Media Relations Tips for Startups (Part 1): Writing Press Releases

There are many ways that startups can do to introduce their products to the wider community, one of which is through media relations. In addition to having a readership base, the media will generally provide comprehensive reviews about the services carried out by startups, in a tone that makes it easier for consumers to understand the product's vision. To get there, one of the things that startups can do is send out press releases.

Press conference (press release) that is sent to the media must contain dense and contained information, so special tips are needed to produce a good release document. The following are tips to follow when drafting a press release regarding a product launch or update.

Arrange material framework

This stage needs to be done to produce a draft of the release document structure that will be created. The structure of a release can be different, depending on the intended end goal. For example, for the introduction of a new startup, the release structure may consist of the following points:

1. Provide a brief overview of the startup or product being promoted.
2. Describes what problem you are trying to solve, preferably accompanied by relevant data.
3. Telling the startup background, starting from founder, year of establishment, to funding/investor status.
4. Describe in detail the features of each product.
5. Write a welcome from founder related to the vision and expectations of the product.

It is different again when the material announced is an announcement, for example funding acquisition, then the structure can be in the form of:

1. Provide a brief description of the funding, obtained from whom, in what stages, and at what amount.
2. Describe what the funding allocation plan will be used for.
3. Write a welcome from founder and investor representatives.
4. Tells the startup achievements that have been achieved from the beginning until this funding is obtained.
5. Describe the achievement targets to be pursued after funding.

Each is a must-have point, if anything else can be included in the next paragraph as secondary information. The preparation of the framework is also intended so that the release has a consistent storyline, thus ensuring that the perspective understood by journalists is in accordance with the vision that the startup wants to convey.

Writing a draft press release

One of the good press release writing techniques is the “inverted triangle” method, consisting of primary information, secondary information, and others. In the secondary information write down the main material to be conveyed, this paragraph ideally can define in detail what is written in the title. For example for information re-branding web and startup applications, so here we can tell the concepts, goals, and expectations.

Then secondary information can contain other things that support the description in the previous paragraph. If using the same case study, you can include comments from founder, startup achievements, to future plans. If there are other things you want to say, write them at the end.

This type of draft model not only ensures that the writing focuses on the main issues raised, it will also make it easier for journalists to write it – as information, almost every release that is sent will be written and re-edited.

"The most important criterion is that a press release must be able to help journalists fulfill 'the 15 minute rule' -- a 'rule' in journalism that a story must be published within 15 minutes of the incident. Therefore, it must be short, concise, and clear," said Anisa Menur as Senior Writer e27.

After the draft is prepared, make sure it has been communicated with the relevant parties. For example, if the startup has investors, it would be better if the draft was notified beforehand. Tech market volatility is quite dynamic, there could be other considerations for angle information to be conveyed.

Equip assets for broadcasting

Once the draft is approved and ready to send, insert it into a well-formatted document. Regarding the format, it can be adapted to Branding each startup. In the document the composition of the contents can be:

1. News title.
2. Sub-title of the news if you want to emphasize the point on the title.
3. The news points to be conveyed.
4. A description of the information that has been compiled in paragraphs.
5. A brief description of startups.
6. Contacts that can be reached.

Sending documents can use the standard format, namely .docx or .pdf. To complete the news and make the publication more beautiful, also include supporting images with good resolution. The images can be in the form of team member photos, product illustrations/promotions, photos brand startup, or something else that represents the title.

Sending press releases via email

Email the press release. To get media emails, visit which media pages you want to go to. Generally, on the “About Us” page, the media includes an email editor who can be contacted when they want to deliver news. In writing an email there are also things that need to be considered. The first is about the structure of creating email content, as follows:

1. Write a solid, concise, and clear email subject/title. Describe the content as a whole. Example: “Press Release: Startup X Gets Funding from ABC worth 10 billion Rupiah”, “Startup X Presents Application for Fishing Equipment Rental”, etc.
2. In the body of the email, start with a brief introduction and provide a summary of the news contained in the document. Since it is already attached, there is no need to put the contents of the document in the email.
3. If you have a lot of writing assets, you can put them into cloud storage media (eg Dropbox or Google Drive), but make sure access to guest also given.
4. Close by acknowledging if there are further questions or discussions regarding the submitted release material.

If the delivery is done individually or by the method mail merge, media email addresses can be entered into the “To” field. However, if it is sent in bulk, it is advisable to put email addresses into the “BCC” column. The “CC” column can be filled with relevant email partners at startups, for example to the CEO or investors.

Other considerations

Currently, there are many media reporting about digital services and startups – they have a readership of people who really enjoy the development of the startup world. But sometimes startups also want to report to other media that do not smell of technology. For example, a startup that provides services marketplace beauty, they want to send a release broadcast to the media that discusses women and their lifestyles. So the technical discussion becomes less relevant, not even desirable. So it could be that startups decide to draft more than one release with emphasis angle different.

For example, for technology media and startups (including media with techno channels), the press release focuses on business features and achievements that have been achieved. But when sending releases to media that focus on women's lifestyles, the emphasis is on digital problems and solutions that make it easier for them to find beauty services. It is understood here that each media has a different view of relevance to the releases received.