Develop Your Press Release

Crafting a compelling press release is essential for effectively communicating the significance of your funding news to the masses. To ensure your announcement resonates with your audience and captures attention, it's crucial to consider key elements that convey your message clearly and effectively. The checklist on the following page serves as a strategic guide to help you articulate the core message of your announcement, highlight key stakeholders and achievements, and structure your press release for maximum impact. By addressing these critical questions, you can craft a press release that informs and captivates your target audience, setting the stage for a successful news campaign.

• Establish Target Timeline: What day/time are you hoping to announce your funding news? 

• Core Message: What is the primary message you want to convey and what makes this funding round stand out or significant compared to previous rounds, if any? 

• Key Stakeholders: Who are the primary stakeholders involved in this funding round, i.e. investors, founders, and any notable industry figures supporting the company? 

• Key Metrics or Achievements: What specific metrics or achievements can demonstrate the company's growth and potential? Examples may include revenue growth, user acquisition, product milestones, etc. 

• Alignment with Company Vision/Strategy: How does this funding round align with the company's long-term vision and strategic goals? How will it impact the company's future direction and growth strategy? 

• Unique Insights or Perspectives: What unique insights or perspectives does the company offer to the industry or market? How does the company differentiate itself from competitors? 

• Press Release Structure: How should the press release be structured to capture attention and convey key points effectively? Consider the headline, subheadings, body content, and call-to-action. 

Wire Distribution

If you’re new to public relations, you may wonder what it means to “put a press release on the wire”. Press release wire distribution is like sending out a digital megaphone blast to announce your news. It's a service that helps you distribute your press release quickly to various media outlets, journalists, bloggers, and even search engines (known as “release syndications”).

Putting your news “on the wire” ultimately helps boost visibility and reach a broader audience while elevating SEO via backlinks within the release copy and creating a sense of urgency for targeted media to prioritize a story. Wire distribution should be reserved for only the most notable company milestones achieved.

Media Strategies

OPTION #1: EXCLUSIVE

Exclusive Coverage offers ONE media outlet the exclusive opportunity to cover your funding news via a long-form feature. Here’s the process: Identify top-tier media outlets relevant to the industry and target audience. Reach out to one selected journalist offering an exclusive story; If there’s interest, you will share your press release final draft over email for their initial review. Coordinate with the journalist (via their editor) to schedule the release of the news at an agreed-upon time–which should align with your set wire date. Provide the outlet with exclusive access to key executives or founders for interviews and additional insights in advance of publishing. Once the exclusive coverage is live, leverage it to pitch other media outlets for follow-up coverage.

OPTION #2: EMBARGO

You are giving a subset of targeted “VIP” media outlets the opportunity to preview your funding news ahead of your set wire date. Here’s the process: Compile a VIP list of target media outlets. Pitch to select journalists offering a sneak preview of your press release draft “under embargo”, allowing them time to prepare their stories in advance of the wire date without breaking the news early. Offer interviews or additional information to interested media outlets to enhance their coverage. Monitor coverage and engage with journalists on follow-up inquiries.

Media Briefings

Engaging with the media via “briefings”, i.e. interviews, is an exciting opportunity to showcase your company's story and vision as journalists consider potential press coverage. Here are some key practices to ensure your media interviews are impactful and effective: Prepare key talking points and messages aligned with the press release. Anticipate and practice responses to potential questions from journalists. Be authentic and enthusiastic about the company's vision and achievements. Listen actively to the interviewer and address their questions directly. Avoid jargon and technical language that may be difficult for the audience to understand. Stay composed and confident, even in challenging or unexpected situations. Be careful mentioning customers or any other brand without written permission to name-drop.

The Role of PR

Onboarding the right, dedicated PR partner, either on a project- or retainer basis, has measurable benefits for early-stage founders like you looking to amplify funding news. PR can play a crucial role in executing your media strategy and maximizing the impact of your funding announcement. 

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MAG PR is a trusted Sierra partner and works with several Sierra portfolio companies. MAG PR is a boutique public relations agency that works hand-in-hand with early-stage, venture-backed tech startups and other transformational emerging brands across North America to develop innovative brand visibility programs that drive new opportunities for exposure and growth. The agency pairs its creative passion for storytelling with a deeper purpose — to help clients establish and maintain credibility as a market leader, boost brand affinity, and align with overarching marketing goals to generate top-of-funnel awareness.

Contact: NINA@MOORINGADVISORYGROUP.COM