Startup Opportunities Case Study
Know when to quit your day job
As distinguished venture capitalists, Brad Feld and Dr. Sean Wise know a thing or two about starting companies. Together, they’ve raised over $3 billion for new companies, witnessed more than 30,000 business pitches, and participated in over 500 startup launches. Brad and Sean recently released a book in May titled Startup Opportunities, which combines everything they've learned over two decades into actionable advice for aspiring and seed-stage entrepreneurs. The title recently became a #1 bestseller.
Situation
Simon Bogdanowicz, publicist for Brad Feld and Sean Wise, reached out to PR Volt to develop a campaign around the launch of Startup Opportunities. The objective was to garner national interview opportunities across digital, online, and print media publications and to drive awareness and sales of the book title. The campaign would recognize both Sean Wise and Brad Feld as industry experts in hopes of gaining media attention and interviews.
"PR Volt allowed me to not only reach my targeted media list in an efficient and effective way, but also reach thousands of PR contacts that I've never had contact with."
Program & Strategy
PR Volt’s strategy in promoting the book was to call attention to the authors’ deep knowledge and experience in order to shore up key media interviews and appointments. Editors covering small business, startups and entrepreneurship were chosen as primary outreach targets. The prospects were further split between long and short lead, and involved five types of publicity classifications: TV, radio, online, newspaper, and magazine. The pitches called specific attention to pertinent ‘speaking’ points from the book that both Sean Wise and/or Brad Feld could expand upon in an interview setting and which would be compelling for the target publications’ audiences.
Results
Thanks to PR Volt, the Brad Feld and Sean Wise have been featured on SIRIUS XM Radio, TechCrunch, CNBC, Forbes, Inc., Huffington Post, and countless other business and entrepreneur-focused podcasts in the last few months alone. Their book Startup Opportunities has gained tremendous exposure and recently because a #1 bestseller.
Here are some of the highlights of their results:
• 1,696 editors and journalists were contacted throughout the course of the campaign with a three-step follow-up sequence
• 740 editors and journalists opened an email (43.6% open rate) and 154 responded (9.1% reply rate)
• Throughout the duration of the three-week campaign, PR Volt generated 46 positive leads (2.7% lead rate)
• Highlights include placements in SIRIUS XM Radio, TechCrunch, CNBC, Forbes, Inc., and Huffington Post.
In Their Own Words
PR was such a headache for me before I found PR Volt. My PR contacts were spread all over the place, across a variety of media channels (digital publications, podcasts, radio) with individual outreach taking a lot of time and energy, and only a fraction of the PR opportunities resulting in an actual published piece.
PR Volt allowed me to not only reach my targeted media list in an efficient and effective way, but also reach thousands of PR contacts that I've never had contact with. The PR Volt team put together a press pitch that was focused on highlighting the real-world insights and tips that are the cornerstone of the bestseller, Startup Opportunities. The PR Volt team was very receptive, creating unique press pitches centered around different types of media channels and focus verticals.
Thanks to PR Volt, the authors have been featured on SIRIUS XM Radio, TechCrunch, CNBC, Forbes, Inc., Huffington Post, and countless business and entrepreneur-focused podcasts. These features have built enough press credibility to open new PR doors on their own. In addition, the authors have been invited to be featured on NBC-affiliated TV network, talk radio, and to speak on University campuses and at conferences..
