From managing energy with innovative power solutions to decreasing the CO2 impact from food waste, impact-driven tech startups are actively decreasing our carbon footprint. So why isn’t there more coverage of these companies driving change?
Where many go wrong when approaching the media is by thinking “the more the merrier.” In fact, overwhelming journalists with information in your pitches signals to them that you don’t understand the hook of your story or what’s important to their audience. So, before communicating your green initiative in your next pitch, consider this six-point checklist to get your eco-conscious startup noticed and make the headlines.
1. Give journalists no choice but to be enticed by your subject line
Journalists get hundreds of emails daily, and even if they wanted to, they couldn’t possibly answer each one. You need to grab their attention from their first glance, showing that you’ve got something that’s immediately attractive to their audience. In order to provide the perfect teaser of what’s to come in the full pitch, start by putting the most outstanding facts, names, and brands at the beginning of the subject line. For example, if your startup just completed a Series C funding with Greenpeace or the World Wide Fund for Nature, don’t be modest — put it front and center.
Show journalists and their readers that sustainability is no longer a side issue or just a worthy cause. It’s our duty to help Mother Earth.
Your first idea is never the strongest, so craft at least five different versions of your subject line and eliminate one at a time, depending on how clear, customized, controversial, and catchy each one is. However, keep in mind that many journalists are multitasking and skimming emails on their smartphones, so shoot for between 41 and 50 characters, or 6 to 8 words. That way the full subject line is visible on a mobile device.
You can cut down on your title by removing adjectives and sentence etiquette. In other words, channel your newsroom voice when writing the subject line, which typically uses active verbs.
Example of a mediocre subject line:
- Expire proves that perishables are the prime contributors to greenhouse emissions
Example of a good subject line:
- Meat is the carbon culprit behind food waste
Customization is also as important here as it is within your actual pitch. For example, if you have an AI-driven solution like Wasteless that helps solve the third biggest contributor to climate change — food waste — here’s how you could adjust your angle for different journalists. A retail writer may be more concerned with how your AI cuts food waste by 50% and increases revenue by 110% in 12 weeks. An environmental writer covering climate change may be interested in how you’re reconditioning consumer behavior and reverting food insecurity.
On the other hand, a journalist writing for a mainstream outlet in the United States might be concerned with food causing 25% of all carbon emissions and how you’re preventing Americans from paying a premium for steaks with a longer shelf life.
Ultimately, every pitch you send out should have a different, captivating subject line and body of text that will connect with the recipient. If you’re finding this to be an uphill battle, work in reverse and write your subject line after you’ve nailed the most newsworthy details in the pitch itself.
2. There’s no need to dress it up — get straight to the news
Forget the “How are you?” and “Hope you are well” pleasantries if you don’t know the journalists you’re pitching. This only comes off as sincere when you have a truly personal relationship. Instead, focus on getting to the point and nailing the introduction by removing fluff and background information and honing in on the newsworthiness of your story.
The ideal introductory paragraph is personalized for the specific recipient and reiterates why your news is relevant to them. Thirty-three percent of journalists don’t open emails due to a lack of personalization, so this is your chance to make them curious and highlight why your news serves their audience. However, claiming that your tech, which helps restore biodiversity, is “right up their alley” because they cover environmental tech isn’t going to cut it.
Instead, highlight why this news would be meaningful to them by corroborating, questioning, or revealing changes that have occurred since they last wrote about another technology that studies killer whale gangs, for example. Ideally, you want to reference something they’ve written about in the last year. And here’s a newsflash: You actually have to engage with journalists’ work to do this successfully.
After you’ve personalized your pitch, develop a compelling lead sentence. This is your news peg — a single sentence that summarizes the most enticing aspect of your announcement. It should have an aspect of timeliness to it and set the tone for the rest of the pitch. From reading your lead, journalists should be clear on why your news is relevant for them and their readers.
If your news is newsworthy, it will fit into no more than two paragraphs or under 180 words. This is the optimal length and ensures your pitch is digestible and accessible as opposed to intimidating. Many journalists have also been vocal about this preference, so why ignore them? If your introduction highlights relevance, then your second paragraph should frame your news.
3. Frame the significance of your news
Only well-known businesses like Patagonia, Unilever, or Burt’s Bees can get away with a company-centric pitch. For startups, you’ll have a better shot at standing out by illustrating the change you’re making. The goal is to intrigue, so stress how your business is addressing climate change, synthesize what’s relevant about your eco solution, and highlight the value in it. To do this successfully, understand that one angle isn’t going to pique everyone’s interest. You need to tailor your angle to what matters to different publications, journalists, and readers.
Example of a fashion brand angle for a mainstream publication:
- Fashion heats up with Excessible’s sun protective clothing that Greta Thunberg would wear
Example of a fashion brand angle for a B2B sustainability publication:
- Excessible’s fashion line protects against global boiling while reversing the fashion industry’s 1.8% of global greenhouse gas emissions
If you’re tying your news to a current trend, include statistics or information that validates the trend by referring to relatable people or a relatable scenario with an imagine section. In other words, paint the picture of the environmental monstrosity you’re addressing or the utopian dream you’re making a reality. At the end of the day, the more legwork you can do for journalists and set the stage, the better.
Example excerpt from a pitch without data:
- The majority of Americans drive to the office, yet EV chargers are still hard to come by at the workplace. Cyber Switching solves EV drivers’ charging shortages and decreases the strain on the electric grid.
