Hi there - I'm starting a weekly-ish newsletter to bring you my best insights, tips, tricks, and growth hacks for startups. 

The goal is to give you little nuggets or snack size pieces of content aka gold to help you with some aspect of GTM strategy, marketing, sales, or revops. 

If you love it, hate it, try one of my recos and it works (or doesn't)...I want to know! I want this to be high value, tactical, and actionable advice for my network. So don't be shy with your feedback.

Ok enough already....let's get to the inaugural golden nugget....

My media kit + podcast scrappy PR starter-kit playbook 👸

PR can seem a little daunting at first (and expensive), but you can absolutely get started in a scrappy way that is still highly effective. No need to spend $5-10k/month on a PR agency (at first). 

For real...this little play is what landed me on Gong's podcast + a handful of other extremely popular sales shows...using COLD outreach. AND one I've used with at least 4 clients now and it worked for them too. 

Podcasts appearances are a fantastic way to generate awareness and leads + to build deeper connections with your prospects. After you listen to a show, don't you feel like you kind of know the person? I do. 

One of my clients got 5 inbound leads the SAME DAY their podcast episode aired. And several others in the weeks that followed. All highly qualified and highly interested prospects.

Bonus, you'll also get an SEO boost from the backlinks to your site. 😍

Step 1: Create a media kit for your founder(s) or execs

"What the heck is a media kit, Jess?" 

It's a cute little pdf doc that makes you look kinda cool and kinda smart about a few niche things to help you pitch press opportunities. Here is a copy of mine as an example. 

"Ok got it. But how do I do it?" 

1. Go to Canva.com and create a free account.

2. Set up your brand kit in Canva.

3. Search for 'Media Kit' in their template library and pick one that speaks to you.

4. Edit that template accordingly with your picture(s), brand colors, etc. 

"What should I put in it?" 

• Your personal story and work experience - let your personality shine through + show you’re credible in your sector

• Info about your company

• Info about any prior press you’ve done (podcasts etc) - if you don't have any - that's totally fine. I've still booked clients when they had none. 

• Link to any writing you’ve done - show them you can communicate well

• A list of possible speaking topics you’re well versed in for inspo

Step 2: Make a list of target podcasts 

1. Google 'top podcasts in [your industry]' 

2. Open up Spotify, Apple Podcasts etc and type in your industry, SaaS, founders, startups etc. and look for shows that seem like your ICP (or potential investors) might listen to

3. Google your competitors and their founders to see which show's they have been a guest on

4. Google your customers or top target customers and see what shows they have been on

Put ALL of your targets in an excel/google sheet. Usually 20-30 is a good number of targets to start. Make sure you capture...

• The name of the show 

• A link to the show 

• A description of the show 

• The host of the show (name, email, LinkedIn) - if their email isn't on their website just use the free version of Apollo to get the info

NOTE - Make sure you focus on shows that have recent and regular episodes airing AND accept guests. Some shows are just solo recordings done by the host. Avoid those that haven't put any new content out in 3+ months or seem sporadic. Look for shows with a large # of reviews and positive reviews. There isn't public data on the # of listeners for podcasts, but a decent number of reviews is a good indicator of audience size. 

Step 3: Have a team member reach out to the podcast hosts and 'pitch' you as a guest 

I like to have the pitch sent by someone other than the suggested guest if possible. So just pick any one of your team members and ask them to help ya out. 

Here is a sample pitch (the one I used to get myself on Gong's show): 

Subject: Potential Podcast Guest - Jess Schultz

"Hi [First Name] - I am reaching out to introduce myself and Amplify Group. We're familiar with your show and are impressed with the audience you've cultivated.

Amplify Group is a  consulting firm that specializes in supporting startups with GTM strategy and execution. I think our founder and CEO – Jess Schultz - would be a fantastic guest on your show. Here is her media kit for reference. 

Could we set up some time to discuss the opportunity further?

Look forward to hearing from you!"

That's it! That's the playbook, and it's worked beautifully for a number of our founders in all different industries.

I hope you enjoyed the first of many GTM nuggets to come. 

PS - Know someone who could benefit from being added to this distribution? Send them here to sign up. 

That's all for now! 

With love and gratitude,