Ask HN: How do you get tech bloggers to review a startup?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=462229

by flexterra • 17 years ago

27 42 17 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

For the past few weeks I tried to get bloggers to review my startup http://www.s3mer.com with no success. Is there something I can do to improve my odds?

Thanks for the advice!

pclark• 17 years ago

I'll give my thoughts. I'm a nobody though.

* very slow to load

* Awesome logo - did you make it?

* I don't know what it is. "s3mer is a complete dynamic digital signage solution designed to be easy to use, cross platform and feature rich."

Does this mean digital code signing or advertising signs? The image with the reflection doesn't indidcate what it is.

* your sign up form is too long. Which fields are required?

* there isn't an "other" field for the industry.

* Why is there a captcha?

++++ for not having email verification

I stopped here because I still have no idea what it does.

Harkins• 17 years ago

Who is the audience for your homepage?

People without offline advertising experience don't know the phrase "digital signage". If you're lucky they will leave through the Wikipedia link and learn the term, but that page only tells them "Ah, this is something I don't care about" so they won't return.

People with offline advertising experience won't learn about s3mer from your homepage. It doesn't explain why s3mer is better than other products. The only information is a few bullet points about video encoding, and that's selling features instead of benefits.

sanj• 17 years ago

Have you considered working with someone in PR?

I used to be dead-set against that advice, but good PR folks act as a quality filter to many of the big-name tech bloggers.

Maro• 17 years ago

Even after browsing the site, it's not clear what it's about. It has to do with playing ads on a screen, but what's the concept? Do I get payed for playing someone else's ad? Is this a piece of software for creating ads for myself? You mention a downloadable application, but in the movies everything is happening inside a browser running something on localhost. It's all very confusing to me.

sh1mmer2• 17 years ago

I got it within seconds. They provide software to run those "homebrew" bill boards in Coffee shops and such which just run off a computer and an LCD monitor.

robotrout• 17 years ago

I actually had to check back to the site to make sure we were on the same website.

On my quick scan of the site, when I read "dynamic digital signage solution" it never even occurred to me that it wasn't talking about PGP document and email signing.

riklomas• 17 years ago

I immediately clicked on the video because I didn't understand what the concept was. You should make the video larger (I don't want to full screen) and maybe do a commentary soundtrack with it to help get across what you're doing

markessien• 17 years ago

Start of by explaining what the software does. It's not explained on the frontpage. Secondly, people don't cover technology, they cover human interest stories. You have no angle at all. Create and angle and retry.

ryanwaggoner• 17 years ago

Is this software that's designed to run on flatscreens in coffee shops and retail stores? Who is the audience for the site?

damienkatz• 17 years ago

I had no idea what your site or product page did until I found this link, then it instantly made sense.

http://www.s3mer.com/tour.php

I suggest you change your homepage to be a lot more like the tour page.

Hexstream• 17 years ago

Oh. I thought "digital signage" had to do with cryptography.

ssharp• 17 years ago

Spit in their face.

I deserve the down mod.

RiderOfGiraffes• 17 years ago

You need to tell me what problem it solves, and only then tell me how marvellous it is. Don't give me loads of buzzwords - the "Ginger Factor" is very large. Tell me the situation where it is useful. I, like others here, don't really know what you're providing.

And again, the video is too small, and it all takes too long to load.

enra2• 17 years ago

If you can't get big guys talk about you, try to contact some smaller and local ones. Atleast we at ArcticStartup are happy to know about new startups but actually very few contact us directly.

And if you contact them use some to explain what the startup does, why and how are you etc.

sh1mmer2• 17 years ago

This is great advice. Most of this stuff is a snow ball. The bigger bloggers/new agencies keep an eye on smaller bloggers/new agencies to source material from. If you get some good local success you are much more likely to be able to approach/get approached by someone with a bigger audience.

enra2• 17 years ago

And I can confirm this, occasionally we get picked by TC etc. If you're a small startup and not counting on some huge PR-effort and launch event you probably have nothing to lose if you contact some smaller bloggers. That way you usually atleast have coverage and might gain some interest in what you're doing.

(btw. ArcticStartup covers Scandinavia/Baltic startups so we in the local category)

arthurk• 17 years ago

Here are my thoughts:

* Slow load time (I'm located in Europe)

* It's not clear what your startup does. At first, I thought it would be something using Amazon S3 because of the name "s3mer". The "What is s3mer?" section is also very unclear to me.

