PR for Startups: What to Do Before Funding, What to Skip and How to Earn Real Coverage

Decide what you want PR to do: recruit, close enterprise customers, raise funding or build category credibility. Each calls for different outlets. Then find the story. The strongest ones come from original data, a customer result you can share with permission, or a clear argument about your market.

Prepare a simple press page with a factual description, founder bios, logos, product images and contact details. Make it easy to write about you accurately.

Build relationships before you need them. Follow reporters, read what they write, comment usefully and share relevant data when it helps their story. Offer expert commentary on trends and respond quickly to requests, within platforms that connect journalists with sources.

Think beyond national press. Trade publications, newsletters and podcasts often reach the exact buyers you want.

Avoid paying for coverage that is not labelled as advertising, buying links, or flooding outlets with releases. Google's spam policies include link schemes, and publishers may also label such content as sponsored. FTC rules require clear disclosure of paid or incentivised endorsements.

Do not overstate traction or customers. Claims that cannot be checked create a risk that outweighs any short-term attention.

Track coverage quality, referral traffic, branded search, inbound enquiries and investor or recruit interest. Ask new leads how they heard about you. Keep a simple log of pitches and outcomes to refine your approach.

PR compounds. The first article rarely moves a metric, but a set of credible mentions makes later sales and partnership conversations easier.