B2B Community Building: 5 Steps to Free Press Coverage

Most SaaS founders think PR requires paying an agency $10,000 a month. Conrad Egusa built Publicize to offer the same service starting at $399. But in this episode, he gives away the entire B2B community building and startup PR playbook for free.

Conrad is a former VentureBeat writer and global mentor at 500 Startups. He breaks down his 5-step process for getting press coverage, including why you should never combine announcements, how exclusives stand out in a journalist's inbox of 1,000 daily emails, and the follow-up tactic that turned a 1-out-of-15 response rate into near-universal coverage.

His coworking space in Medellin got covered by TechCrunch, BBC, and the Financial Times - not because coworking is interesting, but because he pitched B2B community building as "turning this city into the Silicon Valley of Latin America." SaaS content marketing through startup PR works when you frame the vision bigger than the product.

🔑 Key Lessons

• 📣 B2B community building through PR starts with a specific announcement: Founders who said "cover my company" got ignored. Founders who said "we launch next Wednesday" got press coverage.
• 🎯 Lead with social proof when pitching for press coverage: Half of what makes a story interesting comes from the founding team, not the product.
• 🚀 Make the mission bigger than the product for B2B community building: Conrad pitched "turning Medellin into the Silicon Valley of Latin America" instead of a coworking space.
• 💰 Never combine announcements in startup PR campaigns: Separating a launch and funding round into two campaigns doubles coverage opportunities.
• ⚡ Use exclusives instead of embargoes for early-stage B2B community building: Journalists won't commit to restrictions for unknown startups. One exclusive creates urgency.
• 🔄 Always send one follow-up email to maximize SaaS content marketing PR response: Conrad went from 1-out-of-15 responses to near-universal coverage with a single follow-up.

Chapters

• Introduction - why PR matters for B2B community building
• Step 1 - come up with a specific announcement
• Step 2 - identify and lead with social proof
• Step 3 - make the mission bigger than the product
• Example - coworking space on TechCrunch, BBC, Financial Times
• Step 4 - exclusive vs embargo approach
• How to find the right journalists at publications
• Step 5 - repeat the cycle every 8-10 weeks
• Why startup PR compounds over time through SEO backlinks
• Never combine announcements - double your press coverage
• Lightning round begins
• Passion - trying something new every six months

Resources

• Full show notes: https://saasclub.io/99
• Join 5,000+ SaaS founders: https://saasclub.io/email