PR for Startups: Dogpatch Labs Event with VentureBeat & TechCrunch

Wednesday evening, Dogpatch Labs hosted a "PR for Startups" event alongside Anthony Ha of VentureBeat and Jason Kincaid of TechCrunch. Topics included: - what is newsworthy - how and when to engage press / bloggers - who to engage and with what tact - when to use internal vs. external PR leads

Below is a list of 11 great takeaways written by David Hua of Wellsphere and Health Central. The pictures are from Dogpatch resident Art Chang (of FanPulse). Art also has a list of six takeaways from the evening - available on his blog.

Takeaways from PR for Startups Event (by David Hua)

1. Short and Sweet - Send concise emails stating what your company does and why it is interesting. 48-72 hours of notice before a launch is recommended.

2. Video Walkthroughs - Emails with a youtube video walkthrough (1-2min) is helpful

3. The Elephant in the Room - Don't be afraid to compare yourself with the competitor. Do show how you are different.

4. Pay attention to the Calendar - Plan your launch with the calendar in mind. Do not release your news around big events, announcements, or a busy day of news.

5. A Day in the Life - Tech Bloggers put out 3-6 posts a day. If it is a slow day for them, email them something interesting and cc their tips@URL.com email (launches, acquisitions, and funding are big news items)

6. Headlines - Don't suggest one and don't use a misleading subject line, it's annoying

7. Assets Ready - In the follow up email or phone call with the writer, make sure you send an email with screen shots, company information, and video (optional).

8. Build relationships - If you know something interesting that doesn't pertain to your company, send the tip along to the writer, they are helpful.

9. Meetups - Invitations for lunch, dinner, and events are welcomed

10. Clear communication every step of the way - Be very clear what you mean about "exclusive". (i.e How long a particular writer has an exclusive for? Notification if you are moving on with the news to another publication.)

11. Traffic Observations – Techcrunch sends firehose amounts of traffic over the course of a few days whereas VentureBeat sends a consistent amount of traffic over a longer period of time

Dogpatch Labs Video Tour on VentureBeat

Earlier this week, Dogpatch Labs was featured on VentureBeat. Assistant Editor Anthony Ha visited Dogpatch Labs San Francisco, met several of the entrepreneurs / teams, and sat down for an short tour and interview. In the video, I am joined by David Hegarty of Hollrr:

After the article went live, it managed to become a "Popular" article on Digg and reach the homepage:

Welcome Droid (and the Ensuing Marketing Blitz)

Droid officially launched today and, as I wrote last night, I expect Droid (and the forthcoming hardware line) to significantly increase Android's market share - and subsequently the developer attention it warrants and receives. Meanwhile, I also expect the Droid marketing blitz to to ramp aggressively. Below are a few screenshots of large, flash-based ad units across VentureBeat, Alley Insider and Verizon.com (a text ad even exists on Google's homepage).

The messaging across the campaign and its various states are: - Droid is Dropping - Droid has Arrived - And my favorite, Compromise Officially Deactivated