BetaKit Editor-in-Chief Doug Soltys explains how his publication interacts with early-stage startup founders.
Insight
Soltys: Pitching journalists is fundamentally a form of inbound marketing
“You should not approach your marketing initiatives any differently from your PR initiatives, because the real truth of it is like pitching to journalists is a form of inbound marketing. You are trying to create interesting content that draws back people to you…”
Insight
Soltys: Startup traction comes from sales and product, not press attention
“Traction comes from a great product, comes from sales, It comes from customers that love your product. It does not necessarily come from media attention, and it certainly won't if you just assume that it will naturally come from that.”
Insight
Soltys: Seeking press coverage during startup distress accelerates business failure
“The problem with this is if you have real problems with your business, if you actually have problems with traction, if you are burning too hot, if your runway is short, If your board hates you, if your technical co-founder just left, not only will pursuing tha…”
Insight
Soltys: Niche community channels can drive business goals better than mainstream press
“Whereas depending upon your objectives for your company at stage, you're at a discord server, a slack channel, a newsletter, An in-person meetup could be way more impactful to actually, like, converting on your goals as a business.”
Insight
Soltys: Conversations with journalists are always interviews, never casual chats
“Conversations with journalists aren't conversations, they're interviews. You're kind of entering into the arena, and you have to be prepared for that”
Insight
Soltys: Business reporters prioritize enterprise metrics over consumer human-interest stories
“Business reporter at Bloomberg, Globe and Mail, BetaKit, TechCrunch, like what enterprise deals are you signing with specific industries? How many units are you moving? How much money you're making? Logistically, can you handle this stuff? Like that, that is t…”