bloggers

How do Startups Capture the Spotlight?

By Mark Evans in Startups 1 Comment Tags: , ,

In working with many startups, one of their key objectives is capturing the attention of customers, bloggers and reporters, partners and investors. The problem is many of them have little idea about how to do it other than writing a press release, and then crossing their fingers that it will somehow catch someone’s attention.

At a basic level, the big challenge is creating stories that resonate with target audiences. For any company, particularly startups with no track records, a good story is crucial because it gives someone a reason to be interested or care. The story could be about the company itself, consumer or industry trends, or how the service/product is unique or meeting a need in a different way.

Truth be told, good storytelling is difficult to do because it means stepping away from simply telling the world what you do and the wonders of your service or product.

So how do startups get the love and attention they desire? Here’s a few tips:

1. Think big. One of the biggest mistakes made by startups is they focus on what they’re doing, which, in the scheme of things, is relatively small. In a very small number of cases, their product or service might be newsworthy but it’s a long shot. Instead, startups need to focus on how they fit into the big picture. How is their product/service part of an overall trend that is capturing the attention of consumers? It means creating a big picture story in which the startup plays a role as opposed to being the star of the show.

2. Leverage your data. For startups that collect data about what their users are doing or what’s happening in their market, data can be a powerful marketing vehicle. A good example is Sysomos (a client), which created mini-reports on social media activity such as the behaviour of Twitter users around the world. These reports contained enough data goodness that bloggers were all over them. As a result, Sysomos got tremendous coverage and lots of attention.

3. Build relationships. “Cold pitching” a story to a reporter or blogger isn’t a formula for success unless you have an amazing story. Instead, startups need to identify their target audiences, and then build relationships over time. It’s an investment that takes time but it creates a more receptive audience that can be leveraged when needed. Building relationships can involve meeting people for coffee, sending them tips or insight about industry developments or news, seeking them out at conferences, or leaving a comment on their blogs.

4. Timing is everything. Too many startups try to capture the spotlight when they have nothing to talk about other than how they have launched a service. It may be interesting news to the startup but it’s “meh” for everyone else. Instead, startups should wait until they have something interesting to talk about. It could be a major industry development that impacts them or their business. In other words, it’s okay to wait until the time is right rather than trying to force it.

5. Success is sexy. Nothing gets people more interested than success stories. For startups, being able to show people what you’re doing is resonate with customers is a compelling story. It could be getting 10,000 users or striking deals with high-profile partners. It demonstrates that what you’re doing is interesting to customers so, in theory, is should be interesting to other people too.

6. Don’t think that hiring a PR is recipe for success. PR agencies can offer  value but it is hard for them to perform miracles if they don’t have a good story to tell. Too many companies hire a PR company, only to discover there is no return on their investment. Startups should start by hiring a PR agency on a contract basis to see how they perform. It’s also important for startups to provide PR agencies with marketing collateral and draft pitches so a lot of money isn’t spent on preparatory “grunt” work.

Bloggers: A Key Part of Startup/VC Ecosystem

By Mark Evans in Startups, Venture Capital No Comments Tags: , , ,

As a long-time blogger and someone who does a lot of consulting work with startups, David Crow’s post “Where the Canadian VC Bloggers?” obviously struck a chord for a variety of reasons.

In thinking about David’s post, one thing that came to mind is how bloggers need to be a key part of the Canadian startup and venture capital ecosystem. The apparent lack of Canadian bloggers writing about the venture capital business and the growing number of financing deals puts the spotlight on the fact there may be a gap in the overall ecosystem that needs to filled.

While blogging certainly isn’t sexy any more, bloggers do play an important role in talking about what’s happening, the key trends, the movers and shakers, and putting the spotlight on the leading startups.

It is an important job because, frankly, newspapers do, at best, a mediocre job of covering the venture capital and startup sectors. One of the problems and challenges is most of the Canadian VC deals are not that big, which makes it hard to warrant newspaper coverage. As well, the venture capital sector has been so dismal in recent years that there isn’t a lot to write about, although there are signs of encouragement.

Given the lay of the land, this is where bloggers can step into the fray by supporting the VC and startup ecosystem. This is not to suggest the coverage must be fawning. Instead, there is a need to have strong, vibrant and objective coverage of the VCs, startups and entrepreneurs who are succeeding and failing.

In this way, bloggers can play as key a role as VCs, startups and entrepreneurs in creating a healthy ecosystem that is firing on all cylinders.

One final thought: In no way, am I criticizing or disparaging the bloggers who do write about VCs and startups. Blogs such as StartupNorth and StartupCFO do a great job of providing insight and information. All I’m saying is that, in this case, more is better.

