So you have a big announcement coming up for your B2B company, and you’ve been tasked with writing a press release and launching the product, service, whitepaper, conference, or whatever it is you’re announcing. If you’re the one in charge of a successful launch and you’ve done any homework, you know there is a LOT to consider. We know this firsthand as we launched our product earlier this year and make a gigantic splash in the market. So we’d love to share a few ways you can also make a gigantic splash – no matter what you’re announcing.
Here’s our checklist, step-by-step.
Prior to Press Release:
- Before writing the press release, get in a room with the visionaries and leaders and define the top 3 takeaways you want out of the press release – big/bold vision, usability, growing team, etc. Then, write the press release at least a week early to allow necessary time for revisions. Remember to load the press release into your publication software (PR Web, Business Wire, or Market Wired) at least 2 days early to ensure you’re good to go.
- Do research on media or publications, including 3rd parties or partners, that would be willing to write about your launch, or would feature your press release on their website or publication – build a list that includes their contact information. And remember, sometimes Tweeting a DM at them is a great way to get their attention – and their email address!
- Choose the date and time of launch for the press release – be sure to look out for holidays, and remember that posting Tuesday – Thursday is best, so you don’t have the weekends on either side to interfere.
- Pursue conversations with media, publications, and third parties by researching what they write about and carefully pitching your story – be sure to make it about them and the benefits they’ll receive (this is right up your wheelhouse!). The fastest thing to turn a writer away is when a story will only benefit you. Get creative.
- Ensure you have a proper plan for how you capture any inbound interest: Request a demo form, free trial, etc. Just make sure you can capture their contact information for later follow-up!
- Make a list of all of the activities you want to do on launch day, such as:
- Update your email signature with a campaign to reflect the big news – remember that often times, the 1:1 employee email generates more branding views than the website or other digital channels! A great resource for this is Sigstr (get a free trial by clicking here).
- Email communication out to your prospects, investors, influencers, customers, and friends – encourage them to share the news!
- Blog post to go live later in the afternoon to continue the momentum.
- Launch on Product Hunt if you have a new product, service, or an updated product offering.
- Build a special landing page to direct traffic from your release to (and use the landing page in your email, blog post, etc). This is helpful to keep tabs on traffic and where it’s coming from.
- Create a one-pager for your sales team, or a talk track for how to convey the announcement to your customers, prospects, and others.
- Have on hand the ready-to-go social posts you want to share from your company account, and also create some tweets to share out with the rest of your team that are “marketing approved”.
Day of Release:
- Get up early! Be awake when your press release goes live (7am or 7:30am EDT is a good time – you want it live before any publications share the news)
- Turn the press release link into a trackable bit.ly or Google link
- Update your social media posts with the links and start sharing socially – be on your social game ALL day replying, engaging, and posting on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and whatever other channels your company uses – encourage employees to do the same!
- Give some social media love to the publications that wrote about you – include screenshots of the articles, etc.
- Send out the email communication mid-morning
- Schedule your blog post for the afternoon
- Respond to questions on Product Hunt and other media outlets – and ensure your executives are doing the same – their voice in the news will mean a lot!
Follow-up:
- Tag all of the inbound leads or interest in your CRM system so you can measure the success and close rates eventually
- Tailor your demo or free trial around the news – don’t treat these folks like just anyone that requested a demo from your site, ask them questions about how they heard, what got them interested, etc.
- Consider other ways of follow-up for high priority prospects, investors, and others: Direct Mail, handwritten notes, case studies, relevant white paper, etc.
You’re probably thinking this is a lot. You’re right, it is! There’s a lot to consider when launching a new product, service, or whitepaper, but the key to remember is diversification. Be where your audience is, and think creatively about how you can not only reach them, but interest and educate them in what you’re talking about. Don’t be afraid to use humor in your social posts or landing page. Be your authentic company self – and get ready for a successful launch!
If you’re interested in download this checklist as a PDF, we’ve made it super easy on you. Just fill out this quick form and it’s yours.
