2021 SaaS PR Predictions

This time each year we work with our clients to put together predictions for the year ahead, and for the past few years we’ve been taking our own advice and creating SaaS PR predictions of our own. 

Looking back on a year that, to put it gently, went completely off track, I was surprised to see many of our predictions for 2020 panned out (on the PR front). This year, we saw fewer SaaS marketing execs using share of voice as their standalone metric to measure the success of PR. We also saw a much closer integration between our clients and their customers — so much so that we now offer to interview and write customer stories on behalf of our clients.

When I sat down to think about 2021, a few things immediately came to mind. Yes, some of those things are related to the pandemic and how it impacted the way we do work, but other trends were well underway beforehand.

Paywalled journalism means we must adapt 

It’s happened to all of us — you see an interesting story shared on Twitter and click to learn more only to be hit with a paywall. While it can be frustrating, paywalls actually make a lot of sense. Think about it: you pay for Hulu with no ads, you pay to join Dave Gerhardt’s Patreon marketing group, you even pay for access to workouts on Peloton — why wouldn’t you pay for unlimited access to news content created specifically for your interests? 

As talented journalists continue to fall victim to shrinking newsrooms, they’re increasingly turning to platforms like Substack to grow followings of their own. Most recently startup reporter Eric Newcomer left Bloomberg to start Newcomer, a subscription newsletter about startups and venture capital. Earlier in the year tech journalist Casey Newton left The Verge to start Platformer, and before that Fortune’s Polina Marinova Pompliano left to build The Profile. I anticipate many more will follow suit. 

Earlier in the year, I sent a few questions on paywalls to Travis Bernard at TechCrunch. He launched TechCrunch’s subscription platform ExtraCrunch just a year earlier. His newsroom faced a choice: broaden coverage to drive up advertising impressions and therefore dollars, or double down on a smaller, more engaged audience willing to pay. They chose the latter. 

So, what does this mean for those of us in SaaS PR? Get creative about what you consider an “outlet.” It no longer needs to be TechCrunch or Forbes to count as meaningful coverage for your brand. Encourage your client/boss to look past vanity metrics like unique monthly visitors. As journalists are building their audiences, these metrics may or may not be available. 

Build relationships with emerging publications (including podcasts), and get comfortable with explaining the value of coverage behind a paywall to your client. Sure, there are challenges (namely, sharing on social) but the inherent value is the already engaged, paying audience. And, ask your CFO for more room in the 2021 budget for news subscriptions. 

Speaking slots will become even more difficult to secure 

Now that Neil Patel, Jay Baer and Seth Godin can speak at 10 conferences in a matter of days — what’s left for the rest of us? I am halfway kidding but, if you think securing speaking slots isn’t going to get a lot more difficult in 2021, you should reassess your goals. 

  • Exhibit A) Many events well into 2021 are still going to be canceled, creating fewer overall opportunities.
  • Exhibit B) For virtual events, travel, and its associated costs, are eliminated. This means we’ll see the most well-respected speakers speaking more often.

Those two items lead to a lack of opportunity for anyone not already an established keynote. My advice? Keep your events/speaking team focused on small, local or industry-specific events to build your reel until events and speaking slots become more widely available, hopefully in 2022. 

Audiences wise up to newswires — kind of

For better or for worse, 2021 is not the year the newswire dies. In simple terms, newswires have value because we believe they have value. So, until your CEO stops forwarding you Google Alerts he has set for competitors’ press releases with the “why aren’t we getting this type of press” note attached, newswires are a necessary means to a “make the CEO happy” end. 

In 2021, marketing and comms leads will start considering the broad spectrum of places outside of a wire we can place releases. A company blog or, if you have some extra budget, a paid posting in a trade publication are valid options to consider, and can often have the same impact as a newswire posting (minus the syndications). 

While wires themselves are likely to remain a piece of your PR puzzle in 2021, I think most SaaS PR people will no longer find value in the “outreach” efforts offered by wire services. The claims they send your press release “directly to the newsrooms of all the top media publications,” while technically true are completely useless. And, candidly, in eight years of doing media relations, I have never seen a single organic story run as a result of this type of distribution.

Deskside meetings are *finally* put to bed 

This is one area of PR that has certainly been impacted by the coronavirus, and I think for the better. Speaking specifically within the realm of SaaS PR — desksides are no longer an impactful way to communicate with journalists. Now that desks themselves (at least the kind in large office buildings) are few and far between, deskside meetings have become a relic of our PR past. 

As we’ve learned over the past year, we can be just as impactful and collaborative without being in person. Instead of forcing a press tour to work because they’re what you’re used to, set availability for your executive or spokesperson over the course of a week. Slot in interviews as they make sense for availability and interest on both sides, and if the meeting requires a product delivery, send it ahead of time. Make sure to get updated contact information for the journalists, though, since they’re likely not in an office. (PS — phone etiquette changes when it’s a cell phone you’re calling. Proceed with extreme caution.) 

