3 Ways to Simplify Online Marketing

The following article appears on Mashable and was written by

August 20, 2012 by Jonathan Gardner4

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Jonathan Gardner is director of communications at Vibrant Media, a leading digital ad company. He has spent his career as an innovator at the nexus of media and technology, having worked in communications and as a journalist.

Technology makes the magical possible, but it’s also making marketing complicated. With ad exchanges, hyper-local targeting, and endless mobile options, it’s easy to get tangled up in an alphabet soup of advertising technology. Just one look at Terence Kawaja’s ad-tech landscape induces tears of empathy for over-marketed-to marketers. Basically, the time for simplification is here.

Simplicity is what consumers want, what marketers need, and what standard-bearers such as Apple andGoogle have shown as the way forward.

What did Steve Jobs do when he returned to Apple in 1997? He simplified the product line and, by extension, Apple’s whole business. That worked out pretty well.

The same goes for Google. Every once in a while the tech giant cuts products to move forward with new offerings. Sure, some of their initiatives — say, wind energy or self-driving cars — may seem to come out of left field. But Google’s basic promise to consumers is to develop products and services that help them organize and navigate the world in a better, geekier way. (I’m talking about you, Google glasses.)

We need to learn from these examples. When advertisers obsess over brand impact, and agencies insist on slicing and dicing every impression, it’s hard not to wonder if we’re focusing on the wrong things. For all the efficiency we’ve gained with the burgeoning of ad tech, we’ve lost a lot in the way of simplicity. Keeping marketing simple — delivering compelling ads and content that consumers actually want to engage with — could take the industry a long way toward improving performance for both brands and consumers.

Here are three rules that brands can follow to simplify their marketing for everyone involved.

1. Put Consumers in the Driver’s Seat

Let’s move away from strategies and metrics that aren’t really relevant for branding. Brands always look for some kind of number and stat to justify their online spend — CTR, view-through, attribution, “likes.” Does that make sense at all? Did brands worry about measuring the impact of a full-page spread in Vogue back in the day? The issue is over thinking the numbers and not thinking enough about advertising in the interest of consumers.

Give people choice, control, and relevance in their experience. Don’t put a roadblock between anyone and the story, images, or video they want to see. Create intriguing, value-add experiences that are relevant to the page, that make users want to click, view, and engage. Make it user-initiated and easy to start and stop engagement. Instead of real-time bidding (RTB), how about trying real-time relevance?

2. Get in the Content

We’ve seen a recent surge in attention for the “native ad,” sponsored content, and branded-content meme. But it’s really nothing new. Ever watch soap operas on TV? Those started out as radio broadcasts that were literally created by consumer packaged goods companies. Since the dawn of digital time, we’ve known that the traditional ad concept had to change and that brands needed to move into the content-creation business and get their content seen.

But what if your stellar campaign assets are part of the one-third of display advertising that, according tocomScore, goes unseen due to banner blindness? Even if you have awesome, entertaining, useful branded content like Red Bull or Unilever, you still need to surface it. How will your brand’s content be discovered by consumers who have literally zillions of content channels to choose from?

Focus your attention where consumer attention is focused: in the edit well online, on mobile, and on the tablet. Surface your content through advertising technology that gets you in the words and images where a relevant, immersive brand advertisement or content experience will really make an impression with consumers.

3. Simplify Your Strategy

Instead of doing one thing on mobile, another on tablets, and something else on desktop, consider puttingmobile at the center of the design process, then refining and customizing everything from there.

Brands can now respond directly to how consumers interact with all kinds of devices. In an era where we swipe, expand, and share an ad or useful brand content, it isn’t enough to rely on the same old creative approach. Brands need to leverage their great assets with amazing creative executions in high-impact, exciting ways that are native to devices, contexts, and formats.

So let’s leave the purchase funnels behind, and stick with these three simple rules. Chances are people will thank you with ever-coveted, ever-elusive, real engagement.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, fotosipsak

10 Tweets That Are Invaluable Startup Advice

By Alyson Shontell, as seen on Business Insider

 

Turtable Co-founder

Turntable.fm's Seth Goldstein took the stage at Big Omaha yesterday.