* Why the Adobe Air, Mac, Windows XP and Windows Vista logos? If it runs on Air wouldn't it also run on Linux?

* The "Change Language" overlay is blinking when the site is loading and displayed by default (WebKit nightly ;-))

bendtheblock• 17 years ago

If this is what I think it is, I like the general idea of the product. It's for big screens in train stations, taxis etc. right?

People usually understand things better with examples, so I would try and get some images of it in action (on an actual screen, in an actual public place) on the front page.

Kudos to Harkins point - the front page should show benefits rather than features, and be targeted to a specific audience.

flexterra3• 17 years ago

Yes, our software is for big screens like plasmas, tv, projectors, digital billboards, etc.

You are right we need pictures. We are getting some great photos from client installations.

gravitycop3• 17 years ago

For the past few weeks I tried to get bloggers to review my startup

Show it to people they trust, who are easier to access. The reason is: startup bloggers get flooded with nearly-identical requests. They are more likely to pay attention to you if you first pass the screening test of a trusted friend of theirs. If your startup is interesting, a recommendation from the friend will be passed along.

Mystalic2• 17 years ago

You simply have to have a compelling product. You have to have an easy-to-understand product, You have to have a very simple two line pitch.

I throw all the press releases away. I care a lot more about a good two sentence pitch.

Butt really, you need to email them that quick pitch to the appropriate email, or get in contact with the right people. It's about connections and promoting a solid product.

Maro's right, though - I'm still not sure what it's all about. Your description's bad.

*Disclaimer: I write for Mashable

gravitycop3• 17 years ago

I write for Mashable

Do you ever blog about startups/sites/apps based on recommendations from your friends? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=462326

Mystalic2• 17 years ago

I think simply the fact that if a friend mentions it, we're going to be aware gets you a step ahead. Most bloggers don't have a giant flood, and they're receptive to covering ideas. Making them aware by any means helps.

You still have to have a compelling product or pitch in the end, though. No way around that.

aditya• 17 years ago

Peldi has some good advice on this, (Startup Marketing Advice from Balsamiq Studio) http://www.balsamiq.com/blog/?p=198

racerrick• 17 years ago

I think it's best to focus on one site/blogger that you really really want to get a review from and then create a campaign to get some coverage.

This takes weeks or months, not days.

Start by commenting as much as you can. It's best to be one of the very first commenters and make thoughtful comments. Always make sure to link to a page that might be most helpful to the people who visit your site.

After you've spent some time being a contributor to the site, it's time to concentrate on getting attention from a writer/editor/blogger. Target one of the writers and provide some information that might be helpful to him/her but not about your product/service. Example: "I saw this new feature running on gmail" etc. Also, you might want to target a less prominent writer at the publication. Mike Arrington is swamped with stuff but Serkan Toto probably has less in his inbox.

If you still have trouble getting to them, follow them on twitter and figure out when they're in front of the computers. Sometimes it's easiest to reach busy people late at night or early in the morning.

Finally when you 'pitch' your product, make it one paragraph description.

Also potentially offer to demo your software to them in person at their office or near their home, etc. Make it stupid simple.

Good luck.

alain94040• 17 years ago

We debated that question (of how to get coverage) at the latest TheFunded event. I'll give you a quick summary. Issuing a press release will not be picked up by anyone. Writers will write about you if you contact them and manage to actually interact with them. Phone is best.

Everytime geeks hear the word phone, they revert to sending a shy email instead. If really you can't be bothered to pick up a phone, then maybe paying thousands of dollars to have a PR agent do it for you makes sense. Just think of much you are paying for phone calls...

Shoot high and have a human angle, a story, some kind of connection (I do get Guy Kawasaki to reply to my emails, but that took 6 months).

Bottom line: if you haven't done any of the ground work and you need your news to come out today, you're out of luck. But if you have two months, plan ahead and establish those contacts starting TODAY.

Hope this helps.

critic• 17 years ago

How much do those PR agents charge exactly and what do they do for you, specifically?

socialtistics• 17 years ago

PR companies can charge anywhere from a couple hundred to thousands of dollars. It all depends on what you are looking for and the services you require. If you just want a simple press release and it distributed to the major wires you are looking at a few hundred (the wire services charge a fee based on the length or number of words in your release). Contrary to popular belief you do not need a PR company to get your press release on the wires. Where a PR company can be helpful with press releases is to get major reporters to cover your story. They do this typically through preestablished connections with those reporters.

