Top 7 pro tips for winning media in an equity crowd-sourced funding raise
BY DREW LAMBERT – DIRECTOR OF DL COMMS
If you have a great story to tell, you have the beginnings of a successful crowd-sourced funding campaign. But have the media share that story for you, and your chances of finding your crowd and completing a successful raise soar.
It makes sense that PR can help in the run up, and during an equity crowdfunding raise, since reaching more people naturally amplifies your chances of success. But PR can be daunting for founders. From understanding how to write a press release that gets noticed, to which journos are likely to feature your business, or the outlets that are going to help you best connect with the crowd likely to back your venture.
With some of Australia’s most prominent record breaking crowd-sourced funding raises to his name and over 30 raises generating more than $35m for his clients, DL COMMS Director Drew Lambert knows, more than most what it takes to grab headlines.
Here, he shares his EXPERT INSIGHTS on how to create a winning PR strategy, both for those on a DIY budget or for founders looking to hire a PR professional and invest more into their bid for earned media. And just like pitching media, his words are designed to grab your attention and keep you reading to ensure success.
Some may argue I’m rare in the PR world, because I love picking up the phone and speaking to a journalist directly about my clients. I’ve been doing it every day for the past 23 years. That’s how I've been able to build relationships that last and paint a clear picture about my client’s business.
DREW LAMBERT - DIRECTOR DL COMMS
The little black book is everything
As a founder, you know the importance of an excellent network of contacts who can point you in the right direction at the pivotal moment of your business. Without these connections, you will find it so much more difficult to get where you want to be.
It’s exactly the same with PR. If you don’t have established relationships with the media outlets you want to feature in, it’s going to be a hell of a lot harder for you to get your story told.
That’s why it’s important if you do engage a PR agency, that they have a rock-solid black book of contacts. I’ve heard of too many horror stories where you have an experienced PR person winning your business,
only to then be handballed to another person in the agency with almost no media contacts selling in your story. Often this will result in very few clips at the end of the campaign.
If you can’t afford a PR agency, my advice is:
- Research the journalist you are pitching to and understand what they like to write about.
- For a TV program, look at how they craft a story and think to yourself how you need to present your story.
- As a founder, how your business came to be is a great place to start. As I tell so many of my clients, journalists love interviewing people, not products.
Do not spray and pray!
Some people like to cut corners by writing a media release, buying a media list of email addresses, and then emailing everyone all at the same time. (PS: people who are completely irrelevant to your story are probably on that list as well!)
In the PR world, we call this ‘spray and pray’! It’s a sure fire way of not getting noticed and burning your money. If a journalist or producer feels the story has gone
to a million other people, it loses its value as news.
Journalists love being treated as individuals. You need to understand the kind of information that their audience will want. They also want to be first to tell your story, or as close to being first as possible. If you give them a story that was told a week earlier, it’s no longer news. That’s why it’s always good to have a fresh news angle up your sleeve when approaching various journals.
Understand what’s newsworthy
If you want your business to be talked about in the media, you need it to be newsworthy. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you doing an equity crowdfunding raise is not newsworthy.
The best way for you to understand what is newsworthy is to consume the news and learn from it. From the time I wake up in the morning to the time I go to the bed, I’m always consuming news, from highbrow, to trashy, and everything in between.
As a result, I have developed a sense of the type of stories each media outlet wants, and the buttons that need to be pushed to get a journalist or producer excited for my client’s story.
Without this knowledge, what you think is newsworthy might be a story that has been told many times before. And conversely, something you consider to be irrelevant, could be the clincher that gets a journalist to return your call.
Integrate PR with digital marketing
Some people assume PR is all they need to create hype for their share offer. They then get upset when a major story doesn’t send expressions of interest into overdrive. While PR is very important, it’s only one tool in your promotion arsenal. Having your PR integrated with your social media marketing is the holy grail.
I’ve had one client do an equity crowdfunding raise and tried to save a dollar by getting their receptionist handle the campaign’s social media. Needless to say, without the proper understanding of Facebook marketing and online social media spending, they were unable to capitalise on the PR that was generated for them.
I’ve also seen the impact a really good media story has in generating expression of interest leads. The company was working with one of Australia’s top digital marketing agencies with excellent experience in equity crowdfunding raises.
Before PR kicked in, it was costing $60 per lead. Once that agency was able to leverage a 90 second story that I gained for my client on Channel 7 News, their cost per EOI lead went down to $15. That’s the holy grail - PR and digital marketing working hand in hand!
Be creative with media outlets
Before you start a campaign, have an idea of what media outlets you would like to have your story appear in. There are a lot more than you think. There’s business media, start-up media, trade media, lifestyle media, general news, talkback radio, TV News, breakfast and morning TV: the list goes on.
Create a wish list and share it with your agency or the person handling your PR.
Don’t just leave it to the agency to give you suggestions, do your homework and sense check their hit list with yours.
Working with an agency should be a collaborative experience. If you have pre-existing relationships with journalists or producers, share these with your agency. In the end, you should do whatever you have to do to get the story told.
Speak to those that have been there
In equity crowd-sourced funding; experience counts, for a lot! Speak to founders who have done raises before and ask them what worked and what didn’t work. Many startups when they undertake an equity
crowdfunding raise are strapped for cash and cannot afford a multitude of experts in every field. The right advice could save you a lot of time and money. Don’t be offended if that advice is to the point.
Keep it short, sharp n shiny
When it comes to PR and your media release, if you don’t tell people what the news is in the first sentence, often a journalist will delete your email. They don’t have time to read every media release they receive, especially if your news hook is buried in the fourth paragraph.
Should you get the chance to talk to the media, your founder needs to be passionate and have an amazing story to tell. The first thing I do when speaking to a potential client, is get them to tell me their story. When I hear them speak, I want to hear the passion they have for their business, how it started, and why they want to change the world.
Having someone who can passionately tell that story to a journalist or a producer is essential. It’s also important that you can paint a picture when telling that story so it brings an audience along for the ride. If you don’t have either, find that story, and train your founder up FAST!
If you are not a natural born storyteller, a good PR person will help unearth your hidden story—one a journalist will be keen to retell to their audience.
MORE ABOUT
DL Comms
Director Drew Lambert is an accomplished communications strategist with more than 20 years experience. His unrivalled media and industry contacts allows the delivery of stories that achieve real cut-through, and far-reaching content that spreads well beyond a client's owned or paid channels.
He supported five of the top 10 equity crowdfunding raises in Australia in FY21 and three of the top 10 the following year. Notable campaigns have included Montu, Birchal, Bubble Tea Club, The Sneaker Laundry, Litt, Bunsters, Threadheads, Beer Cartel, Good Empire, Renutrients, Kinship, 99th Monkey, Australian Museum of Design, Citizen Wolf, Heaps Good, PuraU, Smart Oysters, Tiller Ride, and Zea (and more!).