What Startups Should Not Do When Approaching Bloggers & Reporters

By Mark Evans in Social Media, Uncategorized 1 Comment Tags: , ,

SpotlightWhen you’re a start-up, there’s a hunger to capture the spotlight. When a start-up is scrambling for users, the chance to be get some coverage from bloggers or reporters seems like nirvana. To paraphrase “If we build it, they will come”, start-ups enthusiastically buy into the belief “If we get covered, users will come”.

While trying to attract attention is obviously a good thing, it’s difficult to make it happen because there is so much noise and competition. A blogger with even a modest amount of traffic is probably inundated by start-ups and PR agencies, while reporters are swamped.

In a previous post, I offered eight tips on how to get bloggers and reporters to give you the time of day. Today, I want to look at what start-ups should avoid when they approach bloggers or reporters. This post was inspired by a start-up that sent me an e-mail recently that suggested “We’d appreciate your support by introducing us to the world on your blog.”

While I give the start-up credit for reaching out and using my name to personalize the e-mail, the biggest problem is the message was all about them rather than being about me. They provided a nice overview of their service but it was missing insight into why I should be interested and how it would be relevant to my blog or readers.

In an ideal world, there would have been some information that would illustrate why their service would fit into my editorial focus or interests. The personalization would be included a statement linking the problem the start-up is solving with how the service would make my life easier, more productive or convenient.

Now, it may sound selfish to force start-ups to cater to my needs but it’s a competitive landscape with many start-ups battling for a piece of the attention “pie”. Unless you’re doing something extraordinary, a start-up needs to nail its pitch to bloggers and reporters.

It means start-ups really need to think through what they are pitching and, as important, who they are targeting. It could mean investing their time going after a small target group rather than using the shot-gun approach in which you hope and pray that a few of your blasts get picked up.

It’s not good enough to do an average job when you pitch bloggers and reporters because there are too many other companies playing the same game.

It can be a major challenge for start-ups because telling their stories effectively is often not part of their core competency. Even if they spend the time to tackle it properly, their skills may lie elsewhere. This is where using a third-party could make a lot of sense.

The other consideration is balancing the need to capture the spotlight with the need to make sure your service or product is kick-ass. At the end of the day, great stories and pitch need to sit on a rock-solid foundation of a service or product that delights or solves a problem.

The Canadian Blog Directory Goes Live!

By Mark Evans in Blog Services, Blogs No Comments Tags: , ,

CBD Logo copyEarlier this week at the mesh conference, my partner, Seth Singer, and I finally unveiled The Canadian Blog Directory. It’s a project we’ve been working on for the past few months to help people discover and explore the Canadian blogosphere.

In many respects, it’s a labour of love driven by the fact there really wasn’t a comprehensive and high-quality place to find Canadian blogs. As a result, you had to peck and search around as opposed to having a one-stop destination that met all your needs.

The CBD was launched with about 800 blogs, and since it went live a couple of days ago, we’ve had more than 150 blogs submitted. You can submit your own blog or recommend a blog you like. Either way, it’s free.

Consider the CBD a first step in what we’re looking to do. Our goal was to plant a stake in the ground and establish a foundation upon which we could build. There are lots of things on our to-do list, including new features and a refreshed design.

We’re looking to the community to help us make the CBD better and bigger. Submit or recommend a blog, or send us some thoughts at feedback@thecanadianblogdirectory.com.

Eight Ways Not to Pitch a Blogger

By Mark Evans in Uncategorized 5 Comments Tags: , ,

It’s challenging these days to capture the attention of reporters and bloggers. Everyone is so busy, overwhelmed by the amount of content flowing their way, and inundated with pitches.

So when I opened an e-mail this morning that started with “Hi, Mark, you social media guru, you”, I can’t say I was surprised. It was an attempt to be creative but, unfortunately, it didn’t work. First, I’d never consider myself a “guru”, and it makes me uncomfortable if someone describes me as a “guru” or a “social media expert”. I may be good at offering social media services but “guru” is extremely lofty territory.

This pitch got me thinking about the mistakes made by PR folks and companies when they approach bloggers and media. Having seen thousands of pitches as a reporter for more than 10 years, and created some of my own pitches (including many that failed to resonate), here are some things to avoid.

1. Trying to be too creative, cute or out of the box. Yes, you want to stand out from the crowd but at the end of the day your pitch will resonate if there is a strong, compelling or interesting story. You can dress it up all you want but the focus should be on the story.

2. Not knowing what the reporter or blogger is interested in. I’m still getting pitches for telecom equipment even though I haven’t written about telecom in many months. And I also get pitches about technologies that I have absolutely no interest in.

