Ride the Rollercoaster

Publicity

The power of good press is priceless but getting press coverage is not always a bargain. When Oddpodz.com first launched, we would write our own news releases and send them out on PR wires. We got decent coverage. Then I read about a trend where the PR firms pitch stories and you only pay after placement. We gave that a try. It was a good concept, but did it get us the kind of coverage we had hoped for? No.

Here's how it went for us: We committed to a monthly fee cap. Then an account rep pitched the agreed-upon angles of our story. In return we got a hefty bill every month for either high fee placements in high circulation publications with insignificant content about our company, or lots of good content placements in dinky, low readership periodicals. That PR failed to draw new members.

Is there a perfect PR solution for a start-up? I don't think so. One should first focus on creating truly compelling news, then experiment with different media channels. Think beyond print, establish a blogging regime and include the voice of all of your staff and supporters.

Outside Insight

When you are running a start-up you get very close to every piece of your company. While that has merit, stepping away and listening to outsiders is equally important. Oddpodz gathers insight daily by setting up easy ways for visitors to communicate to us. We try to respond to everyone with an email acknowledgment and we always thank them for their opinions, whether we agree or not. Beyond this daily gathering of intelligence, we recently held a daylong brain-dump with our core staff and a mix of bright minds from outside our company. This expense was a valuable exercise. We confirmed many issues and learned about completely new experiences with, and impressions of, our company.

Should you decide to conduct an insight session, consider the following:

• At the onset, outline your session goals, schedule and budget.
• Carefully screen your participants for market compatibility and skill set.
• Have them sign a confidentiality agreement in advance.
• Send them required pre-session prep work.
• Pay them.
• Record the sessions in audio and in notes.
• Send them a thank you note and follow-up.

Brand Distinction

With any brand, being different is a vital strategy to making a lasting, meaningful mark on your market. To avoid being just another clone in your category, you've got to present yourself in a distinct fashion on multiple fronts, yet respect human conditioning. In the case of Oddpodz, this conditioning comes from the pioneers in social networking (Myspace, Facebook, etc.). Even though social networking is a fairly new phenomenon, standards have already been established. A large chunk of the population is accustomed to certain familiarities, like what one calls things, how one finds information, and how content is organized.

When we launched Oddpodz, we tried very hard to be extremely different. We quickly learned that some things need to follow the course of your category, unless you have truckloads of cash and time to burn.

• Simplicity rules!
• Clever (overly unique) words on navigation will reduce click-throughs.
• Make sure your editorial content does not look like an ad.
• Ad overload results in user turn-off.
• As your community grows, only then can you take chances with uncommon language and navigation methods.

In closing, start-ups operate in a different world than most companies. Our clock and emotional state is unique. A month of development time feels like a lifetime. One hour you're on a business high and the next hour you're scared to death. The journey is exhilarating.

When you feel like raising the white flag, take a deep breath and ask yourself: is anyone literally shooting at me? If not, then get back on that roller coaster and keep moving forward. Without the passion, dreams, and aspirations of entrepreneurs like us, this world would be dreadfully boring and would make no real progress.

Go ahead. Enjoy your ride!