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Most startup PR pitches get deleted in under 10 seconds. Here's exactly what journalists at top-tier tech publications look for — and the common mistakes that get you ignored.
It usually goes something like this: three paragraphs about the product, a funding number, a comparison to a bigger company, and a link to the website. Maybe a logo. The subject line reads "Exciting new startup in [space]."
TechCrunch reporters receive hundreds of pitches a day. They are not looking for a product description — they already know what your product does by paragraph one. What they're looking for is a story. A story requires conflict, stakes, and a reason why this news matters right now, to their specific readers.
Before you write a single word, answer this: why does this matter today? Not "because we launched" — that's not a story, that's an announcement. A story is: the problem your product solves is costing businesses $X per year and nobody's addressed it until now.
Subject line: the news, not your company name. Opening sentence: the story hook — one sentence that makes the reporter want to keep reading. Second sentence: the credibility signal (funding, traction, team). Final sentence: the ask. Short. Scannable. No attachments in the first email.
A perfect pitch sent to the wrong reporter still gets deleted. Spend time mapping the specific journalists who cover your exact space — not just "tech." Read their last 10 articles. Reference one in your pitch.
One follow-up, five business days later, one sentence: "Wanted to make sure this landed — happy to send over the full release or get on a quick call." That's it. More than one follow-up kills the relationship.