In 2008 we sent an email to TechCrunch asking if they wanted an exclusive on our launch. After 2 weeks with no response, we emailed Mashable who promptly responded and wrote an article. The same day the article ran we received a snarky email from TC stating that they expected exclusive coverage and that because Mashable ran us first, TC wasn't going to touch the story. We politely referred them to our original email, they said oops and we all went on with our lives.
Ask HN: Exclusive startup coverage TechCrunch vs Mashable?
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Re: Ask HN: Exclusive startup coverage TechCrunch vs Mashable?
#12We tried to get coverage on TC and Mashable for Twitalbums.com but none listened to us (I lost count how many times I wrote them). I also wrote to The Next Web and nothing. Jolie O'Dell from ReadWriteWeb.com picked up on the story and she did a wonderful job reviewing our startup. The review sent a ton of traffic and gave us a good initial boost. Needles to say we love RWW :-)
+1 for RWW. The quality of comments is much better on RWW, and their coverage is usually more in-depth than either TechCrunch's or Mashable's. With Mashable in particular, updates are so frequent that I don't think you'd stay on the front page very long.
Re: Ask HN: Exclusive startup coverage TechCrunch vs Mashable?
#13I get the impression these days that TC and Mashable aren't super psyched about covering startup launches anymore unless said startup has a pre-established relationship or part of their sponsored events.
If both of them give you the cold shoulder, I'd definitely go for ReadWriteWeb. I'm always impressed by the quality of journalism over there, and I feel that they really value their community and staying true to their focus.
And that "TC won't cover you" stuff, I dunno. If you are getting a lot of buzz, they'll have to cover you eventually. Who's to say either TC or mashable will even honor your exclusive? Chances are they won't even shrug until someone else starts buzzing about it at a lower level. Unless you have a guaranteed home run, I'd play it safe and hit up individual writers, build buzz from the ground up.
Re: Ask HN: Exclusive startup coverage TechCrunch vs Mashable?
#14I get the impression these days that TC and Mashable aren't super psyched about covering startup launches anymore unless said startup has a pre-established relationship or part of their sponsored events. If both of them give you the cold shoulder, I'd definitely go for ReadWriteWeb. I'm always impressed by the quality of journalism over there, and I feel that they really value their community and staying true to thei…
>I'd play it safe and hit up individual writers, build buzz from the ground up.
This. The lower tier writers of today are the big cheeses of tomorrow. It often pays dividends in the future to give them exclusives today and make their job a little easier.
Besides, There are quite a few of the bigger named bloggers who subscribe to some smaller name blogs. If your site is good enough, like cream it will eventually float to the top.