PR and Launch Strategy: Credibility Over Leads
Treat PR as a credibility asset for hiring and cold outbound, and replace one big launch with a cadence of launches.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 90%
PR rarely delivers leads or users because the funnel leaks badly — few readers click a buried link or remember to Google you. PR's real value is credibility you proactively deploy into channels you control. Launches, meanwhile, work best as a recurring cadence that exploits audience appetite for novelty, not a single annual PR event.
Origin
Zoelle Egner's advice to founders based on marketing at Airtable, Box, and Block Party.
Core principles
- 01'Just getting PR' is not a goal — it won't reliably produce leads or users
- 02PR's value is credibility, deployed where you control distribution
- 03Audiences respond to novelty; momentum comes from repeated reasons to care
- 04A launch does not have to be about PR — PR is often a distraction from it
How to run it
- 1
Set a concrete goal before pursuing PR
Decide exactly how you'll leverage the coverage asset. The two goals that make most sense are improving hiring and improving cold-outbound response rates — both use channels you control.
Pro tip In hiring emails and cold outbound, embed the PR link so recipients take you more seriously; you know exactly who sees it and can measure impact.
Watch out Expecting PR to be an acquisition channel leads to disappointment; the link in paragraph 12 gets few clicks.
- 2
Deploy the PR asset in controlled channels
Use the coverage as a credibility proof point in proactive emails to candidates and prospects, rather than hoping passive readers convert.
Pro tip Measure whether including the asset lifts response/close rates.
Watch out Getting PR purely for internal morale is fine, but don't expect much else from it.
- 3
Replace the single launch with a launch cadence
Instead of one big annual launch, run a series of launches every couple of months to stay top of mind, create momentum, and appear in many communities.
Pro tip Use each launch's novelty to enter communities that are good fits for your company.
Watch out In many cases PR is a distraction from the launch's real momentum-building purpose.
In the wild
Egner describes the classic big TechCrunch piece that says great things but links to you once in the 12th paragraph. Few readers click, and fewer remember to Google you later, so it fails as an acquisition mechanism.
→ Reframes PR as a credibility asset for hiring and outbound rather than a lead source.
Common mistakes
Pursuing PR to get PR
Without a concrete leverage plan, coverage produces internal morale and little else because the acquisition funnel leaks almost entirely.
Betting everything on one big launch
A single annual launch misses the momentum and novelty benefits of a recurring cadence that keeps you top of mind across communities.
Is it for you?
Best for
Early-stage founders deciding whether to invest resources in press or a big product launch.
Not ideal for
Companies where a specific piece of coverage genuinely does drive qualified traffic, or consumer launches with strong direct-conversion paths.
From the transcript
“just getting PR is not a good goal”
“most of the time PR is not going to get you leads or users it's just not”
“what it is good for is credibility”
“the two goals I always recommend to Founders when thinking about using PR are either hiring or maybe improving the response rate for your cold…”
“not just one big launch but like a series of launches that allow you to stay top of mind”
“audiences respond to novelty”
From the episode
Lessons from Airtable’s unconventional growth strategy
Zoelle Egner