Timing is everything in PR

A news story can have the perfect hook and gripping angle, but if the timing is off, it can be the difference between great coverage and a quick mention in a weekly roundup article. Picking the best time to craft a news story and share it with journalists means startups and founders need to keep their finger on the pulse to ensure they are not competing with other conversations that could dilute their reach. Check out our top tips on timing PR efforts to maximize coverage. 

Be cognizant of your time to shine 

We’ve reached a carnal era in tech development, where the media landscape has become inundated and everyone thinks they’ve created the next best thing. If startups don’t want to fall to the back of the pack or go unnoticed then timing their news is vital. 

When entrepreneurs make headway with their roadmap, the first thing they want to do is spread the news fast and wide. But before shouting the news from the rooftops, every startup should take a moment to analyze whether its story is powerful enough to translate into breaking news. Journalists want to see products and services that are already up and running, as they’re less likely to convince their readers that the product or service is awesome without any evidence. This could be in the form of partnerships, data, or social proof from big names in the industry that can back it up. Allocate time to perfect the story, nail the key messaging, and differentiate the startup by highlighting the multiple ways the product or service is solving pain points for the end user. In other words, sharing news prematurely, whether on social media or a company blog, will not reap the results startups are expecting or get them any closer to their media goals. And if the media has shown us anything since millennials came onto the scene, it’s that once a story is out there, it’s out there.

Get your ducks in a row in advance 

No less than a month before a startup is ready to go public with its news – whether that be rolling out a new product feature, a partnership with big names in their industry, or a round of funding – its team should consider its outreach options and pitching strategy. 

Exclusives (offering the story to one journalist) and embargos (telling multiple journalists the news ahead of the launch with a set date that prohibits them from sharing the news sooner) are two effective ways to reach out to journalists with company announcements. And each comes with its own benefits and challenges. While journalists prefer to be the first ones to share the scoop, the route a startup decides to take will depend on how time-sensitive their story is, in addition to its team’s goals, and overall PR strategy. 

Exclusives are infamous for being more drawn out since it entails reaching out to one journalist at a time and giving them a 24-48 hour grace period before following up and moving on to the next best journalist. If a startup is a little more cramped for time, they can share the news with journalists under embargo, at least two weeks before the announcement date. No matter how interesting a company thinks its news is, journalists need time to review the materials, craft a well-rounded story, ask questions, and arrange potential interviews. Embargos are still an effective way to garner coverage, but make sure the journalists being pitched agree to respect the embargo, as leaked news leads to a whole other time-consuming crisis.

Choose the best of times, not the worst of times 

There are optimal and suboptimal times to reach out to journalists, so part of crafting an outreach strategy entails figuring out when exactly to hit send on that pitch email. A startup's team should channel their inner Sherlock Holmes and dedicate time to researching journalists' current movements. Check their social profiles where they’re most active – like Twitter and LinkedIn to see if they’ll be out of the office. Also keep a list of when big tech conferences and events are happening – like the World Blockchain Summit, NFT New York, TOKEN2049, CES, and SXSW. Journalists attending may not be checking their email or be available to write a story even days after if they’re still traveling. 

With any news announcement, the initial outreach to journalists should occur at a reasonable time. For instance, startups should avoid distributing materials on a Friday at the end of the day. If journalists have already left the office, it will be at the bottom of their email stack come Monday morning. Check what holidays are happening in the country specific to the reporter as they may vary, and keep an eye out for cultural variances. Some countries, like Israel, consider Friday a day of worship while others are acclimating to the new four-day workweek or have designated days off. 

Varying time zones are easily overlooked. It may be 11 AM CET where you are located, but in Australia, that would mean it’s already 9 PM. The U.S.  also has six different time zones, so keep tabs on these small, yet important details and stick to emailing journalists' during their office hours, as this increases the chances of the message actually being read.

Be in it for the long game

Unless you have truly groundbreaking news, then PR rarely happens overnight. It’s important not to be impatient and try to distribute a press release far and wide, hoping for the best. At the end of the day, the dream article about a tech startup is more likely to come to fruition once the team has taken the time to nurture relationships with journalists. In other words, successful and effective PR needs to be earned. It is the result of taking time to carefully plan a strategy, craft a compelling message, and slowly build those key relationships with journalists.