{"id":8450,"date":"2014-08-12T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-12T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=8450"},"modified":"2020-03-30T19:00:19","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T23:00:19","slug":"press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup","title":{"rendered":"The press kit: an invaluable tool for your startup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re lucky, there will come a unique time in your startup\u2019s life where reporters become interested in your product. First of all, if you\u2019ve gotten to this point, take a minute to pat yourself on the back. It probably means your startup has made the jump from being a concept or idea to a successful business, and it\u2019s not easy to get there.<\/p>\n<p>But don\u2019t spend too long patting, because you\u2019ve still got a lot of work to do. You\u2019re in the business equivalent of the red zone, but we all know that doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re guaranteed a touchdown. Just ask the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sbnation.com\/nfl-playoff-schedule-bracket-2013\/2013\/1\/20\/3898120\/afc-championship-2013-patriots-vs-ravens-super-bowl-ray-lewis\">2013 Patriots team<\/a> about its heartbreaking playoff loss to the Ravens. If you don\u2019t have some basic skills to get you across the goal line, all of your PR efforts could be for naught.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most basic but essential tools every startup should have is a press kit. The benefits of press kits have evolved over the past several years. Before email, they served as a way to attract a reporter\u2019s attention \u2013 they were physical documents with company information that were given to reporters in person (usually at trade shows) or sent via snail mail.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s digital press kits essentially provide the same value \u2013 it&#8217;s a quick and easy way to give a third party (usually a reporter) more information on your company. They come in handy for networking events or tradeshows (especially if you can get some branded USB drives), or when a reporter simply wants more information, images, or video. In my experience, the following items are must-haves in any useful press kit:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Executive bios<\/b>: This might include the entire team for some startups \u2013 just be thinking carefully about who you want the face(s) of the company to be before including it here.<\/li>\n<li><b>Company backgrounder<\/b>: Here\u2019s a pro tip \u2013 limit this to a page, and cut out the jargon! Think about how you explain the company to your mother, write that down, and then refine it for structure from there.<\/li>\n<li><b>High-resolution images<\/b>: This can include executives, a company logo, and product images. Believe it or not, the quality of the image can make or break a potential story on your company or product.<\/li>\n<li><b>High quality video<\/b>: Everyone loves a creative, exciting video \u2013 just make sure it also explains the value of your product in a minute or less.<\/li>\n<li><b>Product(s) spec sheets<\/b>: Any of the more complex details people can geek out over. <b><\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Case studies<\/b>: Reporters LOVE seeing tangible results from your product. I realize that this can be tough to swing as a startup, but don\u2019t sweat it. This is more of a nice-to-have than a must-have. Also, if your customer is OK with a case study as long as they\u2019re not named, there are subtle ways to describe them that leave little to the imagination.<\/li>\n<li><b>Contact information<\/b>: It should go without saying, but working at a startup, you\u2019re probably tired, so I am spelling it out for you. Also, make sure the contact is someone that actually sorts through their email and responds in a timely manner.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Of course, I am not saying that having these things will guarantee coverage \u2013 but it makes it a lot more likely if reporters have the basic information about you they need.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, it is important to remember that just because you have all of this awesome content organized and at the ready does not mean that you can or should send it to every reporter you think should be interested in your startup. Although Voltaire and Spiderman\u2019s Uncle Ben were not referring to a press kit when he said, \u201cWith great power comes great responsibility,\u201d it can certainly be applied here. Your startup is at a critical juncture. Although a press kit is an invaluable tool for exposure, it is simply that \u2013 a tool. You need to be strategic and avoid alienating members of the press that are not relevant to you. If you are not sure, you might want to get some coaching from a media relations expert to ensure that victory touchdown you\u2019re banking on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re lucky, there will come a unique time in your startup\u2019s life where reporters become interested in your product. First of all, if you\u2019ve gotten to this point, take a minute to pat yourself on the back. It probably means your startup has made the jump from being a concept or idea to a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1249,"featured_media":8535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.4 (Yoast SEO v25.3.