He gave entrepreneurs advice in the form of 10 tweets, i.e. 140 characters or less.

Here's what he's learned from over 20 years in the tech industry, as both an investor and an entrepreneur:

1. Anything worth doing is worth doing badly. If you think there's a market for something, go for it even if you feel under-prepared. Don't wait until the right moment.
2. Leaders believe it before they see it, managers need to see it to believe it. Leaders are the people with the visions. Managers have a place too; they help leaders execute and prioritize.
3. Dress British, think Yiddish. Look conventional, think unconventionally. Startups need to have a good brand, says Goldstein.
4. Scale a single, social gesture. Find one thing people enjoy doing and hammer away at that. It worked well for Instagram.
5. Hire slow, fire fast. Don't hire just to fill a hole in your team -- Goldstein calls this hiring while wearing beer goggles. B players bring A players down to their level, and B players never reach A level.
6. Have difficult conversations. Don't wait for the other person to bring something important up.
7. What is going up and to the right? Chances are you're doing something right. Even if users aren't growing, there might be another positive metric to focus on. Really examine whatever is working and highlight it.
8. Raise money when you can, not when you have to. Goldstein says the #1 reason startups fail is because they run out of money.
9. It's hard to bring an investor in, it's 10X harder to get them out. Think of it like a marriage to someone who's impossible to divorce. An investor won't be writing a check then walking away, so pick carefully.
10. It's not about the money, it's about the money. "We are being fattened like cows by our venture capitalists for the big exit," says Goldstein. Don't be too proud to sell; billion-dollar exits are rare.

How are journalists using social media?

As a PR professional, one thing I’m always interested in is the mind of a journalist. As someone who believes that social media is a valuable business tool, I’m constantly preaching to my fellow PR professionals about how social media can be used to connect with journalists (sorry guys, I’ll get off my soapbox eventually). 

I know some of them are on board, but there are still quite a few that aren’t sold on it yet.

Well, yesterday the topic came up in a Twitter conversation I was having with a freelance journalist: Matt Lindner. Currently, Matt writes sports feature stories for ESPN, so he and I don’t work together professionally but we do enjoy a good sports conversation. 

Yesterday, though, Matt and I were talking about social media and PR. More specifically, how the two tie together. I was very interested to hear his point of view as a journalist. Because I was so interested, we followed up the conversation via email where Matt was able to expand beyond 140 characters. 

So what did I learn (right from the horse’s mouth) about how journalists are using social media?

They’re seeking out relevant story ideas:

“As a feature writer, I’m constantly looking for the stories that are going to get people talking. Part of my job is keeping a finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the world of sports, asking questions the fan would ask if they had the platform that I do,” Matt said. 

Where is he looking for these ideas? 

“The people and organizations that I follow on Twitter are those that I feel are relevant—relevant to me, my readers, and to the conversation that I’m hoping to further in both the world of sports and pop culture.” 

An example from Matt: “I’ve got another pitch to my editors in the works right now that I learned about after an old professional acquaintance that I met last summer and kept in touch with on Facebook posted something on her page.” 

They’re listening to what you’re saying :

Who/and what do they listen to?

“The biggest ‘secret’ to getting my attention is to have an active account,” said Matt. “If you’re talking, engaging, humorous without pandering, I’m going to listen.” 

He also added: “The problem a lot of organizations run into is that they have social media accounts and they want to have a lot of followers, but they don’t want to share. Or if they do share, they only post messages that are blatantly promotional, serving only to further their own interests without acknowledging the needs or wants of their digital fan base as it were.”

They’re doing research: 

Matt told me: “In my previous life as a local television news reporter and in my current one as a national freelance sports writer, social media was an integral and indispensable tool in my toolbox. I cannot tell you how many times one of the influencers I followed tweeted about something cool they were doing, or some random nugget of information which caused me to think more about them. I’d investigate it further and work with my editors to see if there was a story there.”

They’re building relationships:

This is a huge one for PR pros to keep in mind. I read some great tips about this recently:Fifteen Ways to Use Twitter to Build an Army of Adoring Journalists.