I think I speak for all of us when I say we’re looking forward to putting 2020 behind us. But, for a year that turned out to be quite challenging, it sure did teach us a lot — especially when it comes to communication. 

Never has it been more important to put time and effort into what you’re saying, who you’re talking to, and why you’re saying it. From communication to your employees on a shift to working from home to communicating to the world what you stand for, putting thought behind your words is never going out of style. 

What do you predict 2021 will hold for SaaS PR? Share with us on LinkedIn or Twitter

How to share coverage behind a paywall

We live in a world with information constantly at our fingertips. And while users prefer free access, we continue to see a rising trend in paywalls used by top publications like The New York Times, Business Insider, The Economist and The Wall Street Journal. Just last year, 76% of US newspapers published online had some form of paywall in place.

A paywall, or a barrier to access news articles without payment, comes in many forms. Some publications are inaccessible to readers without a monthly subscription, while others allow readers to see a set amount of articles before requiring payment. Learn more about PR, paywalls and why publications use them here

People agree to paying for access to top outlets because: 

1. This model existed before any online presence of a publication ever did, and therefore, consumers easily justify the logic behind paying. 

2. The quality of the reporting, brand equity, tier-1 stature of the outlet, and even the power of individual journalists who possess significant social media followings, lend credence to a publication charging for views. 

But what does that mean for PR? First, let’s understand the pros and cons of a paywall. Simply, a paywall means the audience reading the coverage is highly engaged, trusts the outlet and is likely to interact with a quoted vendor, either directly by Googling the name or through referral by clicking a link in the article. The con? It’s harder to share SaaS coverage when gated. 

Your PR team likely subscribes to various publications so they should be able to capture a screenshot of the coverage and/or create a PDF. Once you have both, you should:

  • Summarize the piece for readers in a blog post and then share the link letting them know it’s behind a paywall. 
  • Share the coverage link as-is on social but highlight the part showcasing your organization. 
  • Monitor the publication’s social media to see if any tweets and/or further story promotions occur. Be sure to share across your brand’s channels since it adds validity to your coverage.
  • Use the PDF’d version or screenshot in other marketing and email campaigns.  
  • Leverage coverage and/or the publication’s logo in sales decks, product and investor presentations, as well on your website.

You can also obtain a license for distribution if you prefer not to pay a monthly fee, or become a subscriber of the publication yourself. I get it. Paywalls can be frustrating, but remember the audience is very engaged and trusts what they’re reading. Be sure to share coverage behind a paywall just like you would non-gated coverage. It pays dividends by enticing new prospects and further increasing the loyalty of current SaaS customers.

Check out this ebook for tips on maximizing your media coverage. If you want to amplify your SaaS brand’s story and thought leadership angles to earn coveted hits both behind a paywall and not, contact Lindsey Groepper.

Media Connections with Travis Bernard, Extra Crunch

BLASTmedia has been running this media connections series for about six months now, and we’ve yet to explore paywalls. That’s exactly why I wanted to do a Q&A with Travis Bernard, Senior Director, Membership at TechCrunch. 

I first worked with Travis back in 2016 on a Crosley turntable review. These days, he oversees the business side of Extra Crunch, TechCrunch’s subscription product. Below, he hits on: using analytics to guide editorial decisions, the value of exclusivity in news, the future of paywalled journalism and much, much more.

GRACE: You work in subscriptions and audience insights at TechCrunch — what exactly does that mean? What does your day-to-day look like? 

TRAVIS: I run the business and marketing side of TechCrunch’s membership product, Extra Crunch (part of Verizon Media). The product launched in February of 2019, and it’s targeting founders, entrepreneurs, startup teams, investors, and business school students. The primary benefits are access to a series of exclusive articles, a dedicated newsletter, no banner ads on our site, discounts on TechCrunch events, and more. The content includes weekly investor surveys, how-tos and interviews on building your company, IPO and late-stage analysis, and other exclusive articles delivered daily.

My day-to-day is about making the product better and figuring out ways to reach the right readers. It involves meeting with our product and editorial teams to ensure that we’re making the product better and meeting the needs of our readers, ideating on the product roadmap, improving design and organization of content for the community, and launching larger marketing initiatives. There’s a lot of work happening on marketing operations, be it price testing, newsletter distribution, website promotional units, social media, new country launches, activation at our events, and more. I also spend a lot of time diving into analytics, reporting, and customer feedback surveys. We’re always trying to make the product better. 

GRACE: You helped launch Extra Crunch — TechCrunch’s subscription product — about a year ago. What was the impetus for creating Extra Crunch? 

