PR and Press

The Guide

5 key steps synthesized from 4 experts.

1

Define the objective and narrative

Determine if the goal is social proof for investors, a launch spike, or B2B credibility. Craft a story that is truly remarkable and passes the test of being simple enough for a non-technical family member to understand. Avoid starting with massive problem statements and instead focus on the core news.

Featured guest perspectives

"You don't go out and raise money if you don't know what the money is for. You shouldn't go out and try to get press if you don't know what the press is for."

— Jason Feifer

"You can get so in the weeds with your own messaging that you want to set up this massive problem statement, you want to make it a huge trend story, but if you're very straightforward and you're pattern matching, it's generally actually going to work."

— Emilie Gerber

"The more interesting, unique, or surprising your product, team, or events are, the more you’ll be able to take advantage of this distribution advantage. Note that every founder thinks their product and story are remarkable—the bar for this is higher than you think."

— Lenny Rachitsky

2

Select and research targets

Identify specific journalists who cover your specific niche or market segment. Do not send mass emails; instead, align your pitch with their existing patterns and previous work. Successful media coverage comes from matching your story type to a publication where that category is already well-understood.

Featured guest perspectives

"And I'm talking about TechCrunch specifically here only because the reality is they are the publication that's going to be most likely to write your funding story, that's just kind of the way it works. And it's not a bad thing, they're actually... They don't have a paywall, they tend to do a very good job, they understand it. It's a well-oiled machine, and so we know if you've done a story with them, it's going to pretty much go how you want to plan it."

— Emilie Gerber

"Finding the writers and editors who you're actually going to reach out to, who are going to most receptive to you. And also making sure that because you did the prep, you can figure out how to tell your story in a way that they're going to be interested in."

— Jason Feifer

3

Refine the pitch for audience value

Frame your story as a lesson or useful information that serves the readers of the publication. Distill your mission into a jargon-free essence and remove all industry cliches. Ensure your pitch contains a single nugget of information that is immediately graspable without deep context.

Featured guest perspectives

"The editor, the writer, I'll just say it as plainly as possible. They don't care about you. They don't care about you. They care about their reader or their listener or their viewer."

— Jason Feifer

"So if you were to boil down the essence of let's say your company or your mission, get it to one sentence and then turn it into a sentence that you could explain to a second-grader, and then cleanse it of all cliches and common parlance. And if you can then turn that into an analogy or if you can make it into something that has imagery, then you're probably 80, 90% of the way there."

— Lulu Cheng Meservey

4

Execute outreach and handle interviews

Use cold outreach that prioritizes straightforward messaging over the need for warm introductions. Before entering conversations, ensure you are well-versed in all potential data points while still conveying the emotional quality of your mission. In the event of a crisis, remember that rapid and direct communication is essential to stop misinformation.

5

Leverage coverage for long-term gains

Treat press mentions as a tactical signal to show investors and the marketplace that your company is being taken seriously. Incorporate article links and logos into sales decks, hiring emails, and outbound campaigns to build credibility with buyers. Use the social proof generated by the coverage to initiate conversations with high-level stakeholders.

Featured guest perspectives

"So I think, yeah, that's the value from the B2B perspective and it's not necessarily going to directly drive signups, but when that AE is sending their sales emails and they can link to a story, I think that really helps. Also, candidates too, when you're reaching... If it's a recruiter reaching out on LinkedIn and they only have 100 characters to make their pitch, linking to that story can be really powerful."

— Emilie Gerber

"But then I have also heard entrepreneurs tell me that it didn't do anything for them or that it did one very specific thing for them, which is to say maybe some potential partner read it and reached out, and it started an interesting conversation. It's all over the gamut, and it's a really important thing for people to remember is that this is not something that I think that you should bank on as a strategy for growth."

— Jason Feifer

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Guest Perspectives

Deep dive into what 3 podcast guests shared about mastering pr and press.

Emilie Gerber 5 quotes

Listen to episode →

"And I'm talking about TechCrunch specifically here only because the reality is they are the publication that's going to be most likely to write your funding story, that's just kind of the way it works. And it's not a bad thing, they're actually... They don't have a paywall, they tend to do a very good job, they understand it. It's a well-oiled machine, and so we know if you've done a story with them, it's going to pretty much go how you want to plan it."

Tactical:

Pitch funding news to outlets like TechCrunch that have an established, well-oiled process for handling venture announcements.
Consider affiliate marketing partnerships with publications like Business Insider if your goal is being featured in consumer product reviews.
Differentiate between outlets that write about founder journeys for recruitment vs. product reviews for direct sales.

