PR And Press

Mastering PR and Press

Turn media coverage into a strategic engine for credibility, growth, and brand authority.

Help the user with mastering pr and press using insights from 9 guests and posts across Lenny's Podcast and Newsletter.

How to Help

1. Identify the objective - Determine if the goal is social proof for investors, a launch spike, or B2B sales credibility.
2. Refine the narrative - Simplify the product mission into a jargon-free story that is truly remarkable.
3. Target the right journalists - Match the story type to specific publications and reporters whose beats align with the news.
4. Develop the outreach plan - Craft direct, value-driven pitches and prepare data to support the emotional vision.

Core Principles

Press as a tactical tool

Jason Feifer: "You don't go out and raise money if you don't know what the money is for. You shouldn't go out and try to get press if you don't know what the press is for."

Media coverage should be treated as a tactical tool for specific business goals like funding or awareness rather than a goal in itself. Define the purpose before you begin.

Match news to media patterns

Emilie Gerber: "And I'm talking about TechCrunch specifically here only because the reality is they are the publication that's going to be most likely to write your funding story, that's just kind of the way it works. And it's not a bad thing, they're actually... They don't have a paywall, they tend to do a very good job, they understand it. It's a well-oiled machine, and so we know if you've done a story with them, it's going to pretty much go how you want to plan it."

Match your news to publications that have a well-oiled process for that specific category of story. For instance, TechCrunch is often the best fit for venture funding announcements.

Minimize friction for consumer press

Emilie Gerber: "The barrier to trying the product is very low, you can quickly type in a query, get the answer, and then see the power of the tool. It takes one time to see the power of the tool. So in that case, I think just organic press is enough to generate that."

If you are launching a consumer product, ensure the value is clear and the friction to try it is nearly zero. Use simple comparisons to known tools for instant clarity.

Prioritize audience value

Jason Feifer: "The editor, the writer, I'll just say it as plainly as possible. They don't care about you. They don't care about you. They care about their reader or their listener or their viewer."

Success depends on providing value to the journalist's audience rather than highlighting benefits for your own company. Research the publication's mission before reaching out.

Avoid generic PR blasts

Jason Feifer: "Finding the writers and editors who you're actually going to reach out to, who are going to most receptive to you. And also making sure that because you did the prep, you can figure out how to tell your story in a way that they're going to be interested in."

High-quality PR requires identifying specific individuals whose beats align with your unique story angle. Tailor every outreach to match their previous work and avoid mass pitching.

Use B2B press for validation

Emilie Gerber: "So I think, yeah, that's the value from the B2B perspective and it's not necessarily going to directly drive signups, but when that AE is sending their sales emails and they can link to a story, I think that really helps. Also, candidates too, when you're reaching... If it's a recruiter reaching out on LinkedIn and they only have 100 characters to make their pitch, linking to that story can be really powerful."

For B2B startups, the most important outcome of press is the third-party validation it provides. Use coverage to build credibility with buyers, candidates, and sponsors during the sales process.