“Why didn’t I get press coverage?” Good question. Why did that founder get killer coverage in Inc. Magazine while your superior product or company got nothing? Why do journalists never write about your startup? You’re doing cool stuff, you post on social media, but in the end…. crickets. 🦗
What the EFF is going on? There may be a simple answer.
Four reasons you didn’t get press
There are many reasons, you didn’t get press but let’s look at four common reasons and how to immediately fix them. The reason your company didn’t get press could be that you’re hard to contact, don’t post about trends that matter, your branding sucks, or you didn’t bother to reach out to begin with. Let’s break those down briefly.
1. You’re not easy to contact:
When I wrote for The Washington Post it was quite normal to do research, find a guest I wanted to interview and not find a way to contact them. Seems simple, but you might be guilty of this.
Look through your website. Is there an email address, is there a phone number? If you’re like most startups, probably not. That’s DUMB!
Make it easy to reach out to you. Journalists aren’t going to hunt for your info. If they can’t find your info easily, they’ll move on to the next person. I know you don’t think there’s someone else as special as you, but you’re wrong.
2. You don’t post about trends:
Journalists get ideas from content they see online—just like you. If you’re not posting unique, thought-provoking sh*t on social channels, you are opting out of the online content stream journalists use to find ideas.
My editor used to do Google searches and social media searches to find experts to comment on various articles. The people who show up top on Google and social media channels, and clearly demonstrates credibility get the first shot at contact from the journalist.
If you’re not posting great content and/or replying to journalists and engaging with them in non-spammy ways, they won’t reach out.
3. Your brand sucks:
Journalists interview experts, not hobbyists. If your online brand looks unprofessional or bush league, journalists won’t reach out. For the same reason you’d dress for the job you want, you need to dress your personal brand for the interview you want.
You should highlight your staff on your website, and they should have professional photos with quick bios available. Make this stuff easy to find. And make it look good.
Polish your website, get a professional photo for social media, and hire a damn designer for effs-sake.
4. You didn’t reach out:
Earned media doesn’t come because you have a cool product or idea—I know you think you’re special but you aren’t. You can have the best idea, product, or company on earth, and be completely ignore for years.
Journalists aren’t know-it-alls. They can’t possibly be tapped into everything. They know only what is sent to them. If no one sends it, they don’t know it. If they don’t know it, they don’t write about it.
Coverage comes to those who create a plan or strategy to engage journalists. Sounds too simple, but it’s true.
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Press coverage is available for all founders with great ideas. If you’re not getting any coverage your startup isn’t unique, or you’re making some big mistakes.