While press releases are not the only service PR companies offer they are a good part of it. Many PR companies offer additional services such as website review (functionality & design), copy editing for your website, media training, and help with your overall marketing efforts.

As I said before costs can range from a few hundred to several thousand, but most PR companies will want you to engage them with a monthly retainer. The retainers for reputable firms can run from $10-20K a month.

For startups I would highly recommend against engaging a PR company. Everything you will need as a startup you can do yourself or by hiring a college student to handle for you. Your main concerns in a startup environment typically will be to make sure your website makes sense and is clear, building connections with bloggers who have an interest in your space, and utilizing those connections to get the word out. The wire services are a waste of time really. Your story is not going to make it in the NY Times are Washington Post by releasing a press release on the wires.

ollirums• 17 years ago

In my experience, PR companies help with messaging more than press releases. They help your company to have a cohesive message so when you talk to press, it is very clear what your comapny is doing. This can be very helpful as it can be difficult to explain technical concepts to a general audience. They give media training to prepare executives to talk to the press. They also draft speaking and awards submissions for your company.

Pricing varies and sometimes they charge retainers and other times they charge hourly fees. It can be a big expenditure for a startup, but PR companies often have relationships with reporters that can help get your name out there.

andrewljohnson• 17 years ago

I worked in PR at a boutique agency between 2004-2006. We charged clients between $5000-$15000 per month, billing at about $100/hour.

With this kind of service, the agency will define your target media and create a media list, create messaging and operational strategy, call reporters and pitch stories about you, and report to you on the stories that are placed about you.

You might also get services like media training for interviews, ghost-writing of articles to place in magazines, research on competitors media placements, and maybe even something like a PR emergency plan if you are a large business or in a business with high media risk.

catone• 17 years ago

As a blogger, speaking from my own personal experience, cold calling is perhaps the absolute worst way to pitch. I generally end up just ignoring calls unless I'm expecting them for a planned product/news brief. They're distracting, take up too much of my time for potentially little reward, and break up my work day making it harder for me to concentrate on blogging.

My former colleague Marshall Kirkpatrick put up a post last April about the wrong ways to pitch ReadWriteWeb: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/pitching_rww.php -- #2 is via phone (though Marshall didn't mind it as much, Sarah, Richard, and I all preferred pitches by email).

In July I wrote a post the original poster (or anyone else) might find helpful about how to pitch a blogger: http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/07/12/how-to-pitch-a-blo...

I was mostly writing about how to pitch me, but I think the advice might be helpful when figuring out the best way to pitch any blogger.

The short version: 1. Don’t Cold Call — Email First 2. Engage Us In Our Natural Habitat 3. Personalize Your Communications 4. Offer An Exclusive 5. Pitch An Angle 6. Be Flexible 7. Give Adequate Lead Time

flexterra3• 17 years ago

I'm overwhelmed by the amount and quality of responses. After reading them I realized that most of you are right. In the homepage is not clear what problem we fix. That's mainly because we were aiming the digital sigange industry and they already know what "ds" software is. Now we are aiming small businesses and they need to get a simple explanation right there in the homepage.

What s3mer is? --------------- s3mer is a piece of software that helps people and businesses create and maintain digital signs using flat screens, computer monitors, TVs, projectors or even giant digital billboards as a display surface. Digital signs can display still images, animations, video and even live data from the web like weather, stocks, sports and even twitter activity.

With s3mer you can build a custom in-store TV network just like Walmart TV. s3mer was designed with small businesses in mind. Its affordable, easy to use and powerful. Business owners can sign up for a s3mer account and in a matter of minutes start displaying their own digital sign.

For the technical folks: ------------------------- The s3mer system has 2 components: Admin website and Player application. The player application is built on Adobe AIR technology so it works offline after it has downloaded the media files from our servers. The player app is remote controlled from the website and you can manage as many Players as you like.

Thanks for the tips I will make sure they get implemented.

johns• 17 years ago

Are you going to be at the Digital Signage Expo in February? If so, we should meet up. Email john at treefort dot com

mrtron• 17 years ago

Digital signage is a pretty unique industry in terms of the sales cycle. There are some industry blogs that you could probably get on.