Matt explained to me why relationship-building (rather than just blinding reaching out) via social media is so crucial to the PR-journalist relationship: 

“If I’ve had prior contact with you and you’ve got a story idea that you think I might be interested in, by all means pass it along and I’ll see what I can do. But if I’ve never heard of you, and then I get a tweet like ‘Hey @mattlindner, have you heard about our widgets and gadgets? You should totally write about them’ you will get blocked in a shorter period of time than it took me to type that sentence.”

I’ll leave you with one last comment from Matt to sum up the bottom line of the role social media plays in the PR-journalist relationship:

“Media is constantly changing. And an increasing number of journalists are on Twitter and Facebook, using them to listen to what the public is talking about. I’ve used social media to reach out to sources that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to get ahold of through traditional means.”

So there you have it. If you weren’t sold on it yet, I hope this post helped you realize yet another opportunity that social media provides to us.

Originally submitted by Jackie Lampugnano

This article originally appeared on Social Media Club 

Exposing Common Myths About Blogging

There is no shortage of content available on the topic of blogging, but many who are interested in the subject still have misconceptions about making money through a blog. This is in part due to the fact that so many people are publishing content about blogging and a lot of those people have different views and opinions. Also, it’s often difficult to determine how much credibility should be given to the source.

In this article I’d like to present 8 myths that are commonly associated with blogging. If you have blogging experience of your own you’ve probably already disproved several of these myths. If you don’t have experience blogging, maybe this information will be helpful to see things in a different light.

Myth #1: It’s Easy to Make Money Blogging

Many people see articles or hear stories of others making money through blogging and they assume that it’s easy to do. They assume that within a matter of a few months they should be able to earn a significant income and then it is just smooth sailing from there. The vast majority of people who have believed this myth and have decided to start their own blog as a result have quickly realized that it is in fact just a myth.

The truth is that making money from a blog involves a lot of work, just like having any other type of job or running another type of business. There are plenty of success stories out there, and some of the bloggers who have managed to do very well with their blogs are able to work fewer hours than they would with another type of job. However, for every person like this there are hundreds who have tried and given up without success.

Myth #2: It’s Impossible to Earn a Living Blogging

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you’ll also hear a lot of people that say it’s impossible to earn a decent living as a blogger. While it’s not easy, it certainly is possible. It’s true that the percentage of bloggers that ever reach their income goals are small in comparison with those that don’t reach their goals, but that doesn’t take into account that most bloggers give up prematurely.

The biggest factor in bloggers who are unsuccessful is a lack of consistent effort or a lack of patience. It takes time to build a blog and many people aren’t willing to put in a consistent effort for several months or even a year without seeing much income as a result of that effort. The likelihood of success goes up drastically if you have realistic expectations and if you are willing to put in a lot of effort with little return in the early days, weeks, and months.

If you can approach your blog like a business and see it as an investment of your time that will pay off in the future, you’ll have a good chance of achieving the success that you are pursuing.

Myth #3: Blogging is Passive Income

Blogging is sometimes mentioned as a great way to earn money because it is passive. While there are some passive elements to blogging income it does require consistent work, which by definition is not passive.

There are some ways to earn passive income, such as AdSense or affiliate income, that are commonly used on blogs. However, in most of these cases the site owner is using a blogging platform, such as WordPress, to set up the website, but once it’s up there is little, if any, effort in terms of adding new content. This is more of an internet marketing strategy than it is about blogging. A blogging platform may be used, but being a blogger involves on-going work to produce new content and connect with readers.

The passive elements that are involved with blogging have to do with taking advantage of the work that you have done earlier. For example, you may wind up with a blog that attracts a decent amount of search engine traffic month in and month out. You could sell ads or use AdSense to monetize that content and you would benefit each month for the work that you have done on those posts. You could also benefit in a similar fashion by promoting affiliate products or your own products on your posts.

Once you have an archive of posts that attract traffic you’ll have opportunities for monetization, but it’s not passive in the sense that you can sit back and stop working on your blog. You may be able to make money for a little while that way, but in almost every case it will drop off pretty quickly without consistent effort. If passive income is your goal there are other methods that are more effective.

