How to Pitch Your App to TechCrunch

0:03What are some other ways and stories that you think an app business should be pitching TechCrunch specifically and then maybe more broadly that will register with t he writers, will register with the broader audience? Given the how crowded the app space is, I think it's really important for you to tell stories that they're going to focus on differentiation factors.

0:28Almost exclusively in other words. I think a lot of times especially in early days You get so wrapped up in all the work that you've done To build out like the basis for this thing that you're creating that you get Really enamored with it as you should you should be really pleased with all of your work You should be really happy

0:46because otherwise, why are you doing it? Like you should be really excited about The fact that it exists and that the company exists and that it has employees and that it has a product and that it's on the app store or about to be. And you should be really proud of all the fundamentals that you've built in.

1:01Maybe you've done work with accessibility. Maybe you've done work with design that you're really proud of. Maybe you've done work with some base cleverness of your approach, but in all reality, all that stuff is sort of assumed. Like, we wouldn't even be looking at your pitch, or at your idea, or concept, or whatever, if those things weren't already met.

1:21The bar is just higher now. Existing does not mean anything. Congratulations, and I'm not being rude or crude about it, but it doesn't mean anything. It's like the old saying that ideas are worthless. Ideas are worthless. That's still remains true to today. Let's put it this very specifically ideas are worthless in company building, because if you do not execute on those ideas, if you don't build those

1:45ideas, if you don't make those ideas real, they're worth zero, right? It's just why somebody is like, I have an idea for an app. Congratulations. You have nothing that remains true to this day. However, I would say the bar is even higher now, which is that. Solid design that uses at a base level, Apple's fairly robust design frameworks and UI frameworks that they've provided, you know, the bone stock stuff looks pretty good these days that uses those basic frames or Google, like if you're launching on the Android store, Google has a really solid set of design language and a solid set of UI elements now that I think

2:2010 years ago definitely didn't exist. It even five years ago, wasn't that great, but I think in the last few years, we've gotten to a really solid place where there's no excuse for you not to come with like a really solid game on all those fronts, but then once you reach that point, you have to realize that you've just reached zero. And so like from there, it is what you're doing in service of your

2:44mission that sets you apart, like that differentiation in execution. Or onboarding or feature use or set of circumstances that is really going to allow you to catch the eye of a reporter or catch the eye of someone. The cleverness that exists above and beyond the table stakes are what is going to set it apart. That is, I think sometimes a hard realization for a lot of people because they get in this place where they've been so close to it for so long that

3:16they're like, we did all of these things really, really well, that's great. So do a lot of people. I'm just going to give you rough percentages here. So if we get pitched by 500 people in a day, not unusual for any writer, you get pitched by 500 people in a day, a hundred of those people have really done the

3:33work to just put something together that looks like it actually is a real company. Out of those hundred, maybe a dozen are even in your space. It doesn't have done the job of like actually pitching you correctly. Like in saying like, Hey, we're real, but also we're really interesting to you. We're not just real and interesting to someone, but like we're real and interesting to you as a writer and out of those dozen, you are then forced

3:58with this forcing function of, okay. What is the unique bits out of these? And I'm exaggerating here because it doesn't always come in clumps like this, but let's say those dozen, you're a FinTech writer and all of those dozen are FinTech companies and all of those doesn't look legit. They've done the work to have a solidly designed app that seems to have

4:17some user affordances that are cool. And that looks like they've done the work. And so out of those, which of those has the interesting hook of that additional percentage above zero. Whether that's a really cleverly designed feature, taking advantage of a, a freshly launched new sensor or a feature of a platform like the Apple or Google or

4:39somebody else's shipped is addressing a need in the current environment. We talked about post zerp earlier, but other environments can be like COVID was a good example, obviously of many people capitalizing on that. I don't even really think it matters if I'm talking about something that exists right now, because people may watch this and it may be different a week from now.

5:00Well, like OpenAI launches a new model. You've utilized that new model in a clever way. You've got a new feature. Threads that tie into the overall stories that that writer has been covering or that the industry or audience is interested in. And then I think the big elephant in the room that we haven't talked

5:15about yet and that I think can be very interesting if it's done right. Is the story of the people that have built this thing. So you have to reach to zero. You have to get to zero first. You have to have a thing that exists. That's really well built. That seems clever. That seems like it's tackling an interesting problem.

5:32And then you can start telling personal stories. My brother and I founded this app. My sister and I founded this app. We saw a need because our mother was. in hospice and there was no elder care app that also integrated messaging in this way so that we could check up on her quality of care every day, you

5:50know, with a few simple taps, etc. And like those kinds of opportunities, I think, are ones that allow you to do that storytelling above and beyond. But you have to hit zero first. I know it's something that's actually really important for somebody pitching to consider is to make it as easy as possible on the writer to write the story.

6:09Any tips on how to make that super easy? So we've talked crafting a good pitch. You've got their attention, but now they have to do the work. How do you make that easy and more compelling for them to tell that story? If you want to talk about like mechanical baseline pragmatic stuff that you can do to help make sure that your pitch is more well received short, simple,

6:30straight to the point subject lines. A couple of lines of body copy. Don't inundate. Because most of that stuff won't get read. Especially if it feels like it's been pasted in. Which inevitably it will. Because if you're pasting something in there, why should I read a paste? I want to read a couple of simple sentences from you

6:49about why your thing is unique. Why it's interesting. If you have a very defining, potent Straightforward screenshot of something that's in your app and you're like, look, we did this. It's really cool. You're going to love it. Put that in there too, right in the body of the email. And then most writers, if they have any sort of OPSEC, will not

7:10have images loading automatically. So it's no harm, no foul. It'll load just as fast. You don't have to worry about it. The image will be collapsed and then they can always click on view image if they want to, right? But just from the nature of protecting against viruses and tracking pixels and anything else, most writers have images hidden by default. By the way, if you can avoid any individual pitch, I would never

7:33include tracking pixels or links. It's just sort of a matter of respect. Now, I understand completely if you're doing a campaign or a broad pitch, you need those. Right. We, everybody understands everybody gets it, but if you're doing individual pitch, don't do like read receipts or tracking pixels inside emails, and especially never ever call them on, Oh, you, I saw you opened my email.

7:55Creepy. It's really weird. That's not going to do anything. If you want to like. Email them and say, Hey, I didn't know if you've gotten my email. Great. You know what I mean? Fine. Okay. We understand persistence and follow up. Although at some point, chill the tracking stuff, do away with that. And then you can always attach the press kit and attaching the press kit with high resolution images, or just providing a link to it, depending on the service that you're using with high resolution images, all the information

8:20they could ever want about the founders. Their backstory, the app, its purpose, and then the images or assets necessary in a link or tucked away in an attachment. But leaving the main copy as a place for you to tell your personal story in a few sentences, I think is the most effective pitches that I've seen are that way. We've given you all the resources that you need to write this

8:42story if you find it compelling without any additional outreach. However, we're here. If you need us, feel free. Email me directly. I'll answer right away. Whatever. Here's my direct email. Here's my phone number. Whatever you feel comfortable with as a founder or as an app creator. But whatever direct connection you can provide is always good.

8:59Text me at whatever. If you have any questions, things like that. Because often times writers are under crazy deadlines. They're trying to move fast. Getting a quick response can mean the difference between them writing that story that day or maybe it gets pushed to the next day if they don't get a response and then Instagram sells for a billion dollars and they

9:15don't write about you anymore, right? Because they're busy with other things and so you want to provide the most lubrication possible, but you also don't want the body of the copy to read like a Facebook ad or to feel cluttered with all this information that's overwhelming. Just keep it simple.