3. A lack of personalization. At least the person above used “Hi, Mark”. I’ve received countless pitches with no name at all or “Blogger”. If you really want my attention, show me you’ve done a little bit of homework.

4. Sending a press release about a new product or service but not offering a chance to try it out. This is particularly relevant for online service that don’t involve shipping and that can be turned off after a certain period of time. Yesterday, for example, I got an e-mail pitch about Slacker Premium that went on and on but didn’t offer to let me check it out.

5. Not making it easy to opt out. If you’re going to visit my in-box without being invited, you should be polite enough to make it relatively easy for me to have you go away. My biggest nemesis these days is Cision, whose clients pound away with press release after press release but make me do the work at unsubscribing. I’ve suggested to Cision they offer a bulk opt-out option but that would be too easy and not Cision-friendly.

6. Sending press releases with no URL to the press release itself. Sometimes, a press release arrives that could be tweet-able but without a link, it ain’t going to happen.

7. Pitching clients who would conflict with my own clients. I think it’s fairly well known that I work closely with Sysomos but you’d be surprised by how many social media monitoring services pitch me about their industry-leading offerings.

8. Sending a pitch that has no story or angle. We’re all busy and I really don’t have the time to think through what your pitch should be. That’s your job. Make it easy and accessible for me to quickly “get” why your pitch is different, interesting, exciting or innovative.

Seven Keys to Capturing the Attention of Bloggers/Media

By Mark Evans in Blogs, Media 12 Comments Tags: , , ,

One of the most frustrating things for start-ups is how difficult it can be to capture the attention of bloggers and the media. They have created compelling new services and products, they have interesting stories to tell, and would love even a little coverage to support their efforts.

Unfortunately, attracting the attention of bloggers and media is a major challenge. It is particularly surprising for blogs given there are no real estate limits. For large blogs, volume is the name of the editorial game so you would think it would be an easier process. As someone with nearly 15 years as a newspaper reporter, you figure I might have an edge but it doesn’t seem to be the case. Like everyone else, my efforts are hit and miss, mostly miss.

So how do you capture the attention of bloggers and the media? Here are some tips:

1. Craft a good story rather than pitching what your company does. Bloggers and reporters tell stories so make their lives easier by giving them one on a silver platter. Make sure the story has a twist or hook that makes it different. It could be you have created something innovative, unorthodox or unique. Whatever your edge, play it up. A good example is Guardly, an iPhone app that launched yesterday that lets you notify friends and family when you have a personal emergency. Guardly is not your run of the mill startup but it’s one that resonates with many people, which is probably why it attracted some nice coverage in TechCrunch.

2. Give someone a “scoop”. Having a story that no one else does has always been a prize within the news game. Today, the rules are still the same. The downside of exclusives is the risk of alienating every other blogger or newspaper but if it means getting coverage in GigaOm or TechCrunch, for example, it can be worth the gamble.

3. Demonstrate success. Bloggers and the media really like two things: success and failure. Too many startups try to capture coverage when they haven’t done much of anything other than create a new service product. Unless you have something really special, this isn’t newsworthy. If, on the other hand, you attract thousands of customers or users, that is far more interesting because you have done something many companies fail to achieve.

A good example is WineAlign, which I did some work for two years ago. At the time, WineAlign founder Bryan McCaw was convinced he had created an innovative new service that would let people make smarter buying decisions at liquor stores in Ontario. But when he pitched the story, the response was deafening silence. Fast-forward two years and 15,000 registered users later, WineAlign just got great coverage in the Toronto Star.

4. If you’ve been successful in the past, make this part of the marketing efforts. It’s a spin-off of point #3. If an entrepreneur has been successful in the past, there may be interest in their latest efforts.

5. Have high-profile investors or advisors. Again, you’re looking to capture someone’s attention at a time when thousands of other companies are trying to do the same thing. Having recognizable investors or advisors can raise a company above the crowd. Look at the attention lavished on anything that Marc Andreessen invests in. This includes RockMelt, the browser that captured the spotlight only to quickly disappear.

6. Recognition at conferences and shows. Whether it’s Demo, 500 Startups Demo Day, TechCrunch 50 or another event, winning best of show can attract the spotlight and separate your company from the crowd. Look at what Mint.com or Yammer were able to do after winning the top prize at TechCrunch 50.

7. Relationships.Building relationships with bloggers or reporters can give you a better chance of getting your story covered. Bloggers and reporters people, they’re not writing machines. Like everyone else, they do things for friends, people who have done them favours, helped them out, or people they like.

Relationships are the biggest reason you should consider hiring a PR agency because a PR person’s most valuable asset is their Rolodex. A good PR person is building relationships every day, something that they can leverage when it comes to pitching a story.

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