1. MARKETING & PR
FOR STARTUPS
Courtney Boyd Myers
Director of Audience Development, General Assembly
Thursday, January 10, 13

2. INTRODUCTION 2
COURTNEY BOYD MYERS
DIRECTOR OF AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT,
GENERAL ASSEMBLY EUROPE
‣ Member of #10’s Tech City Advisory Group
‣ Mentor at BBC WorldWideLabs, Ignite100
‣ Recovering Technology Journalist
‣ The Next Web, The Huffington Post, Forbes
‣ @CBM
Thursday, January 10, 13

3. AGENDA 3
‣ Mission, Vision + Values
‣ Branding, Design + Messaging
‣ Traditional vs. Inside Out Marketing
‣ Social Media
‣ Analytics + Tools
‣ PR
‣ Relationships, Relationships, Relationships
‣Q &A
Thursday, January 10, 13

4. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 4
MISSION, VISION + VALUES
‣Vision: The company’s long-term, aspirational business goals. What's
the change you want to make in the world?
‣Mission: The company’s purpose and reason for being. What are the
big first steps to make that change?
‣Values: How will you make those choices, changes and first steps?
Source
Thursday, January 10, 13

5. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 5
MISSION VS. VISION EXAMPLES
‣Fitocracy
‣ Vision: create a world where fitness is possible for anyone
‣ Mission: empower everyone to reach their next level of health & fitness
‣One Fine Stay
‣ Vision: Become the world’s largest network of “unhotels”
‣ Mission: Provide quality sensitive travelers with a “live like a local”
experience while taking care of the home for homeowners.
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6. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 6
GA’S MISSION
We empower individuals to find purpose and meaning in their work in the context of a
global community inspired by the entrepreneurial experience.
We provide direct instruction from top practitioners and engender a culture of
collaboration and mutual support.
We provide multiple touch points to engage with our content and community—which in
aggregate form an iconic and aspirational brand.
We offer robust educational programs to build competency in Technology, Design, and
Entrepreneurship.
Thursday, January 10, 13

7. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 7
“Many companies try to dive into driving
awareness for their product or service
before they figure out who they are, what
they stand for, and what they are driving
for. At Eventbrite, we set out 6 years ago
to democratize the ticketing industry
through innovative products and top
notch support. The great news is that
through all the growth we’ve had – in
customers and in company size – these
are still our primary areas of focus.”
-JULIA HARTZ, CO-FOUNDER OF
EVENTBRITE
Thursday, January 10, 13

8. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 8
BRANDING EXAMPLES
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9. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 9
BRANDING
EXAMPLES
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10. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 10
MESSAGING
It’s is the one thing you want to tell people about your
startup.
-It needs to be compelling (NO BS!)Text different from
and
your competition.
Source
Thursday, January 10, 13

11. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 11
MESSAGING
It’s is the one thing you want to tell people about your
startup.
-It needs to be compelling (NO BS!)Text different from
and
Text
your competition.
A fun online world where kids can adopt their very
own monster, go on adventures, play games, solve
puzzles, be creative, and communicate with their
friends.
Source
Thursday, January 10, 13

12. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 12
Text
Text
Source
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13. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 13
MESSAGING FOR A TWO-SIDED MARKET
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14. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 14
WHY MESSAGING?
‣ According to the NY
Times, people are
exposed to 5,000+
marketing messages each
day. With new platforms
and screens in front of
our faces, our attention
spans are only getting
worse.
Thursday, January 10, 13

15. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 15
“TRADITIONAL” MARKETING
‣L
Thursday, January 10, 13

16. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 16
INSIDE-OUT MARKETING EXAMPLES
‣Your
actions
speak
louder than
words.
Thursday, January 10, 13

17. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 16
INSIDE-OUT MARKETING EXAMPLES
‣Your
actions
speak
louder than
words.
Thursday, January 10, 13

18. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 17
PARTNER MARKETING
>Tactics
•Findnon-competitive partners with large
complementary audiences
•Establish what a mutual win will look like
>Methods
•”Swaps” - Dedicated Email Campaigns
•Partner Events - Breakfasts, Happy hours,
sweepstakes
Thursday, January 10, 13

19. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 18
PRODUCT AS MARKETING
• Hotmail’s growth was almost entirely due to a “Get your free email at
Hotmail” sentence at the bottom of every email.
• Airbnb reverse-engineered Craigslist to let users post listings
automatically despite no public Craigslist API.
• Allowing users to embed videos was key to the success of YouTube
and Vimeo.
• Slideshare included a plain-text link in their embed code, driving traffic
back to their site to get an SEO boost to boot.
• Dropbox incentivized referrals by giving free extra storage space – a
strategy they claim accounted for 60% of their growth. Source
Thursday, January 10, 13

20. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 19
GROWTH HACKING
Source
Thursday, January 10, 13

21. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 20
SOCIAL MEDIA
>Facebook
>Twitter
>Pinterest
>Tumblr
>LinkedIn
>Foursquare
>YouTube
>Instagram...and more.
Thursday, January 10, 13

22. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 21
BEST PRACTICES
> Improve your inbound
>Make more original content
>Curate other people’s content - Like, Share and RT
>ENGAGE!- Answer questions, tweets, comments, etc.
>Be opinionated
>Throw a Party (Get to know people IRL first)
>Make your details public + up to date
>Get off social media!
Thursday, January 10, 13

23. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 22
PINTEREST - GUESS WHOSE PAGE THIS IS?
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24. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 23
INSTAGRAM
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25. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 24
YOUTUBE
-Viewed more than 7 million times
-instantly went viral + jointly conveyed the brand personality and the benefits of the service deſtly.
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26. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 24
YOUTUBE
-Viewed more than 7 million times
-instantly went viral + jointly conveyed the brand personality and the benefits of the service deſtly.
Thursday, January 10, 13

27. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 25
ANALYTICS + OTHER TOOLS
>Google Analytics
>Google AdWords
>LaunchRock
>Wufoo
>PunchTab
>Shopify
>Goodsie
>Jux and more...
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28. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 26
LAUNCHROCK
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29. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 27
PUNCHTAB
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30. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 28
PRESS - ARE YOU READY?
“Patience is important. Media coverage is easier and more
effective once you have a killer product. If you’re trying to
create buzz too early, you’re doing it wrong.
In terms of a great tip that companies don’t do enough:
Create content early. Build an audience by writing interesting
content, even if it isn’t about your company or product. If you
establish yourself as an expert on a specific industry,
programming language or topic, then you’ll have an easier
time hiring and building a reputation for your product once
you’re ready to scale.”
-MICHELLE ZATLYN, CO-FOUNDER OF CLOUDFLARE
Thursday, January 10, 13

31. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 29
BEFORE PRESS
‣ Your product has been thoroughly alpha tested with not only
friends, family but a wide group of users so you know it works
‣ mTurk.com, followerwonk.com, usertesting.com
‣ You’re familiar with the media landscape and can name at least
three journalists
‣ Best ways to prep?
‣ Content is King
‣ Also, Hacker News
‣ MuckRack
Thursday, January 10, 13

32. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 30
GETTING PRESS
‣ Tell a Story
‣ Be technically prepared!
‣ Choosing Outlets
‣ Tech Press first?
‣ Think non-traditional
Thursday, January 10, 13

33. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 31
WHAT’S THE STORY?
-”We’ve launched”
-Funding
-Trend Stories
-We’ve hit X # of users
-New features
-Acquiring
-Big, new hire
-Future plans
Thursday, January 10, 13

34. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 32
FINDING THE JOURNALIST
1. Do your homework
2. STALK
3. Get an introduction!
5. Cocktail party rules apply
5. Talk like a human
6. Give them a scoop!
Thursday, January 10, 13

35. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 33
UK/EUROPE TECH MEDIA
@TheNextWeb @WiredUK
• @Jemimah_Knight • @Olivia_Solon
• @RobinWauters
• @MartinSFP @FinancialTimes
• @Tim
@TechCrunch
• @MikeButcher
@Telegraph
• @IngridLunden
• @Kate_Day
@KernelMag
• @Nero (Milo @GuardianTech
Yiannapoulos) • @CharlesArthur
@WSJEurope
• @BenJRooney
Thursday, January 10, 13

36. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 34
WRITING THE PITCH
1. Be brief.
2. Craft an eye-catching subject line.
3. Don’t copy paste! Oh Hey Caroline at The Next
Crunch..
4. Give us a reasonable time frame.
5. Say why it's DIFFERENT
6. Avoid jargon like DISRUPTIVE, CURATED, HYBRID,
INNOVATIVE, GAME-CHANGING etc.
7. Give an offer if you can: Beta invites. App Codes.
Exclusive details, etc.
Thursday, January 10, 13

37. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 35
THE PITCH
“Great products and companies do 1 of 3
things: Get you laid (Sex), get you paid
(Money), get you made (Power). “How does
your solution tap into the emotional,
powerful, evolutionary needs that we as
humans have?”
-Dave McClure, 500 Startups
Thursday, January 10, 13

38. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 36
Thursday, January 10, 13

39. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 37
Courtney B of the deep blue sea,
Would you could you should you if
you please
When you’ve got a moment so free
Let known when you could lend
your ear to me?
Thursday, January 10, 13

40. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 38
Subject: Exclusive for TC: Launching XXX- make any blog look like a sexy iPad app
Hey Mike,
I’m George, the founder of XXX.
Launching XXX next week, on Thursday at noon EST and TC gets free reign on an exclusive before then. XXX makes
any blog look and behave like a native iPad app. We’re talking accelerometer aware column resizing, swipe to advance
articles, touch navigation, home screen icon support, and more. We’ve built somecool tech to make this happen smoothly, and
it works with your existing layout...
PS- Would also be happy to do giveaways to TC readers. Thanks again and feel free to reach out if you have anymore
questions (skype,phone,etc. listed below).
Video Demo: http://vimeo.com/13487300
Live demo site (if you’re on an iPad): jasonlbaptiste.com
Feature overviews: http://padpressed.com/features
My contact info: George@xxx.com , Phone:xxx.xxx.xxxx, Twitter: @xxx, Skype: xxx
-George
#xxx.xxx.xxxx
Thursday, January 10, 13

41. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 39
GIVE WRITERS EVERYTHING THEY NEED
Provide external links (not
attachments) to:
-Awesome Videos
-Beautiful, High-Res Photos
-Company Facts - Founded
Date, Funding Details, # of
employees, Founder’s Names,
etc.
Be Available!
Thursday, January 10, 13

42. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 40
AFTER THE PITCH
1. Follow up! - Appropriate time on
this? One week? 3-4 days?
2. Handling multiple outlets. Tell
Multiple Stories. And Don't be
misleading.
3. Don't break your own embargo.
Thursday, January 10, 13

43. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 41
TIPS FOR YOU
-Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Is this on or off the record? What’s the
story angle? Do they require exclusivity?
-Don’t say you “have no competitors” -- choose your competitors are or the
media will choose for you.
- Put yourself in the mindset of the journalist. How will this story get them
on Techmeme or featured by their editors? Is it like stories the journalist
has written before?
-Be good to the journalist. Don’t just hit them up when you need them. They
want your scoops, tips, etc. since you’re on the ground in the midst of it all.
Thursday, January 10, 13

44. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 42
TAKE NOTES
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45. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 43
SHOULD YOU HIRE A PR AGENCY?
‣ Internal vs Agency
‣ Doing it on your own
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46. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 44
RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS
>Get Involved
Thursday, January 10, 13

47. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 45
RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS
>Get Involved
>Make Friends with Founders, Investors, Journalists, Startup
Wannabes, Coworking Space Heads, the Cleaning Ladies and
everyone in between
Thursday, January 10, 13

48. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 46
RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS
>Get Involved
>Make Friends with Founders, Investors, Journalists, Startup
Wannabes, Coworking Space Heads, the Cleaning Ladies and
everyone in between
> READ, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD READ.
Thursday, January 10, 13

49. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 47
RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS
>Get Involved
>Make Friends with Founders, Investors, Journalists, Startup
Wannabes, Coworking Space Heads, the Cleaning Ladies and
everyone in between
> READ, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD READ.
> Tweet.
Thursday, January 10, 13

50. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 48
RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS
>Get Involved
>Make Friends with Founders, Investors, Journalists, Startup
Wannabes, Coworking Space Heads, the Cleaning Ladies and
everyone in between
> READ, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD READ.
> Tweet.
> Write.
Thursday, January 10, 13

51. MARKETING & PR FOR STARTUPS 49
RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS
>Get Involved
>Make Friends with Founders, Investors, Journalists, Startup
Wannabes, Coworking Space Heads, the Cleaning Ladies and
everyone in between
> READ, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD READ.
> Tweet.
> Write.
> Be happy. But know it’s OK and TOTALLY NORMAL to be sad,
angry, frustrated, disappointed and insanely crazy too.
Thursday, January 10, 13