20Growth: How to Master PR and Comms, How to Get Your Startup Written About; Press Releases, Fundraising Announcements, Embargos etc & Lessons Scaling Duolingo from 3-200M Users with Gina Gotthilf, Co-Founder @ Latitud
Start pitching to PR sources from least important to most important for better chances of coverage.
Compelling storytelling and evoking emotions are crucial when pitching to journalists for startup coverage.
Selecting the right publications based on industry and audience can significantly impact PR success and credibility.
Deep dives
Importance of PR Sources and Storytelling in Startups
Make a list of all potential PR sources and start pitching from the least important ones. Having a compelling story is crucial when pitching to journalists. Understanding how to evoke emotions in people through storytelling is a key aspect in PR for startups.
Tactical Approach to PR with Gina Gotthilff
Gina Gotthilff, co-founder of Latitude, shares practical insights on PR as an essential but underrated growth hack in startups. She emphasizes building relationships with journalists, condensing the startup story into a compelling one-liner, and generating FOMO through exclusive or embargoed releases for maximum media coverage.
Lessons from Duolingo's Growth Experiments
Gina Gotthilff discusses her experience at Duolingo, highlighting the importance of ROI in growth experiments. She shares a successful experiment with notifications and a failed one with badges, stressing the significance of finding inflection points in experiments, iterating based on results, and focusing on daily active users as a North Star metric for success.
Importance of Targeted Publications in PR Strategy
Identifying the right publications to feature your brand can significantly impact the success of a PR strategy. While wide coverage is beneficial for consumer-oriented products, B2B industries like FinTech or legal tech may require exclusive coverage in publications that build trust with specific audiences like the Wall Street Journal. Strategic selection can enhance credibility beyond reach, aiding in reaching the intended demographic effectively.
Measuring Success and Personalization in PR Efforts
The success of PR efforts can be measured by aligning them with core business objectives, such as acquiring new users or securing funding. Personalization and ease of sharing play crucial roles in leveraging social media for PR distribution. Direct and tailored messaging, as seen in examples like Latitude's selective token distribution strategy, can amplify brand perception and reach, enhancing PR outcomes.
Gina Gotthilf is a Co-Founder and COO at Latitud, an a16z-backed platform supporting the next generation of iconic tech startups in Latin America through digital products, a community and fund. Previously, Gina led growth and marketing at Duolingo from 3 to 200 million users via organic strategies and was part of the executive team. She also worked on the Mike Bloomberg presidential campaign, helping oversee the creation of digital ad campaigns at a historical budget, and led growth and community for Tumblr in Latin America.
In Today's Discussion with Gina Gotthilf We Discuss:
Entry into the World of Growth:
How Gina went from working on a farm to leading growth for Tumblr in LATAM?
What are 1-2 of Gina's biggest takeaways from her time leading growth for Duolingo?
What does Gina know now that she wishes she had known when she entered the world of growth?
15 Top Tips and Secrets to Being Featured in the Best Publications:
What is the best way to get in touch with journalists? What mistakes do founders have when they reach out to journalists?
Should founders get in touch with more than one journalist at a publication?
Should founders be explicit about the embargos they have on a story? Should they stick to them?
Should founders be more wary of being published in a publication with a paywall?
What materials should they send to journalists to get their attention?
Should founders send press releases in early messages to journalists?
How can founders control in some way what the journalist will ultimately publish?
How long before the company wants the piece to come out, should they reach out to journalists?
How can founders create FOMO when trying to get journalists to write their story?
How can founders create social validity with journalists, when they are a small company?
Once published, what should the distribution strategy look like?
How can you get people you know to like and share content you are featured in?
What are the top tips and tricks to get people to share content with you in?
Should PR and Comms be an ongoing effort or static projects with news stories?
What are the single biggest mistakes founders make in getting their company in the press?
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