Myth #4: Blog Readers are Resistant to Monetization

Sometimes you’ll hear or read that blogs aren’t a good way to make money online because blog readers are only interested in free content and are resistant to any monetization attempts. While it’s true that blog readers are there for the content, bloggers who are able to develop the trust of their readers are able to monetize their blogs in appropriate ways. It’s possible to make money and still help your readers at the same time, and in fact this is the most successful and profitable approach.

The key here is that you have to earn the trust of your readers first, and you have to continue to keep their best interests in mind while monetizing your blog. Whether you are promoting affiliate programs, selling your own products, or adding a membership area, your monetization efforts will get the best response from readers if the products or services that you promote are of high quality and are relevant to your readers. If you can solve problems for them, most readers will have no problem at all with reasonable monetization efforts.

Myth #5: You Need Huge Traffic Numbers to Be Successful

One thing that discourages a lot of people from starting a blog or from continuing to work on their existing blog is low traffic numbers. While it’s true that having big traffic numbers will make it easier (in most cases) to earn money through some methods like selling ads or AdSense, there are still a lot of bloggers out there that earn a living from blogs that don’t have server-crushing traffic.

Without huge amounts of traffic you’ll need to diversify income sources and not rely solely on advertising. By focusing on connecting with your readers, earning their trust, and getting to know what challenges they face on a daily basis, you may be able to find the right products/services to promote or produce. Having a highly responsive audience is typically more profitable than just having a lot of traffic and low response.

Myth #6: You Have to Post Every Day to Be Successful

The mainstream blogs that have a team of writers typically post every day or even several times per day, but for a single-author blog this is usually not necessary or practical. Instead of feeling the need to crank out tons of new posts to keep up with the most popular blogs, focus your efforts on producing the highest quality of content possible. There are a lot of bloggers that post once or twice per week and still have a responsive audience that looks forward to that quality content.

While you don’t have to post every day to be successful, it is important that you do post consistently. You don’t need to publish posts at exactly the same time or day each week, but large gaps of time between posts are very damaging to blogs. In my own work I’ve always found it to be helpful to work ahead so there are always at least a few drafts ready to be published.  With this approach you don’t feel as much pressure to write a post at any particular time, which can lead to publishing something that isn’t up to your quality standards just because you feel the need to get something posted.

Myth #7: You Have to Be a Great Writer

Being a successful blogger and being a great writer are two very different things. Most bloggers don’t have a background in writing, and most blog readers aren’t concerned with having a professional level of quality in the writing. If you have knowledge of a particular subject and you have a moderate writing ability, chances are that you can run a successful blog. As you work on the blog and continue to write posts your writing skills will improve.
If you’re already a great writer you will be ahead of the game, but those skills are not a prerequisite. In fact, there are many bloggers who publish post in English without it even being their primary language. If you are especially uncomfortable with your writing skills you can always hire someone on Elance or Odesk to edit your posts, or ask a friend or family member.

Myth #8: Blogging is a Fad That Will Go Away Soon

Things on the internet change very quickly and it’s difficult to predict what will happen more than a few months into the future, but blogs don’t seem to be going away in terms of their effectiveness to communicate with readers and to earn an income. Today’s internet users have an unquenchable thirst for content and they expect frequent updates from their favorite websites. While the industry will always be evolving, blogging seems to be here for a while.

Editor's Note: The following article is reprinted from the  Vandelay Design blog at http://vandelaydesign.com

9 Reasons Why Your Content Is Not Shared on Social Networks: New Research

By Phil Mershon 

Reprinted from Social Media Examiner

Do you wonder how to get your content seen amidst a sea of information?
What if you could understand why your audience shares some information and not other? That would make your content stand out from the competition.

The Science of Sharing

30 billion pieces of content are shared on Facebook each month, including blog posts, links, news stories and photo albums.

HubSpot’s Dan Zarrella has found that three things must happen to get your content shared.

First, people must be exposed to your content (be a fan on Facebook or follow you on Twitter). Second, they must be aware of your content (meaning they actually see it). Finally, they must be motivated by something in your content to share it.

