Templates to pitch the press with interesting angles

Pitch an interesting angle about your personal story

Subject: Unusual story about entrepreneur extremes: documented all my lucky breaks

Hey {First name},
I know there are a lot of stories about entrepreneurs finally making it after trying circumstances and not giving up.
Interesting angle: even though I did sleep in my car for a while before my startup Parkii (p2p parking spot rentals) took off so this could be a similar story, I wrote down the lucky breaks I had that really made the difference such as:
・I started sleeping in my car but only because my apartment flooded. It was meant to be temporary but I kept going because I was saving a lot of money. I could've stopped anytime so this made it a lot easier to cope.
・I sent many, many pitches and only landed my first investor that got the ball rolling because I coincidentally ran into him at an event.
My gamble (and less frequent showers!) paid off. I secured a $100K lifeline, giving my company enough runway to takeoff.
Happy to provide a few insights for your audience like how to decide if a big sacrifice like this is worth it.
I think this could be a refreshing take, thoughts?

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1. Describe a typical angle related to your personal story to set up how it has an interesting twist.
2. Share a few details to show how your story has similarities with the typical angle. Then explain the interesting twist.
3. Give a few examples of this twist to show the journalist its potential.
4. Simply ask for their thoughts to kickstart a conversation.
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Pitch a new product feature with an interesting angle

Subject: Interesting angle on crypto: how stablecoins make transfers, remittances affordable (with data, stories)

Hey {First name},
Interesting angle about crypto:
Beyond crypto's reputation as a speculative asset, stablecoins help significantly lower transfer fees between currencies for remittances, receiving salaries from abroad and more.¹
On Verge, our international transfers app, we recently added the ability to:
Buy stablecoins with fiat → send stablecoins to themselves or someone else → sell for fiat in another currency and withdraw²
Can share some interesting research about the average bank fees between several currency pairs and a few customer stories of how much they're saving using stablecoins to send money back home and more.³
Thoughts?⁴

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1. Offer an interesting angle about a topic the journalist writes about related to your new product feature to show them the story's potential.
2. Briefly describe what your product is and what the new feature does.
3. Offer to share interesting info and customer stories related to the product feature to show the journalist they would have a lot of details to work with.
4. Simply ask for their thoughts to open the conversation.
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You launched an innovative product or service

Subject:Our software finds serial killers

Hey {First name},
Thank you for your nuanced explanations of STEM breakthroughs.¹
Wanted to share another breakthrough you may find interesting:
Our team created software that helps police narrow down where serial killers may live by calculating the distances between the locations of their crimes. It assigns the highest probability percentages to areas where the serial killer most likely lives or hangs out.²
I can share some details about which serial killers Eye has helped police track down so far and how it can be used for other investigations like finding hostages.⁴
Thoughts?⁴

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1. Comment about their work to show you've read it and to set up how your story aligns with their area of interest.
2. In simple terms, explain what your product does and one of its most important or interesting use cases.
3. Mention another interesting detail and use case to show the journalist they would have a lot to work with for an article.
4. Ask them what they think to open the conversation.
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Pitch your product or service with its possible cultural or social effects

Subject: AI chatbot for classrooms: future of learning?

Hey {First name},
We started testing our AI chatbot for classrooms with several universities like Harvard. It's trained on course material and transcribed lectures to answer student questions.¹
Interesting angles:
Will AI become a mainstay in the future of learning?
How will students embrace the chatbot, compared with asking TAs and professors?² Thoughts? Can share more details and data.

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1. Briefly describe what your product or service does and how it works.
2. Offer a few interesting angles about the cultural or social effects your product or service may have to show the journalist the potential of your story.
3. Simply ask for their thoughts to open a conversation.
4. Offer to share some details and data so the journalist knows they would have a lot to work with to flesh out a story.
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Pitch your local press first, then climb up the totem pole

It is much easier to get featured in the local press first because the very news of your launch can be relevant for your city. Afterwards, journalists from national publications scanning local news for interesting stories may come across yours and pick it up.

Subject:Just launched in SF, subscription service of meals from around the world

Hey {First name},
Great scoops on what's new and interesting in San Francisco!¹
This might be interesting:
We recently launched Worldly, a meal subscription service with a unique twist. It lets you make and taste dishes from around the world such as:
Manakish (dough covered with cheese, spices and ground meat), Lebanon
Snezhanka (cucumber, dill, yogurt salad) Bulgaria²
My cofounder Sam and I were inspired after our travels and discovering many delicious dishes that you wouldn't easily know about unless you've been to or lived in that country.³
Link to some cool pics:
[Link]⁴
Thoughts?⁴

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1. Comment about the journalist's local coverage to open the conversation.
2. Briefly describe your product or service, highlighting its most interesting detail.
3. Share what inspired you to create your product or service to add a human touch, so the journalist knows they would have a lot of background info to flesh out a good story.
4. Link to some pics of your product or service so they would further see its potential.
5. Ask what they think to open the conversation.
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How BillFixers got featured in Bloomberg Businessweek after pitching their local newspaper

Julian Kurland from BillFixers first pitched their story to a local newspaper, the Tennessean, by asking a friend who works in PR to introduce him to the editor. After that was published, a Bloomberg Businessweek journalist saw it and asked them for an interview. This article got published in Bloomberg's print edition and website. The result? A 4000% spike in traffic.

How Julian Kurland from BillFixers pitched a local newspaper

Julian <[email protected]>
to The Tennessean

BillFixers is a Nashville company that negotiates a better deal on your cable and internet bill, so that you don't have to deal with cable companies customer service.

So far, BillFixers has saved more than 100 customers close to $35,000 in cable bills since incorporating in early July.

Their biggest customer savings came from a startup based in California. The company had a $1,500/month bill with AT&T, and BillFixers reduced their bill to $750/month in just a few hours. Over the course of a year, that's $9,000 in savings.

Another customer was paying just $54.95 for internet from Comcast, but BillFixers was able to help them get 4 months of service for free. In following bills, this customer will only pay $14.99/month for the same level of service.

Customers can securely upload their cable bills to the BillFixers website (www.billfixers.com) and just provide their name and address, for BillFixers will to call the customers cable provider to negotiate a better deal.

In addition to lower rates, customers have also enjoyed increased service to networks like HBO and Showtime.

BillFixers was founded by two Nashvillians, Julian and Ben Kurland. Julian is also enrolled in law school at Notre Dame, and Ben is a graphic design student at Tufts in Chicago.