What's the right type of journalist to pitch our startup story to?

Why are you adamant about press releases? They are by far the worst conversion rates {unless you're a household name like the post or fool} for businesses. For our evens we do sometimes send out PRs but locally only and to those writers we know. Which is key. Also making it easy for them to pick up. {copy and paste for them} For growth hacking leverage cohort analysis, Twitter and Facebook. Create a meetup. Offer affiliates... Press releases are slow moving marketing steps that take away control from your business and gives it to an editor. Never lose control of your marketing. Humberto Valle Unthink Strategy

Press release sites have always been so-so for me. I've used PR Newswire in the past and have had success with getting the release picked up. If it's a well-written press release with an interesting hook, you can definitely get traction. The question is what is the traction for and does it actually convert into sales. So I'd say it depends on your goal – if all you care about is eyeballs and your press release is good, go for it. But make sure you've thought about how best you can spend your time/money to make sure there's not a better outbound approach you could be taking.

Have a great story / hook. Reach out to outlets who 1) are relevant 2) write about Kickstarter campaigns regularly. Determine why you want the press, pre-launch. It should either be for social proof for your "Kickstarter As Seen In Logo Banner" or to drive any traffic to a landing page to gather pre-launch opt-in emails. That is explained more in these blog posts. Enjoy... http://crowdfundinghacks.com/this-kickstarter-project-is-already-funded-and-it-hasnt-even-launched-yet/ http://crowdfundinghacks.com/how-kittyo-used-the-macgyver-trick-to-crush-their-kickstarter-goal/ http://crowdfundinghacks.com/how-kittyo-gathered-13000-opt-in-emails-in-only-5-months-part-1-includes-successful-templates-strategies-etc/

The honest answer is that it's not hard IF you have a great (remarkable) and cool product. I've placed our products such as DNA11 on csi:NY (entire episode centered around our art), The Amazing Spiderman, Today show and many more. For the most part they contacted us with interest. The way I got us on CSI is by doing something really outside the box. I literally wrote a letter (yes on paper) to the show's creator Anthony Zucker. I simply offered him a free portrait and told him I was a fan. 2 months later the producers contacted me and told me they had written an episode that would feature us. It was amazing to see our idea featured on one of the most watched shows on earth! This was more luck than anything but I had to put myself out there to get the opportunity. The worst thing that can happen is you get a no. Don't be afraid of rejection because 9 out of 10 times you will get rejected. All you need is one yes. Ok. Real tips: 1. Get on LinkedIn. Get a pro account. Many producers are on there and you can simply InMail them. You just have to make sure your pitch is solid. 2. Send free samples. Use research and hustle to find the names and addresses you need. There's no real easy way to get this info but there are several web sites that offer lists. 3. Never pay for placement. Ever. 4. Get on popular product blogs and get traditional PR on top tier blogs. Product researchers are often on these sites looking for the next big / cool thing. Again, you must have a really cool product for this to work. Once you get some momentum on these fronts you will magically begin to get lots of inbound Opportunties. That's when things start to get easy. However there's a reason they call it "earned media" HUSTLE! If anyone wants to brainstorm more or talk about tactics in detail contact me on Clarity.

I'm a young guy and startup entrepreneur. Recently I got myself into Inc., Fast Company, HuffPost, Entrepreneur.com, and Forbes. I essentially found writers/contributors who write about topics similar to my website/product. Then, I find them on linkedin, twitter, or find their email and reach out to them with a personal message and a call to action. There are a ton of options for you, including hiring a PR firm to help you, but I wouldn't recommend doing that. There are plenty of ways that you can get yourself into large publications or find others ways to get yourself social proof. I'll also make a few introductions for you, if I can. If you want, request a call with me and walk me through your website and I'll give you actionable steps you can take to get in publications. I cal also tell you how to begin creating shareable content that will help you grow. I created BIZFIT2015 (google it and you can see what I've created). I'll refund your $$ if you don't think I helped much. No questions asked. I'll also give you email support/coaching for free to help you out along the way.