Building Your PR Narrative: Why Most Founders Get It Wrong

This post summarizes insights from a private member program led by Kathy Osborne, PR strategist for Embarc Collective and founder of Kamel PR, and Johnny Crowder, Founder & CEO of Cope Notes.

When it comes to PR for startups, many founders have the same vision: land a feature in the New York Times, watch website traffic soar, and see an immediate influx of customers.

But as Kathy Osborne and Johnny Crowder revealed in their recent presentation, successful PR requires a more strategic approach that starts well before your first press release.

What Makes Something Newsworthy?

Not everything that’s important to your company deserves a press release. According to Kathy, truly newsworthy announcements fall into five key buckets:

1. Funding Announcements: Pre-seed rounds and above with institutional investors (not friends and family rounds)
2. Product Launches: Major new products (not minor updates or 2.0 versions)
3. Partnerships: Significant collaborations with recognizable logos
4. Data Reports: Industry insights drawn from your company’s unique data
5. New Hires: C-suite executives, especially those from recognizable companies

“When you do a press release, a news announcement, the goal is to pitch it,” Kathy emphasized. “If you’re not planning to pitch it to media, it’s considered a blog post, not a press release.”

PR is Not Marketing

A common misconception is that reporters are an extension of your marketing team. In reality, reporters receive up to 1,200 emails daily and must pitch your story to their editors before covering it.

“Reporters are not hired to do your advertising or sell your product,” Kathy explained. “Their job is to gather information and explain what you’re doing in a broader context.”

Foundation First: Prepare Before You Pitch

Johnny shared a pivotal lesson from his experience working with Kathy to announce Cope Notes’ school partnership: “Before we even did the press release, a big focus was working backwards from the goal.”

When Johnny expressed interest in attracting more school partnerships, Kathy immediately asked about his school landing page, which didn’t exist. Before sending out a single press release, Johnny had to:

1. Create a dedicated schools’ landing page
2. Develop case studies for K-12, higher education, and youth programs
3. Add testimonials from students and educators
4. Include a clear contact form for interested schools

“In the past, whenever we did press, I would just put our regular website and pray that people would navigate to the right parts,” Johnny admitted. “I was wrong about most of the things I thought PR was about.”

The PR Timeline: Two Weeks, Not Tomorrow

When it comes to announcing news, timing is crucial. Kathy recommends a two-week runway:

• Week 1: Draft and approve the press release
• Week 2: Pitch journalists, send the press release across newswires, and follow up

This timeline gives reporters enough time to pitch your story to their editors and allows you flexibility if your initial approach isn’t working.

Distribution Matters: Invest in Quality Newswires

While some founders balk at spending $1,500 on premium newswire services like Business Wire or PR Newswire when $200 alternatives exist, Johnny now sees the value: “I thought a press release—you just send it to any of these places and they all have the same distribution, the same credibility.”

The reality is that investing in quality distribution builds long-term SEO benefits. When partners, investors, or customers Google your company, those press releases become third-party validation of your credibility.

The Long-Term Value of PR

Perhaps the most important insight was the long-term nature of PR’s impact. While Johnny initially hoped for an immediate splash, he now understands that PR builds incrementally.

“I think founders lean on press for awareness and credibility,” Johnny reflected, “but I’m still convinced right now that we haven’t seen the fruit of this.”

This “long tail” of coverage can extend months beyond your initial announcement.

Strategic Planning: Building Your PR Narrative

Rather than viewing each press release as a standalone event, Kathy recommends planning a sequence of announcements that build upon each other.

“We planned three press releases, and the idea was you do your smallest one first, then follow that up a few months later with something more impressive,” Johnny explained. “The publications that covered you originally go, ‘Wow, this company’s on fire—I’m pretty sure we just did a story on them three months ago and now they’re doing something even cooler.'”

Consider Trade Publications Over National Media

While many founders focus on mainstream publications like the New York Times or TechCrunch, Kathy has seen greater business impact from industry-specific trade outlets.

“Healthcare Dive, Education Dive, cybersecurity trades—those niche publications are going to be with 100% certainty where your customers are reading, where the investors are reading, and where your partners are reading,” Kathy pointed out.

She shared a striking example: a recent New York Times feature that took three years to secure generated significantly less business impact than coverage in trade publications, largely due to subscription paywalls limiting the Times’ reach.

PR as a Process, Not an Event

The key lesson from both Kathy and Johnny is that effective PR isn’t about scoring a single high-profile mention—it’s about building a consistent narrative over time that establishes credibility with your target audience.

“I viewed it as a very short-term win,” Johnny reflected. “I just wanted to blast it out and make a LinkedIn post. Kathy helped me understand: what will I thank myself for in three years because I did it now?”

By focusing on strategic preparation, targeting the right publications, and viewing PR as a long-term investment rather than a quick win, founders can build a PR approach that delivers meaningful business results beyond vanity metrics.

Want to attend sessions like this? Consider becoming an Embarc Collective member.