Many articles have been written on how to increase your audience size and make people aware of your content, including these by Mari Smith and Denise Wakeman. This article will focus on the motivations for sharing.


The New York Times recently partnered with Latitude Research to unpack the psychology of sharing. Based on their study of 2500 participants (and some other recent research), here are 9 reasons why your customers aren’t sharing your content.

#1: Your customers don’t trust you

Stated plainly, people won’t share your content if they don’t find you or your content to be trustworthy.

The 2011 Edelman Trust Barometer found that globally only 56% of people trust businesses to do what is right. However, in the US, the UK and Japan, that number fell significantly between 2010 and 2011.

Notice the evolution in trust.

Key takeaway: To build trust, Guy Kawasaki says the first step is to be trusting. The other recommendation is to lead honest and open public dialogues where you’re not afraid of negative statements.

#2: Your customers don’t care about your brand

That hurts to hear, but customers have short memories. They wonder “what have you done for me lately?”

Your customers are looking for valuable information, great deals and a chance to meet other people who share their interests. As soon as you stop offering these things, your fans will go looking elsewhere.

They may not feel a commitment to your brand, but you can keep them interested in your content. The next couple of points offer some remedies you can implement immediately.

Key takeaway: Determine what your audience values from you and keep giving it to them. In fact, exceed their expectations.

#3: Your posts are boring

“Don’t be boring,” says Grandma Mary, the alter-ego of Social Media Examiner’s Facebook community manager, Andrea Vahl. People are far more likely to share something they find intriguing or funny.

Look at the case of Volkswagen’s videos. Their Cannes-winning episode, The Force, a spoof on Star Wars, earned over 40 million views. None of their other videos, more traditional marketing content, came close to 1 million views. Of course, most of us would love a million views. But look at the relative difference in sharing power.

Key takeaway: People love to share humor. Get some of your creative staff to find ways to bring humor and fun into some of your posts. See this post by Jason Miller for some ideas.

#4: People care about causes more than brands

The New York Times found that people are more likely to share about something they are passionate about.

Let’s face it. People rarely wake up wondering what they can do for XYZ brand today. But they do dream of ways to help their favorite cause. Whether it’s ending poverty, supporting Greenpeace or advancing a local charity, many people give sacrificially to help things they care about.

Notice how CREE has taken a boring subject like lighting and made it a mission and revolution to change lighting in public places across America.

While not a cause in the humanitarian sense, this does get people excited about being part of something bigger than your brand or product.

Key takeaway: Show your human side. Let fans know what causes excite you and give them a chance to help you spread the word.

#5: People share to build relationships with others

Research shows that people value relationships with other people, not necessarily with brands. They are definitely looking for community. Your brand might be able to create a platform for that community.

Here are two interesting factoids from The New York Times study:

• 78% of respondents use links to stay connected to people they might not otherwise stay in touch with.
• 73% of respondents said sharing content helps them find people with common interests.

Red Bull does a nice job of sharing content their fans might be willing to share with their friends.

Notice how Red Bull asks a question and then encourage sharing.

Key takeaway: Evaluate your posts and ask why someone might share this content with their friends.

#6: Customers are looking for validation

Some things haven’t changed since junior high. We are all trying to build credibility in the eyes of our friends. We want to be seen as experts in some area(s).

The way we do that online is through the content we share.

68% of The New York Times study participants said they share content as an advertisement for themselves. They want to give others a better sense of who they are.

Key takeaway: Share highly valuable content and links that will give your fans access to information that will enable them to look good in the eyes of their friends. Ask your fans what they would like to know.

#7: People share to manage information

You’ve heard it said, “I’m just thinking out loud.” Today many people think out loud through social media.

In fact, 73% of the study participants said they process information more deeply, thoroughly and thoughtfully when they share it.

Additionally, 85% of respondents said that reading other people’s responses helps them understand and process information and events. 

Social media scientist Dan Zarrella found the following words generate the most comments in his research.

Notice how popular words like "giveaway" and "jobs" are.

Key takeaway: People who share your content may be using it to crystallize their thinking. Make sure to give them some new thought-provoking content and don’t forget to invite their comments.

