A press release is a vital element in the marketing and communication strategy of a tech startup. It serves to share the company’s achievements on a specific subject and to announce them to a wide audience. It’s an important exercise that formalizes the success of the organization, whether it’s to announce a new, innovative product feature, the signing of a partnership with a new client, a funding round, or an alliance with another market player that benefits prospects and clients. In this article, I’ll share my tips on how to approach writing a press release, the best practices to adopt during the writing process, and how to promote it to journalists to ensure the news is widely shared and covered.

To start, I’d like to share a quote from Paul Graham, a programmer and investor who co-founded Y Combinator. His website is full of concepts and advice that are valuable for any tech startup. He says about writing in general: “I try to write using ordinary words and simple sentences. That kind of writing is easier to read, and the easier something is to read, the more deeply readers will engage with it. The less energy they spend on your prose, the more they’ll have left for your ideas.” This lesson is one that every marketer should keep in mind throughout their career when writing.

Writing a Press Release

Writing a press release for a tech startup is a crucial step, which is why it’s important to be precise and succinct so that readers, no matter who they are, can understand the significance of your announcement. The first step is to define the key messages of the announcement. Don’t jump straight into writing the press release. The methodology here is to validate the key messages internally with your company’s stakeholders. This will ensure alignment on the main message to convey and save you from spending hours on something only to have to redo it based on feedback.

Here’s a framework I suggest for internal alignment. The goal at this stage is to gather as much information as possible from internal and external stakeholders. When writing a press release, it’s important to take the lead in sharing your key messages.

Defining the Press Release Title

The title is the main element of your press release; it’s the first thing readers will see, so it deserves special attention. Don’t worry if you end up changing the title several times before finalizing the press release, even at the last minute. The goal is to have a title that is impactful and clearly conveys the essence of the announcement in a single sentence. For example: “Company A Chooses Company B’s AI Technology to Reduce Logistics Costs.”

In this example, the companies are named, the technological capability of Company B is highlighted, and the value proposition’s impact on Company A’s activities is clear. Depending on the theme of the announcement, you should follow this methodology of having a simple title that gets to the heart of the matter and reflects the benefits.

Defining the Structure and Key Messages

The second important element is, of course, establishing the structure of the press release. Over the years, I’ve adopted a two-part structure. The first part is dedicated to the state of the art. Here, you should discuss the current market situation and its challenges. This helps to anchor the theme and argument and supports it with key statistics. For example, use figures from official studies or scientific research that are sourced and reliable.

Before you start writing, as that’s not the goal yet, make a list with three bullet points of the key elements, whether quantified or not, that you want to convey in this section.

• Key Point 1

• Key Point 2

• Key Point 3

Also, find a title for this section, such as “Logistics Challenges Persist for E-commerce Companies.” This state-of-the-art section will provide readers with a clear reminder of the challenges and introduce the announcement that you’ll discuss in the second part of your press release.

The second part of the press release, in our example, is the announcement of the partnership. This is the main subject of your announcement. Use the same technique for now as in part 1. Here, you’ll first list the key points of the partnership.

• Key Point 1

• Key Point 2

• Key Point 3

The unique aspect here is to add a quote from both partners. To get ahead, you can already draft the quote from your CEO or another representative of your company, usually the CEO and/or co-founders. Just as in the first part, you can also title this section, for example, “A Strategic Partnership to Reduce Company A’s Logistics Costs.”

Now you have the main elements and structure of your press release. You can validate this structure and the arguments with the different stakeholders before starting to write the sections. Here’s a summary of the press release before writing:

Title: “Company A Chooses Company B’s AI Technology to Reduce Logistics Costs.”

Introduction Sentence: “Logistics Challenges Persist for E-commerce Companies.”

• Key Point 1

• Key Point 2

• Key Point 3

Main Announcement Title: “A Strategic Partnership to Reduce Company A’s Logistics Costs.”

• Key Point 1

• Key Point 2

• Key Point 3

Quote from Company A: To be defined later after drafting the press release.

Quote from Company B: Already drafted in this first draft.

Don’t forget to add your contact information at the end of the press release and your company's boilerplate so that journalists or others can reach out to you afterward.

This simple framework will help you draft a press release that is clear, efficient, and straight to the point, enabling you to validate the key messages with your company’s stakeholders in advance. This framework is adaptable to any announcement you might encounter in this exercise. Over time, you’ll develop this habit, bringing consistency to your press releases and your approach to working on this topic internally as well as with your partners. After internal validation of these key messages, you can start drafting the press release. Finally, once the press release is drafted and internally approved, work with your counterpart on the partner’s side for review, add the quotes, and make any necessary adjustments they suggest. By adopting this methodology, you’ll have better control over your key messages, leading the process, and ensuring a more comfortable workflow for yourself and all stakeholders involved.

Distributing a Press Release

Distributing a press release involves analyzing all the communication channels at your disposal. Generally, you have several, such as:

• Your website, in your blog or a dedicated press page.

• Social media.

• Your email platform to share the news with your clients and prospects through a newsletter, for example.

• Your internal network, including employees and external partners.

• Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) in the market.

• Journalists in your network or others you think might be interested in this news.

I want to focus on the last point, particularly the relationship you should develop with journalists. As a marketer, you need to be aware of the topics covered by journalists who report on your subject or a similar one. You should make an effort to meet them, whether through email, calls, or even at trade shows. Building a relationship with them is essential. Gradually, you can strengthen these ties, making it easier to pitch your future news and even give certain magazines the exclusive on your story. Remember that they are often read by your prospects, so they play an important role and can greatly help you convert prospects into clients.

Finally, to wrap up this section on press release distribution, you can also consider paid options to widely distribute your announcement, such as through email campaigns to magazines or a LinkedIn Ads campaign with the right targeting settings.

The Media Kit and Press Room

One last thing that can be useful is to create a media kit that you can make available on your website to help everyone understand your company’s mission and achievements. You can include your logo in various formats for journalists, as well as team photos and product images in this downloadable package.

The press room, on the other hand, can be an excellent way to centralize all the communications you’ve made. It’s like an archive of press releases since the company’s inception. It allows everyone to understand the evolution of your company in terms of partnerships and announcements and provides a clear view of the chronology of your actions.

Conclusion

As we’ve seen in this article, press relations are crucial for conveying messages and supporting the growth of a tech startup. Clear, concise, and straightforward expression is key to writing impactful press releases that resonate with readers. Over time, this methodology will become ingrained in your daily practice and will benefit not only your internal stakeholders and partners but also the press network you’ll develop. With these tips, you now have all the tools you need to write your press releases effectively. If you have any questions on this topic, feel free to contact me directly; I’d be happy to discuss it further.