(I used to work in the industry and sold a few of my own solutions)

raffi• 17 years ago

Rather than beat up your site, I'll take a stab at answering your question:

I highly recommend reading: http://www.balsamiq.com/blog/?p=198

Peldi's advice and the links he give are dead on. I pitched bloggers before reading this and got a zero response rate.

Then I adjusted tactics. I added a phone number to my website and a mediakit. Some of the articles Peldi links to talk about having a media kit.

I also added the ability to give out codes for people to try the service for free. This is important as it takes replying to me out of the equation. The blogger can try things out (if they choose) at their leisure. The code also makes it easy to tell who is looking.

I started looking for bloggers via Google Alerts, Technorati, etc.). I then sent tailored messages to a few and included the "try it" code. I also tried to say something to show my site added to the dialog of something they already wrote.

Overall I kept my pitch short (unlike this reply :))

I mentioned nothing about writing a review or any such thing. I merely asked for their opinion. Some folks reviewed my service, others sent me their opinion. Still, I had responses :)

My mediakit is at: http://www.feedbackarmy.com/about.slp

And my welcome page for people with a code is: http://www.feedbackarmy.com/tryit.slp?code=theircodehere

Good luck!

webwright• 17 years ago

Be worth talking about and it'll happen. Not saying that PR effort isn't worth it, but it gets a lot easier if you're interesting/clear.

Read the book "Made to Stick" and ask yourself how sticky your story is (you don't HAVE a story-- that's the problem).

Look at Balsamiq-- that guy had a STORY that people wanted to read, so people wrote about him.

Nobody wants to read about a product with no angle. What's your twist? How are you surprising? What you can say about your product that blows people away? Have you changed someone's life? How are you going to effect the reader of this story?

Clarity (and speed) of the site is a problem, but I think your bigger problem (from a PR perspective) is that you just aren't telling an interesting story.

jtuyen• 17 years ago

Question, do you guys support h264 with AAC? I'm in the DS industry myself and tested over half a dozen apps based in the NA market.

flexterra3• 17 years ago

YES, we support H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, AAC and HE-AAC (a.k.a AAC SBR), MP4 file format. All this formats are parts of the ISO MPEG-4 standard.

jhickner• 17 years ago

The demo video takes a long time before you see what the end result actually looks like. It's sort of a how-to video, and I think you need a straight demo video that lets you see the goods up front.

ahoyhere• 17 years ago

Being exceptional and interesting is the way to getting covered. (Read Purple Cow. Seriously. And then read every other Seth Godin book.)

Being famous/well-known is another. (Sounds tough, but you can really reach people by teaching.)

Before you redesign your front page which -- I agree with everyone else -- is confusing, you have to get clear on why YOUR service is so special that journalists would love to write about it. If it isn't, you have to make it so.

Remember that "the media" isn't there to be a mouthpiece for your product, but they are always hunting for interesting stories because that's their job.

My app launch got covered on RWR and LifeHacker the next day (not to brag, this was unintentional). Apparently they follow what I launch because of personal projects I've done before that captured a lot of interest (http://www.twistori.com).

Since then I've also been interviewed for WebWorkerDaily and th Startup Podcast. Those came from the interestingness of our approach with the product, and respect for one of our marketing efforts (http://jumpstartcc.com/), respectively.

madlid• 17 years ago

About PR firms - just take care when selecting one if you decide to go that route - simply because a lot of them still send out e-mail blasts which are annoying and tend to be dismissed quickly. So I'd hate to see you throw away good money and not get great results. Ask them what how they work and what they can do for you before they do it; you don't want your startup associated with the ratfinks.

Overall I agree with what Mystalic wrote but wanted to add a couple of things - note my disclaimer, I write for ReadWriteWeb.

Make sure your product is relevant to to the sites audience - this is soooo important. Take a look at this post Richard wrote some time ago - it's worth a read - http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_not_to_pitch_a_blog...

Also, if you do want to target bloggers - make it easy for them to write about you. For instance - make sure the site covers all the things we'll want to know - the basics - who, what, where, when, why and how - you'd be surprised how many people forget that blogs have made it super important to write stuff up quickly; if we have to spend an hour just working out what your product is about, chances are we won't bother.

Sorry that sounds harsh, but it is the reality.

Hope this helps a bit and good luck!

Ask HN: How do you get tech bloggers to review a startup?

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