#8: You’ve misunderstood your audience

If you’ve been around marketing for very long, you understand the concept of a marketing persona. This idea has been around for at least 20 years and advocates understanding your customer profile by creating detailed pictures of your ideal customer(s).

The New York Times study found there are six sharing personas for online fans and I’ve listed a seventh based on my experience and our audience. Understanding who your customers are can help you identify common motivators:

1. Altruists—Altruists share content out of a desire to be helpful and aspire to be seen as a reliable source of information. Preferred tools: Facebook and email.
2. Careerists—Careerists are well-educated and seek to gain a reputation for bringing value to their networks. They prefer content that is more serious and professional in tone. Preferred tools: LinkedIn and email.
3. Hipsters—Hipsters are younger sharers who have always lived in the “information age.” They use Twitter and Facebook to share cutting-edge and creative content. They share content to build their online identity. Preferred tools: Facebook and Twitter.
4. Boomerangs—Boomerangs seek validation and thrive on the reaction of others to their content, even when it’s negative responses. Preferred tools: Facebook, email, Twitter and blogs, wherever people will engage them.
5. Connectors—Connectors see content sharing as a means of staying connected to others and making plans. They are more relaxed in their sharing patterns. Preferred tools: Facebook and email.
6. Selectives—Selectives are more thoughtful in what they share and with whom they share it. They personalize their sharing and expect responses to their content. Preferred tool: email.

Although this is not based on The NY Times research, I’d like to add a seventh persona to the list:

1. Trendsetters—Trendsetters are thought leaders, marketers and business leaders who purposefully seek to stay abreast of breaking news and trends in their industry, sharing it quickly and aggressively. These people are typically seen as experts (or aspire to be seen as such). Preferred tools: Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

A couple of observations: 1) notice how many of these personas prefer email; 2) notice that the platform significantly predicts the motivation pattern.

Key takeaway: Think through your content-sharing strategy for each platform, knowing whom you are likely to reach.

#9: People are more personal with email

The study authors discovered that people have not abandoned email. In fact, participants share most frequently through email and consider it more private. Therefore they have higher expectations for responses through email.

Key takeaway: Don’t forget to integrate your email strategies with social media. Jay Baer will be speaking about this at Facebook Success Summit 2011. He also wrote this article.

Some final pointers

If you want a deeper understanding of the psychology of sharing, see this article by Dr. Rachna Jain.

One of the most overlooked rules in content creation is the rule of simplicity. Shorter posts (80 characters on Facebook) get shared 27% more frequently. Keep your writing style at a fifth grade or lower level of understanding.

Create a sense of urgency in your writing. Give people a reason to respond now. If they don’t act immediately, they probably never will.

Finally, remember that getting your content shared is just the first step. See this as part of longer-term strategy of building a loyal following.

Pitch perfect: A startup’s guide to getting coverage

Most young startup’s needs 3 things: Money, a good idea and a dogged determination to see that idea through to completion. But what about publicity?

Some may argue that if an idea is good enough, people will discover it one way or another, and there may be some truth in this. But there’s little question that a spot of positive coverage can boost business and accelerate the word-of-mouth process.

What we’re talking about is public relations (PR). This could be in the form of a charismatic CEO who loves nothing more than courting the media, or an appointed PR firm that manages the publicity on a firm’s behalf. But in the case of young startups, they often won’t have the funds at their disposal for an experienced PR firm, whilst the company founder may be far more comfortable getting stuck into some Python programming than penning a press release.

And this is a key point. A young entrepreneur could be a world-class coder and have the biggest game-changing product since the wheel, but if they don’t know how to communicate their vision to the wider world, the path to profit can be that little less smooth.

The Next Web gets to meet some of the most exciting tech startups around the globe, from Los Angeles and London, to Lisbon and Luxembourg. How we first encounter these startups is normally one of two ways – either we proactively set out to meet them at events, or we are approached and directly pitched to. And we do see a lot of pitches.

