189 lines
6.7 KiB
Markdown
189 lines
6.7 KiB
Markdown
# Press Request Platforms — Inbound PR
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Journalists posting "I need a source for X" — you respond, sometimes you get quoted, sometimes you don't. The cheapest PR play available, but only if you treat it seriously.
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## Contents
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- The major platforms
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- Daily triage workflow
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- Response template
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- What makes a response get selected
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- What kills a response
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- ROI reality check
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---
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## The Major Platforms
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| Platform | What it is | Cost | Quality |
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|----------|-----------|------|---------|
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| **[Connectively](https://www.connectively.us)** (formerly HARO) | Daily email digest of journalist queries | Free tier; paid for filters | Mixed — high volume, lots of noise |
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| **[Qwoted](https://www.qwoted.com)** | Web app with journalist requests | Free; paid for outreach | Good — better-quality outlets |
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| **[Featured](https://featured.com)** | Web app, expert profiles, journalist requests | Free tier; paid pro | Good for thought-leadership snippets |
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| **[Help A B2B Writer](https://helpab2bwriter.com)** | Twice-weekly email of B2B queries | Free | High — B2B-focused, low spam |
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| **[SourceBottle](https://www.sourcebottle.com)** | Australia-focused but global queries | Free | Variable |
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| **[Terkel](https://terkel.io)** | Roundup-style ("we asked 50 experts…") | Free | Volume-heavy, low effort |
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| **[JournoRequests](https://twitter.com/journorequests)** | X account aggregating tweets | Free | UK-skewed, real-time |
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| **#JournoRequest** (X hashtag) | Live journalist requests | Free | Real-time, fast-moving |
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**Recommended starter set:** Connectively + Qwoted + Help A B2B Writer + monitoring `#JournoRequest` on X.
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---
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## Daily Triage Workflow
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These platforms generate volume. Treat it like email triage — fast pass, deep response on the rare matches.
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### Step 1 — Filter (5 min)
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For each digest / request feed:
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- Drop everything where you don't have **direct experience or data**
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- Drop everything from outlets your ICP doesn't read
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- Drop everything with a deadline you can't meet
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- Keep only requests where you can give a **complete, named, on-the-record answer**
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Realistic conversion: 50 daily requests → 2–4 worth answering.
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### Step 2 — Deep response (15 min per request)
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For each keeper:
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- Read the request 3 times — what's the *actual* angle?
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- Look up the journalist if possible — recent coverage, beat
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- Write a custom response (see [template](#response-template))
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- Send within their stated deadline (early > late)
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### Step 3 — Log
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Track in a spreadsheet:
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- Date
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- Platform
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- Journalist + outlet
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- Topic
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- Response sent (yes/no)
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- Outcome (no response / passed / quoted / linked)
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After 30 responses, you'll see which topics/platforms convert.
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---
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## Response Template
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Keep responses under 200 words. Journalists are scanning 50+ replies for one quote.
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```
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Hi [name],
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Quick response to your request about [topic].
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[Specific credential — 1 sentence. "Built X for 5 years" / "Led marketing at Y" / "Have analyzed N companies in space"]
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The most important thing about [topic]: [your actual point in 2 sentences].
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[A specific example, story, or data point — this is what gets quoted.]
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[If applicable: a contrarian or surprising angle that differentiates from typical answers.]
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Happy to expand on any of this, share data, or be quoted directly.
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Feel free to use this attribution:
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[Your name], [your title], [your company]
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Contact for follow-up: [email + phone]
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```
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**Note the structure:**
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1. One-sentence intro
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2. One-sentence credential
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3. Two-sentence answer
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4. Specific example (the quotable part)
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5. Optional: differentiator
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6. Clear offer
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7. Pre-written attribution (saves them 30 seconds)
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8. Contact info
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---
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## What Makes a Response Get Selected
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After analyzing hundreds of quoted responses, the patterns:
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### Quotable specificity
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**Bad:** "Companies should focus on customer experience."
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**Good:** "When we A/B tested 47 onboarding flows, the version with a 30-second video at step 3 increased activation by 41%."
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The good version is a quote. The bad version is filler.
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### Concrete credential
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**Bad:** "As a marketing expert..."
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**Good:** "I've run growth at three Series B SaaS companies, all in B2B sales tooling."
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Specificity beats title-stacking.
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### Story over advice
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**Bad:** "It's important to track the right metrics."
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**Good:** "We almost shut down because we were optimizing for MRR when our real problem was activation. Once we switched to tracking 7-day activation, everything else followed."
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Stories make articles. Advice makes filler.
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### Pre-formatted for their workflow
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- Pre-written attribution
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- Multiple quotable lines (let them pick)
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- High-res headshot link (don't attach)
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- One-line company description
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### Time match
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**Most quotes come from responses sent in the first 6 hours.** After 24 hours, your chances drop sharply. Treat deadlines as if they're 24h earlier than stated.
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---
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## What Kills a Response
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- **Pitching your product** when they asked for expert commentary
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- **Generic advice** that could come from any expert
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- **Multiple "experts" from your company** responding to the same request (looks coordinated, often is)
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- **Hiring a PR firm to spam responses** — journalists smell it
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- **Demanding a link back** to your site — most can't promise links
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- **Ignoring the deadline** by 1+ days
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- **Long bio sections** before the actual answer
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- **Asking to "see the article before publication"** — you don't get to do that
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- **Asking what other experts said** so you can differentiate — they won't tell you
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---
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## ROI Reality Check
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Most teams overinvest in these platforms because they're cheap. Be honest:
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| Effort | Realistic outcome (90 days) |
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|--------|----------------------------|
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| 5 hr/week, custom responses | 3–10 quoted placements |
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| 1 hr/week, template responses | 0–2 placements |
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| Outsourced to PR firm | Lots of submissions, few quotes |
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**A quote in a tier-1 outlet is worth:**
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- A backlink (DR depends on outlet)
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- A sales-collateral asset ("As featured in...")
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- AI-citation surface area
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- Brand legitimacy in the abstract
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**A quote in a tier-3 outlet is worth:**
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- A backlink, often nofollow
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- Maybe an Instagram screenshot
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**Decision rule:** if you can sustain 5 hr/week of quality responses for 90 days, this is worth it. If you can only do 1 hr/week, skip it and invest in [proactive pitching](journalist-pitching.md) instead.
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---
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## Setup Checklist
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Before you start responding:
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- [ ] Press page exists and is current (see main SKILL.md)
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- [ ] One-line credential is written and rehearsed
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- [ ] Headshot is high-res and at a public URL
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- [ ] You have 3–5 specific stories / data points ready to deploy
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- [ ] You've decided which 2–3 platforms to use (don't try all 7)
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- [ ] You've blocked a daily 20-min window for triage
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- [ ] You're logging responses in a tracker
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Without these, you're spamming and wasting their time and yours.
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