But here’s the hard truth. Yes, your idea is unique, but so are the ideas of many other startups, and meanwhile the number of journalists are limited, plus they are drowning in pitches. Once, a reporter from a top tech publication told me that he gets over 300 pitches a day while juggling dozens of stories and deadlines.

On the other hand, top-tier media cover trends and industry insights, rather than actual products. Major outlets write about companies that set the trends. Most of them are typically large, influential players, especially compared to startups at the early stages of their development. So it’s no surprise that big money, big deals, big investments, and big companies tend to dominate coverage. Furthermore, editorial agendas that are often set far in advance, hot and relevant industry topics, and internal publication guidelines tend to define journalists’ priorities.

Even if a reporter might be interested in your story, they need to ensure that it is trustworthy. Your idea may be revolutionary, but instead they will focus on proof points such as use cases with strong results, reference clients (the more well-known, the better), raised investments, and/or well-known founders. Anything that a reader will be able to recognise or relate to.

Does this mean that a startup or SME company doesn’t have a chance to be covered in top-tier outlets? No, it doesn’t. But it is tough.

So, what now? How do you make your startup visible?

First, ask yourself: what do I want to achieve by pitching my stories? If it’s just to generate immediate leads and boost sales, there are more efficient marketing tactics for that. Sure, PR can create awareness and influence business growth – but there are no guarantees that media coverage will directly impact your immediate revenue.

If your goal is to attract investors, build trust, establish your brand visibility, and advance your reputation, then PR is exactly the right tool.

Here are some ways to capture reporters’ attention.

The first one is to develop something truly remarkable and different

Create a product so compelling that nobody can resist it.

Take Perplexity AI, for example: this AI-driven startup raised $25.6 million, reported about 10 million monthly visits and two million unique visitors in February 2023. It became a media darling after attracting investments from Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Tobias Lütke (Shopify), and Nvidia in the next round. That kind of backing itself becomes news – and journalists notice. In this context, visibility stems from entrepreneurial efforts.

The second is to partner with someone influential

Strategic partnerships can be a shortcut to visibility.

For instance, Immersive Gamebox, a UK AR startup, teamed up with Netflix to integrate Netflix IP into their interactive experiences. Media coverage exploded. Suddenly, a relatively unknown startup had the credibility and reach of a global brand. In this case, it is mostly the result of business development endeavours.

And last, but not least, ride the news wave

This path is probably the most sophisticated path as its success hinges on the mastery of you and your PR experts to capture relevant news cycles and integrate into them in a timely manner.

There is always an option if you don’t have breaking news – you can leverage your expertise and industry knowledge to build visibility by providing expert commentary on a trending topic that relates to your business. If you think big, you can achieve big by riding the existing news waves. That’s big-league PR that requires a deep understanding of the news agenda and how to jump in; creativity to craft a fresh story angle (how is your point of view different from others); flexibility to act at the right moment; and close relationships with top-tier reporters and editors.

A broad variety of news cycles might give your startup a chance to ride the waves. You need to stay on top of industry news, monitor the regulatory landscape, big company announcements, and more.

For example, when the EU Digital Markets Act came into force, we positioned our client, Aloha Browser, as an independent European-based company benefiting from the new regulation. The story ran as an exclusive on Reuters and was picked up by TechCrunch, The Verge, Wired, Forbes, and other outlets. A small company suddenly became part of a trending topic, got outstanding visibility and even saw a spike in downloads.

Keep your eyes and ears open, spot the right news wave, and catch it at the perfect moment – just like surfers do. And voilà – enjoy your ride.