With that in mind, we thought we’d pull together a few tips on how startups can effectively pitch their products and ideas. Most of these are gleaned from our own experience at The Next Web, but they’re likely applicable to any publication, whether it’s a national newspaper or a niche website.

As you’ll see, the pitching process is a lot more straight forward than you may first have thought.

Remember: We like pitches

A key point to remember is that the relationship between a company and the media is a symbiotic one. On the one hand you, as a startup, want the public to read about your company in well-read publications, but also remember that we need you because you are what will ultimately give us good content.

We genuinely want to hear pitches from interesting startups.We want you to contact us.

You can be confident that at the very least we will listen to what you have to say and assess whether it’s relevant and exciting enough for our readership.

Avoid hyperbole and buzzwords, just tell us what it does.

“I narrow-mindedly outlawed the word ‘unique’. Practically every press release contains it. Practically nothing ever is.”

This quote is attributed to Fred M. Hechinger, a former New York Times editor. Even if what you have is genuinely unique, so many pitches use this word that it has become an almost redundant adjective. All we really, really want to hear about is what your product or company does.

So, it’s best not to fill your pitch with hyperbole. Stick to the facts, tell us what you’ve got, what it does and what it solves. Practical information beats buzzwords every time, so ‘unique’, ‘revolutionary’ and ‘game-changing’ can be left at the door.

KISS: Keep it short and simple

Depending on who you speak to, KISS either stands for keep it simple, stupid, keep it short and simple, keep it simple or be stupid or even keep it simple and straightforward. Either way, the KISS principle holds firm and should apply to all pitches – simplicity is the name of the game and you should avoid unnecessary complexity.

A 500-word pitch in an email is quite a daunting prospect, so if you can nail your elevator pitch in the opening paragraph that is ideal, and you can expand on this over another couple of paragraphs.

Also bear in mind that just because you’ve been immersed in your startup for the past 6 months or more, an editor may not be as familiar with your particular subject area as you are. Short and pithy is good for pitches, but you also need to use the space you have wisely and explain the basic concept behind the product without making too many assumptions about the editor’s knowledge.

Seeing is believing

My ideal pitch would consist of no more than about 150 words, accompanied by a link to the company/product or screenshots if it isn’t live yet. However, even better than this is a link to a video of the product in action.

We wrote a piece last week outlining some free and easy ways to create professional screencasts, and it’s definitely worth considering this and maybe even recording a voiceover to explain what’s happening on each screen.

You really can’t beat a good demo to illustrate what a product does.

Know your competition

As we’ve established already, a particular editor may not be as familiar with your area of industry as you. You can make their job much easier by giving examples of other similar companies/products – this not only illustrates that there is a demand, but it also gives you the chance to outline why you’re different.

Unique selling points (USPs) are what investors look for in startups, and it’s also a key factor for journalists too. If you can easily and quickly explain what it is about your offering that’s different to what’s already out there, then that is likely to get people interested.

Speaking of competition…

An assumption that many companies make is that having been featured in another high profile publication, this means that we will want to feature it too. The chances are, if your company or a new product from your company has just been featured somewhere else, we would probably pass on it.

It’s fairly common that a startup’s pitch will include links to very recent features about them, and this isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it does make our job easier in terms of researching prior coverage. But The Next Web, and probably most other top blogs and publications, like to offer fresh news, features and insights so we would probably pass if we see you’ve just been featured on another high profile blog.

However, if you have new developments to throw into the mix, by all means link through to other coverage as a means of demonstrating that there is interest in your company.

As a general rule of thumb, you are best pitching to one publication at a time in order of preference and let them know that they have the possibility of an exclusive. Ask them if they could quickly review it, and it’s fine if they’re not too keen on it or don’t reply within a couple of hours, it just means you can then go and offer it to the next publication in your list. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for feedback on why they’re not interested – you can either offer up new information to persuade them, or alter your pitch for another publication. The other route is email a select few sites/blogs and see who pounces on covering the product first, if it’s exciting enough, I assure you they’ll be competing to get the post up first and if you’re lucky, you’ll get coverage from a number of them.

