Do you want to be featured in Technical.ly, but don’t know how to start? It’s actually pretty easy, if you have a viable story idea or a Delaware business we haven’t yet profiled.
The short version is, just send an email to holly@technical.ly or delaware@technical.ly and introduce us to your business or idea. There’s no formal procedure or form. A professional press release isn’t required.
What should the email say? A few tips:
- Casual is fine. You can open with a simple “Hello.”
- Open with the fact that your business/org/story idea is Delaware-based. We get a lot of email pitches from all over the country thanks to online tech pub databases. If you don’t highlight that you’re in Delaware, your pitch could accidentally get deleted.
- Keep it simple. Who are you, what is the business/org/story idea, why is it relevant? This could be as simple as you have a Delaware startup that hasn’t been covered by Technical.ly, or it could be something newsy like a ribbon cutting, app launch or new product. Tell us what’s unique about your work.
- We love a good “how” story, so be prepared to tell us the process behind the story. You signed up 1,000 users in your first week — how? You raised more VC funding than expected — how? The big idea, really, is communicating what someone in a similar position can learn from your story.
- Ask to set up a time to chat, either by phone or virtual meeting (or in person, if it’s safe to do so).
(Slide by Holly Quinn) - Don’t make it sound like a sales pitch (e.g: avoid opening with anything resembling “Have I got a story for you!!”).
- Don’t pitch a list of article ideas like “How to gain social media followers” for a guest post unless you an expert on the specific topic in Delaware. (If you’re really interested in writing for us, we have a guest post option for that)
- Don’t offer to exchange links or anything SEO-related.
- If you are looking to run a promotional piece where you have total control over what is written, you may be looking for a sponsored post and should contact our business team.
- If you don’t hear back from us within a week, it’s fine to follow up. Sometimes we get swamped and emails get missed.
- If you don’t hear back after a follow-up and you didn’t commit any of the “don’ts” above, make sure that it’s clear that you’re in Delaware, and that your pitch is relevant to technology, small business/startups, nonprofit, STEM, education, economic development or access. We occasionally do arts stories, but only if there is a technology, entrepreneurship or community/access angle.
Any questions? Email me at holly@technical.ly.