Example excerpt from a pitch with data:
- 85.4% of Americans drive to the office. That’s about 128 million people. Yet, EV chargers are still hard to come by at the workplace. Cyber Switching solves 80% of EV drivers’ charging shortages and decreases the strain on the electric grid.
The point is, rather than assuming journalists will see the relevance between your pitch, their beat, and the audience they serve, convince them that you’ve got something that they should prioritize. Don’t make journalists do the work for you — make their lives easier.
4. Make it matter now — timeliness is vital
Bad timing is one of the main reasons why journalists reject pitches. They want to be the first to get the inside scoop and share the news before it’s public. If your announcement isn’t today’s breaking news, you’ll have to convince journalists why it matters now, what’s newly relevant about it, and speak about the incremental changes in this arena as of late.
There’s good timing and bad timing, so remember that your news is going to be buried next to every other pitch journalists receive that day. In other words, create a sense of urgency and give journalists a reason not to miss out.
There is more than one way to convey timeliness. For example, you could position your news as part of a trend such as the current AI wave, or show journalists why your story is timely using examples of current world events like the recent heat wave, devastating floods, or wildfires sweeping the world.
Example of a timely pitch:
- Just this week, Americans were feeling the burn as the planet warmed by an average of 1.2 degrees, yet a meager 8% feel a sense of urgency to address global warming and simply head home to their AC. I’d love to connect you with (Name, title) to talk about how she’s reducing America’s carbon footprint indoors.
While the aim is to ride news cycles, steer clear of announcing news when journalists are preoccupied with more pressing matters such as covering top-tier industry events like the annual World Economic Forum and TechCrunch Disrupt. Unless you’re attending and plan to bring awareness to your sustainable movement on the Sustainability Stage, break your news at a more optimal time. In other words, stay up to date with what is happening in the sustainability space and ensure you’re sharing news at the ideal time of the year, month, and day.
5. Anticipate questions and be proactive in answering
Facts are critical when writing history, and journalists lose trust when details are questionable, omitted, or aren’t 100% accurate. Think like the journalists you’re pitching. If you were in their shoes, what questions would you ask? Consider exclusive data you could pull from your work that data journalists wouldn’t come across so easily on their own.
You may be sitting on a lot of unique stats, which you take for granted in your day-to-day, so think how you could use it to strengthen your argument. Also, think about what key takeaways you can highlight even if you have a proprietary technology and nondisclosure agreement in place.
Get all your ducks in a row by having your sources and background information ready for journalists by the time you start pitching. Often, you are so close to your tech solution that it’s easy to forget that your complex tech is not so black and white for those not on your internal team. So, be ready to demystify your tech by offering introduction or demo calls.
Practice explaining your tech in basic speech and ditch the comprehensive language to the point where any layperson would grasp the concept. Fancy words are no longer the new flex, clarity is. If you’re entering into a partnership with, for example, a bioengineering company, ensure that its representative and communications team are on board before you promise journalists a meeting and have an approved quote already prepared in your press materials.
If it’s customer validation they need, then identify real people who are using your solution or show empathy in your pitch by identifying people directly impacted by the lack of action being taken. This is impactful when pitching sustainability news, especially if you’re drastically shifting people’s behaviors in, for example, the United States, where a meager 8% feel an urgency to solve global warming. At the end of the day, responsiveness is great, but being proactive and answering these questions upfront before they are asked could separate your pitch from the hundreds of others.
Beyond helping yourself, think about how you can help journalists. Understand more about the journalists you’re pitching by reading their work and contributing to other stories that they’re covering. Journalists have a strong code of ethics and will always have a third party confirm and validate the news they’re covering, so if you have valuable resources that can help, share them.
If you know experts outside of your organization that could provide social proof or verify a trend journalists are covering, make the introduction. This is especially helpful, as credible sources can be hard to come by on short notice. By making yourself useful to journalists and thinking beyond your own story, you’re proving yourself as a reliable source, which is step one to building a long-term relationship with journalists.
6. Develop an online newsroom that isn’t high maintenance
Being helpful to journalists means giving them everything they may need if they decide to do a write-up. With that being said, turn your press materials into the best resource to add depth to your story.
Your digital press kit should house your press release, but most importantly, this would be where you store visuals. Demo videos are a nice way to eliminate complex concepts and give a firsthand look at, for example, how your indoor climate management solution has a reduced carbon footprint.
Images also boost readership and engagement, helping to tell a more complete story. Instead of attaching files and creating a heavy pitch that will definitely land in spam, direct to one place. Limit yourself to one link in your email and place all these materials into a press website hosting all the materials and resources needed for the news story.
Be the change you want to see
The current era of global boiling is seeing ocean temperatures hitting 90°F, snowfall in certain regions for the first time, food security being threatened, workers protesting against working under these conditions, and ultimately Earth’s dwindling capacity to regenerate for future generations. Ambitious tech startups with green and environmentally sound solutions are in a unique position to help not only divert but also prevent further degradation. But in order to do so, they need to make sure their mission is clear and the public is well aware of the importance.
The above tips are here to guide green startups and founders on how to turn their pitches into relevant, newsworthy stories for journalists and the audiences they serve. There’s no time like the present to set a new standard. Show journalists and their readers that sustainability is no longer a side issue or just a worthy cause. It’s our duty to help Mother Earth.