Find the right person

The Next Web, as with many blogs and publications, have editors that specialize in particular areas of industry or in particular geographic locations. For this reason, it’s a good idea to identify the right person to pitch to. And it’s always good to personalize your pitch too, a mass-sent press release with BCC’d email addresses may still get interest if it’s good enough, but it’s not nearly as appealing as a personal pitch.

If you’re not sure who the right person is at a publication, there is almost always a generic email address that’s monitored.

Such email addresses aren’t provided as a means of stopping you contacting us, they’re genuinely monitored as a way of centralizing incoming messages to help us dispatch them to the right people.

For example, The Next Web has tips@thenextweb.com, we’ll see your email in seconds and ensure the correct editor gets it. This also means your pitch should contain key information such as where exactly your company is headquartered, whether it’s a mobile app, Web app, and other pertinent details.

Be confident, but not pushy

So we’ve established that media outlets such as The Next Web are keen as hell for you to contact them with your news. But that doesn’t mean you’ll definitely receive coverage. We may have just covered a company exactly like you and it may be too soon to run a similar feature – that doesn’t mean we won’t keep you on our radar for further down the line.

And there’s also many other opportunities that can arise for good coverage, maybe not as a dedicated piece on your company, but a more general feature on your industry where we discuss, compare and contrast different companies or products.

You absolutely should be confident in your pitches, but it’s also good to keep relationships solid and not be overly pushy about receiving coverage.

When to follow up

This is a question that many people wonder about. Once you’ve pitched to a publication, should you follow up if you don’t hear back? Most editors would probably say yes.

Even if a publication doesn’t want to cover your startup, it is only manners to respond to your email. So, if you don’t receive a response, follow up maybe a week or so after the initial pitch. It could be that you are already on their radar but they just haven’t gotten ’round to responding yet, or they may simply have forgotten.

In your follow-up email, simply ask if they received the email okay and whether you can offer them any more information. In fact, if you can offer more information that’s actually a good excuse to follow up – maybe a new development has emerged since the first pitch?

There’s no hard and fast rule about when or how often you should follow up, but it’s probably safe to assume that if you haven’t heard back after a few emails that it’s a non-starter.

It’s also safe to assume that if you haven’t heard back within a few hours of sending out your pitch email looking for coverage, you probably won’t be getting coverage for that particular release of your product. That’s not to say future releases/updates won’t be covered, but that particular one didn’t catch the eye of any of the editors.

Email or telephone?

There’s a lot to be said for telephone pitches or even personal pitches over a coffee, but email is almost always the best way to pitch a story in the very first instance.

It means an editor has the time to properly assess a new startup or product, test it out for themselves and decide whether they want to run with it. A follow up call on Skype or an in-person product demo may then be necessary, but most publications these days will probably prefer a pitch in writing at first.

So…what does the perfect pitch email look like?

There isn’t an easy answer to this question because pitches will vary for each story. But I’ll give an example here of a good pitch from a (fictional) startup seeking coverage of a new app.

Hi [First Name],

I’m [full name], founder of a London-based startup called [name + link to website], and I think you may be interested in our new product. We’ve developed a GPS-powered app that helps drivers instantly see how much they’re spending on petrol with each journey they make, and whilst there are similar apps out there (e.g. xxx and xxx), this is the first time an app has been created that uses up-to-date, real-time data from local service stations around the world.

We are releasing the Android version next week, and we expect the iOS version to be approved shortly after. I’ve attached a few screenshots of what the app looks like, and here’s a link to a video that demos exactly how it works.

I thought I’d give you first refusal to review this app before contacting other publications. If you could let me know if you’re keen to learn more, I’d appreciate it.

Thanks a lot for your time.

Name
Position
Telephone number
Twitter Handle

These are just a few tips on how you can effectively pitch your startup or new product to the media. This isn’t set in stone and it’s not meant to be overly prescriptive, you can ultimately inject as much of your personality into a pitch as you see fit. But the key points to glean from all this is keep it simple, short, friendly and informative.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paul Sawers is UK & Media Editor at The Next Web. Follow Paul on Twitter: @TGW_Paul, email him at paul(at)thenextweb.com or peruse his personal blog at The Good Word.

The article as it appeared on thenextweb.com