This Monday we talked with Gabriel Aldamiz-echevarria, and I thought my name was long, from Chicisimo, a place where girls can share with others what they are wearing. Gabriel was a very technology development guy and it was when discovering Popsugar and SugarInc that he realized how services for girls were still unexplored, mainly in Europe.He had no idea about the business model and this is still a problem that he faces on his website. He believes, though, that this is not an issue if you can provide value to the customer, in his case the girls. Well, between you and me we know that most Internet millionaires actually never had a business model and sold their businesses for millions and they were even a step back most times simply with an idea without providing any real value.
Our talk should be focused on PR so let's talk about it a little bit. He mentioned about belonging to a community, and starting from the bottom. You don't really have to go to
the Wall Street Journal right in the beginning while without a brand you'll be competing with thousand others. He said that a good way to start is to get close to bloggers that like the kind of things you work with and once you become important and go to mass media, try to know not only the owner of the media but the people working for him. He gave us the example of the Wall Street Journal where he knew who was writing about fashion there.Some of Gabriel's comments were similar to some I found in an article on Inc.com they say that it's critical that people know what you're doing but sending emails out to everyone won't help (look at what you read in your inbox). It's important not only to create a relationship and going to events and trade shows, but also to add value as Gabriel suggested. By that he meant knowing what journalists will be writing about, adapting your content and delivering value that would be harder for them to generate (don't you like when someone makes your life easier?).
I guess that's a summary of the main points discussed and keep in mind that PR if done properly can be as good as going to TV and in most cases: it's for FREE!!!!
I wouldn't say something is free when you have to invest in relationships, preparation, psychology, etc. to get it right. The aim of the session was, in fact, quite the opposite in this case: to learn that in order to avoid the typical mistakes startups commit in may occasions, one has to engage in PR with a lot of preparation, methodology, long-term view, etc. Therefore, if you measure the impact valuing adequately the use of the entrepreneur's time, it is far from being free, even though, if well done, could end up being extremely powerful! :-)
ReplyDeleteI do agree that's not for free if you consider the opportunity cost. I meant in a direct investment perspective. Also, if you consider in the long run the returns you get from creating a network of contacts that you can later rely on vs paying for media doens't really compare the benefits you get from investing in the first option.
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