boom! how to create attention when nobody knows your startup yet

Boom! How to create attention when nobody knows your startup (yet)

Felix Mergemeier Sebastian RumbergPR Consultant

@felixmergemeierAccount Director

@rumberg

35 consultants in 3 offices create attention for high-growth tech companies across Europe.

Let’s get to it.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And there was no Boom.

— The Bible, Genesis 1 (modified)

A small foundation will doIt’s not sexy, but this will safe you time and

headaches and doesn’t take long.

Forget about press releasesSave them for your most important announcement that are of interest

for many publications. Write really short emails in the meantime.

Extreme

You

Opposite

Chose your sideSuccessful stories online fall into one of the two ends on a simple scale.

Everything in between won’t succeed in the long run.

+ =

Collaboration pays offEspecially in Germany and Europe collaborations pay off in the beginning to get coverage.

The journalists hardly work with large profile pieces on unknown founders.

Pitches, pitches, pitchesYou attend an event? Pitch. You’re in another town? Pitch.

You can share insights into a relevant sociopolitical topic? Pitch.

„But I don’t have a story to tell.“Not true, it just might not be what you think it is.

Look into your dataYou’d be surprised at what kinds of stories lie there.

You got customers?Do you solve issues for a cool company?

Steal all the headlinesReverse engineering is a fancy term which we can steal here.

Become a source of inspirationYou’re an expert in your field? Why not weigh in?

Let others write your storyForget about a brand voice and stuff. Instead work with the things

that others say about you

Listen your way to successMost people make one mistake: They speak first. Do the opposite:

Listen first and only then shall you speak.

Your character really mattersAre you an Introvert? Extrovert? Ambivalent? This really gives you different super powers.

Don’t hire an intern or agencyIf you just get started and want to do PR, do it yourself.

Don’t hire someone inexperienced or an agency

It’s about them, not youBe helpful first, get coverage second!

Be embarrissingly simpleIf you pitch with the words of a 7th grader, you are onto something.

Persistence is sexyReputation doesn’t build over night. It takes time - treat it like a relationship.

Don’t produceSuper simple stuff.

Also: don’t produceSuper simple stuff.

🌸

Story Time

Using data, we reached over 1.5 mio. people in national & regional media. Effective time worked: ca. 8 hours

A simple app launch campaign for a new messaging app. 1 week preparation, 400.000 downloads, no marketing

„Experimental stuff“

Community, Community, Community!Turn your approach around. Produce the traffic first, then pitch the story.

Trading Stories up the ChainHow to turn something small into something big

Become the editor yourself!Whee! Taboola and Outbrain let’s you publish anything on all the major publications

Get rejected!I have a daily reminder to turn a negative thing into something positive

Tools & Resources

Ryan Holiday Trust Me, I’m Lying

Austin Kleon Steal Like an Artist

Alain de Botton The News

Recommended Books

E M P F O H L E N E T O O L S

@journodata Blendle

A growing database with 400 of the most important tech journalists in Germany, Europe

and the US

Blendle was made for people to pay for articles with micro-payments. But they are also an

excellent research tool.

Product Hunt Nylas Mail

You most likely know Product Hunt. If not: Best place to discover new tools and get your startup

featured in the future.

My favorite email client: Offers you a ton of scheduling, tracking and customization options.

Periodic Table of Content MarketingJust google it. Great way to get an overview of all options to choose from for your marketing and

PR efforts.

Recommended Tools

E M P F O H L E N E C O M M U N I T I E S & B LO G S

tim.blog indiehackers.com

Best-selling author, growth hacker and overall inspiring person.

Collection of super transparent approaches from indie developers and founders how they grew their

businesses.

growthhackers.com

A growing community of growth hackers, Marketers and PR peepz.

Recommended Communities

Thank you!

balloupr.com @BallouPR

Unit 508 Clerkenwell Workshops31 Clerkenwell CloseLondon EC1R 0AT

[email protected] +44 20 37 35 87 54

Cordy Griffiths European Managing Director


56 rue Saint-Georges 75009 Paris

[email protected] +33 1 42 22 24 10


Linienstrasse 42 10119 Berlin

[email protected] +49 30 24 63 07 19

Michaela Krause General Manager Germany

Cédric Voigt General Manager France

Thank you!