"The barrier to trying the product is very low, you can quickly type in a query, get the answer, and then see the power of the tool. It takes one time to see the power of the tool. So in that case, I think just organic press is enough to generate that."

Tactical:

Frame your product launch around a simple comparison to a well-known tool (e.g., 'Google alternative') to ensure instant clarity.
Prioritize organic press for products where the user can experience the 'power of the tool' in a single interaction.
Ensure the landing page mentioned in the press allows users to see the product in action immediately with minimal signup friction.

"So I think, yeah, that's the value from the B2B perspective and it's not necessarily going to directly drive signups, but when that AE is sending their sales emails and they can link to a story, I think that really helps. Also, candidates too, when you're reaching... If it's a recruiter reaching out on LinkedIn and they only have 100 characters to make their pitch, linking to that story can be really powerful."

Tactical:

Prioritize B2B press as a sales and recruiting tool rather than a direct driver of user signups.
Incorporate press logos and article links into outbound sales and recruitment messages to signal legitimacy.
Identify the second-order effects of coverage, such as validating your business to potential enterprise sponsors.

"I also think not all PR people are going to agree with this, but I do think funding rounds, you can always get a reporter to cover if you go about it the right way."

Tactical:

Focus funding announcements on the core news rather than burying it under a massive problem statement or forced trend story.
Target TechCrunch specifically for funding rounds, as they are statistically the most likely publication to cover them.
Keep the pitch straightforward and use pattern matching to align with stories the reporter has previously covered.

"You can get so in the weeds with your own messaging that you want to set up this massive problem statement, you want to make it a huge trend story, but if you're very straightforward and you're pattern matching, it's generally actually going to work."

Tactical:

Test your launch announcement messaging to ensure it is simple enough that a non-technical family member could understand it.
Avoid building 'massive problem statements' and focus on a direct explanation of what the product does.
Identify and lead with a surprising 'weird' nugget or fact that makes the product naturally shareable.

View all skills from Emilie Gerber →

Jason Feifer 5 quotes

Listen to episode →

"You don't go out and raise money if you don't know what the money is for. You shouldn't go out and try to get press if you don't know what the press is for."

Tactical:

Define a clear purpose for press, such as driving awareness for a launch or building credibility for a fundraise.
Target publications whose audience scale matches your business scope (e.g., local press for local services).
Ensure your startup is at a stage where it can meaningfully handle and benefit from an influx of attention.

"The editor, the writer, I'll just say it as plainly as possible. They don't care about you. They don't care about you. They care about their reader or their listener or their viewer."

Tactical:

Research the publication's specific mission and audience before reaching out.
Frame your story as useful information or a lesson that serves the readers' interests.
Approach journalists as partners in content creation rather than service providers.

"Finding the writers and editors who you're actually going to reach out to, who are going to most receptive to you. And also making sure that because you did the prep, you can figure out how to tell your story in a way that they're going to be interested in."

Tactical:

Identify the specific individuals within a publication who cover your niche or market segment.
Tailor your story angle to match the previous work and interests of the specific editor or writer.
Focus your energy on outlets that directly reach your target customer base rather than broad national media.

"A lot of people in PR are not thinking specifically about how to tell the right story to the right potential media outlet. Instead, what they're doing is they're just playing a numbers game, and they're just blasting it out to everybody."

Tactical:

Vet PR agencies by asking for examples of how they customize pitches for different publications.
Avoid partners who rely on automated lists and mass-blast press releases.
Ensure your PR strategy is integrated with your tactical business goals rather than just chasing volume.

"But then I have also heard entrepreneurs tell me that it didn't do anything for them or that it did one very specific thing for them, which is to say maybe some potential partner read it and reached out, and it started an interesting conversation. It's all over the gamut, and it's a really important thing for people to remember is that this is not something that I think that you should bank on as a strategy for growth."

Tactical:

Use media mentions as a signal to show investors and the marketplace that your company is being taken seriously.
Leverage articles to initiate conversations with potential business partners who follow specific publications.
Manage expectations by treating any direct traffic or sales as a bonus rather than a primary growth strategy.

View all skills from Jason Feifer →

Lulu Cheng Meservey 1 quote

Listen to episode →

"So if you were to boil down the essence of let's say your company or your mission, get it to one sentence and then turn it into a sentence that you could explain to a second-grader, and then cleanse it of all cliches and common parlance. And if you can then turn that into an analogy or if you can make it into something that has imagery, then you're probably 80, 90% of the way there."

Tactical:

Boil your mission down to a single sentence that a second-grader could easily understand.
Aggressively remove all cliches and industry jargon from your core message.
Transform the simplified message into a colorful analogy or mental image to ensure it sticks.

View all skills from Lulu Cheng Meservey →