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The press kit: an invaluable tool for your startup<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you\u2019re lucky, there will come a unique time in your startup\u2019s life where reporters become interested in your product. First of all, if you\u2019ve got\u2026\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The press kit: an invaluable tool for your startup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you\u2019re lucky, there will come a unique time in your startup\u2019s life where reporters become interested in your product. First of all, if you\u2019ve got\u2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ideas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-08-12T14:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-03-30T23:00:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/08\/20140524-Stock-Photos-8.jpg?resize=1440,810\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"810\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"The press kit: an invaluable tool for your startup\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-12T14:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-30T23:00:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup\"},\"wordCount\":711,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/08\/20140524-Stock-Photos-8.jpg?fit=3911%2C2027\",\"articleSection\":[\"Professional Development\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup\",\"name\":\"The press kit: an invaluable tool for your startup\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/08\/20140524-Stock-Photos-8.jpg?fit=3911%2C2027\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-12T14:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-30T23:00:19+00:00\",\"description\":\"If you\u2019re lucky, there will come a unique time in your startup\u2019s life where reporters become interested in your product. First of all, if you\u2019ve got\u2026\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/08\/20140524-Stock-Photos-8.jpg?fit=3911%2C2027\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/08\/20140524-Stock-Photos-8.jpg?fit=3911%2C2027\",\"width\":3911,\"height\":2027,\"caption\":\"the_press_kit_an_invaluable_tool_startup\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"\/ideas\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Professional Development\",\"item\":\"\/ideas\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The press kit: an invaluable tool for your startup\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/\",\"name\":\"Ideas\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#organization\",\"name\":\"WeWork\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/04\/welogo_black_55x55.jpg?fit=55%2C55\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/04\/welogo_black_55x55.jpg?fit=55%2C55\",\"width\":55,\"height\":55,\"caption\":\"WeWork\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/author\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The press kit: an invaluable tool for your startup","description":"If you\u2019re lucky, there will come a unique time in your startup\u2019s life where reporters become interested in your product. First of all, if you\u2019ve got\u2026","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The press kit: an invaluable tool for your startup","og_description":"If you\u2019re lucky, there will come a unique time in your startup\u2019s life where reporters become interested in your product. First of all, if you\u2019ve got\u2026","og_url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup","og_site_name":"Ideas","article_published_time":"2014-08-12T14:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-03-30T23:00:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1440,"height":810,"url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/08\/20140524-Stock-Photos-8.jpg?resize=1440,810","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"The press kit: an invaluable tool for your startup","datePublished":"2014-08-12T14:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-30T23:00:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup"},"wordCount":711,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/08\/20140524-Stock-Photos-8.jpg?fit=3911%2C2027","articleSection":["Professional Development"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup","url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup","name":"The press kit: an invaluable tool for your startup","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/08\/20140524-Stock-Photos-8.jpg?fit=3911%2C2027","datePublished":"2014-08-12T14:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-30T23:00:19+00:00","description":"If you\u2019re lucky, there will come a unique time in your startup\u2019s life where reporters become interested in your product. First of all, if you\u2019ve got\u2026","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/08\/20140524-Stock-Photos-8.jpg?fit=3911%2C2027","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/08\/20140524-Stock-Photos-8.jpg?fit=3911%2C2027","width":3911,"height":2027,"caption":"the_press_kit_an_invaluable_tool_startup"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/press-kit-invaluable-tool-startup#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"\/ideas"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Professional Development","item":"\/ideas"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The press kit: an invaluable tool for your startup"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/","name":"Ideas","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#organization","name":"WeWork","url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/04\/welogo_black_55x55.jpg?fit=55%2C55","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/04\/welogo_black_55x55.jpg?fit=55%2C55","width":55,"height":55,"caption":"WeWork"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"","url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/author"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/08\/20140524-Stock-Photos-8.jpg?fit=3911%2C2027","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1249"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8450"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44778,"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8450\/revisions\/44778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}