Startup School
The content hub for all your PR needs
At Words + Pixels, we’re PR experts and journalists who specialise at working with startups and scaleups at every stage of their growth.
PR is too often seen as a dark art - either misunderstood or underestimated. We’ve created a tool-kit to dispel those misconceptions. It will equip any founder or marketer with the things they need to know, do and consider when making their first steps into the world of PR.
We hope it’s useful to you. And remember, if you ever have any questions, email us at startups@wordsandpixels.co.
Startup School Resources
Most people have heard about public relations. But unless they’ve worked in the industry, they usually know nothing about the actual functions involved in what we call PR or ‘communications’ in some cases.
Who are the traditional media?
It’s worth taking a moment to consider which people and organisations the media is made up of. This will help you understand their functions and how your company could benefit from them.
New media has had a profound effect on traditional media organisations as they had to develop and adapt to the new environment.
The first three posts in this series should have given you the knowledge to understand what PR is and who’s involved. Now it’s time to consider how you can use that knowledge to improve your business.
How can I find relevant journalists to share company news with?
There are different ways to find relevant journalists to share your company news with. Some are quick, while some take longer and achieve different results. We’ve described five of the most common methods here.
How should I handle a request from a journalist?
Your response to a journalist’s request will determine you and your brand’s appearance to the outside world. For startups, your response might be a customer’s first interaction with your brand.
How should I share company news and information with a journalist?
Emails might seem simple, but for most journalists, they provide the best way for you to contact them. That’s because they will have developed a process to manage their emails, and an email also gives them time to respond when they can.
What company news should I share with a journalist?
It’s important to prepare well for an interview with a journalist because your responses will determine the external portrayal of your company.
“The team and Words + Pixels make achieving success in PR so easy. With almost instant success and minimal time commitment from our side, the team are brilliant to work with”
Alex Hind
CEO, Heka
“Words + Pixels hit the ground running! We were looking for a company that understood our industry but also the areas we are looking to grow into and W+P have a great success rate with companies at a similar stage of growth to us. We can’t wait to see where the next 12 months take us.”
David Vanek
Anorak
“I’ve worked with a lot of PR firms throughout the course of my career and I can truly say that W+P has been a completely different experience and a breath of fresh air. The relationship is a genuine partnership which has allowed us to get a level of coverage that a business of our size should ever get. I cannot recommend W+P enough and in fact, I do, I recommend them every single day.”
Tom Fairey
Stakester
“Since working with W+P, we have seen a huge increase in direct inbound leads as a direct result of their work.
PR has become the number one source of new business leads for OurPeople this year, with more people talking about us than ever before”
Stuart Margetts
OurPeople
Unit 51-54 Maltings Place
169 Tower Bridge Road
London
SE1 3LJ
