ReWork

essence, but don’t remove the poetry. Keep things clean and unencumbered but don’t sterilize. *
    It’s a beautiful way to put it: Leave the poetry inwhat you make. When something becomes too polished, it loses its soul. It seems robotic.
    So talk like you really talk. Reveal things that others are unwilling to discuss. Be upfront about your shortcomings. Show the latest version of what you’re working on, even if you’re not done yet. It’s OK if it’s not perfect. You might not seem as professional, but you will seem a lot more genuine.
     

     
Press releases are spam
    What do you call a generic pitch sent out to hundreds of strangers hoping that one will bite? Spam. That’s what press releases are too: generic pitches for coverage sent out to hundreds of journalists you don’t know, hoping that one will write about you.
    Let’s dissect the purpose of a press release for a moment: It’s something you send out because you want to be noticed. You want the press to pick up on your new company, product, service, announcement, or whatever. You want them to be excited enough to write a story about you.
    But press releases are a terrible way to accomplish that. They’re tired and formulaic. There’s nothing exciting about them. Journalists sift through dozens a day. They wind up buried under an avalanche of hyperbolic headlines and fake quotes from CEOs. Everything is labeled sensational, revolutionary, groundbreaking, and amazing. It’s numbing.
    If you want to get someone’s attention, it’s silly to do exactly the same thing as everyone else. You need to stand out. So why issue press releases like everyone else does? Why spam journalists when their inbox is already filled with other people’s spam?
    Furthermore, a press release is generic. You write itonce and then send it to tons of reporters—people whom you don’t know and who don’t know you. And your first introduction is this vague, generic note you also send to everyone else? Is that the impression you want to make? Is that really going to get you the story?
    Instead, call someone. Write a personal note. If you read a story about a similar company or product, contact the journalist who wrote it. Pitch her with some passion, some interest, some life. Do something meaningful. Be remarkable. Stand out. Be unforgettable. That’s how you’ll get the best coverage.
     

     
Forget about the Wall Street Journal
    Forget about
Time, Forbes, Newsweek, Business Week
, the
New York Times
, and the
Wall Street Journal
. Pitching a reporter at one of these places is practically impossible. Good luck even getting ahold of that guy. And even if you do, he probably won’t care anyway. You’re not big enough to matter.
    You’re better off focusing on getting your story into a trade publication or picked up by a niche blogger. With these outlets, the barrier is much lower. You can send an e-mail and get a response (and maybe even a post) the same day. There’s no editorial board or PR person involved. There’s no pipeline your message has to go through.
    These guys are actually hungry for fresh meat. They thrive on being tastemakers, finding the new thing, and getting the ball rolling. That’s why many big-time reporters now use these smaller sites to find new stories. Stories that start on the fringe can go mainstream quickly.
    We’ve been written up in big mainstream publications like
Wired
and
Time
, but we’ve found that we actually get more hits when we’re profiled on sites like Daring Fireball, a site for Mac nerds, or Lifehacker, a productivity site. Links from these places result in notable spikes inour traffic and sales. Articles in big-time publications are nice, but they don’t result in the same level of direct, instant activity.

Drug dealers get it right
    Drug dealers are astute businesspeople. They know their product is so good they’re willing to give a little away for free upfront. They know you’ll be back for more—with money.
    Emulate drug dealers. Make your product so good, so addictive, so “can’t miss” that giving customers a small, free taste makes them come back with cash in hand.
    This will force you to make something about your product bite-size. You want an easily digestible introduction to what you sell. This gives people a way to try it without investing any money or a lot of time.
    Bakeries, restaurants, and ice cream shops have done this successfully for years. Car dealers let you test-drive cars before