TRAVIS: About 2-3 years ago, we had a big meeting with the key players at TechCrunch to decide what was next to scale the business and meet the needs of our customers. Instead of going bigger and broader with our audience to help drive up advertising impressions and dollars, we decided to double down on a smaller subset of our audience that was interested in startups and building companies. This audience is much more valuable to us because they are highly engaged. This includes startup teams, entrepreneurs, founders, investors, and business school students. This was always the DNA of our core audience for TechCrunch, and it’s also the same types of readers that attend our events like Disrupt SF.   

Building a product that could help startup teams and investors was the goal, and from there we came up with the idea for Extra Crunch. We wanted to make sure that all of the existing content on TechCrunch remained free, so we decided to make the Extra Crunch articles differentiated and offered as an additional service. The “freemium” model made a lot of sense when we launched, and so far the product is having great success. The reception has been positive and growth continues to scale.

GRACE: What is a misconception most consumers have about subscription products from major media outlets? And, what is your response to that misconception? 

TRAVIS: I often hear that news is ubiquitous, so it’s not worth paying for a subscription to it. My response is that subscription news services aren’t for every type of news reader, but the quality of news and information you will get from a paid service will be more trusted, of higher quality, and most likely exclusive reporting. In our case, a lot of the value is the analysis and exclusivity. Many news stories might be ubiquitous, but what the story means and why it’s important is another layer. There’s also value in reading a story you can’t find anywhere else. That extra layer is why it’s worth the money.

GRACE: What was your biggest hurdle in growing Extra Crunch over the past year? 

TRAVIS: International expansion is challenging, especially in a day and age where every country has different rules and regulations with data policies and online subscription services.

It was also challenging to shift how our newsroom thought about analytics with a subscription. Many of the metrics you use for traditional audience development might not make sense in the context of a subscription product. 

GRACE: Extra Crunch is focused on serving the startup audience, providing in-depth, how-to articles for founders. How did you use data from top-performing articles on TechCrunch to drive that decision? 

TRAVIS: What generates the most traffic on TechCrunch isn’t necessarily what will generate the most membership sign-ups or reads by members. Sometimes there are overlaps, but it requires a shift in thinking for analytics. You need to start paying more attention to article conversion rates, how articles produce in the short term and long term, what current paying members are reading, what article topics members are reading, and how much time paying members are spending on articles. 

GRACE: How do the topics covered on Extra Crunch differ from the rest of TechCrunch — and why?

TRAVIS: Content on Extra Crunch falls into one of three categories: investor surveys, how-tos and interviews on company building, and analysis on IPOs and late-stage companies. 

Investor surveys allow our readers to find out where startup investors plan to write their next checks. The how-tos and interviews help startup teams build their companies better with features from experts on fundraising, growth, monetization and other key work topics. You can also learn about the best startups through our IPO analysis, late-stage deep dives, and other exclusive reporting delivered daily.

Traditional TechCrunch content seeks to explain what happened whereas Extra Crunch content seeks to explain why and how things happen. For example – you might see news on TechCrunch about a startup going public. Extra Crunch would dive into what that means for similar startups in the space. Similarly, TechCrunch would cover the funding of a new startup, whereas Extra Crunch might do an interview with the founder on how he or she built the team using remote employees or what he or she found to be the keys to monetization.  

GRACE: Assuming the paying audience is more engaged than the general public, how do you measure the success of an article on Extra Crunch? Are there different measures for Extra Crunch & the rest of TechCrunch?

TRAVIS: There are some different measures, but there are also some similarities.

Both Extra Crunch and TechCrunch care about the impact the story has. With Extra Crunch, the impact might be to a smaller subset of users but we still care about how much impact it has. If it doesn’t have impact, why write it? 

With TechCrunch, we use traditional publisher metrics like unique visitors and engagement time. With Extra Crunch, there’s an added layer of conversions, conversion rates, reads by subscribers, and engagement time for subscribers. Since the Extra Crunch product is still relatively new, we’re still evolving our approach to analytics.

GRACE: Can you speak to the importance of paywalls to the future of journalism?

TRAVIS: I think there’s room for both paywalled journalism and non-paywalled journalism. But when you are talking about niche topics, I think paywalls are the way things have to be. It’s better for the business and it’s better for the consumer.

It’s better for the consumer because their experience with the product must be great or they won’t keep paying. It’s better for the business because it forces the business to put the customer experience first and not make sacrifices with advertising or privacy or UI. It’s also better for the business because revenue is more predictable: There aren’t as many ebbs and flows with advertising impressions due to traffic shifts.  

It will be challenging for a small or niche publication to run a successful digital advertising business at scale because it won’t have that big of an audience compared to the digital behemoths. It’s tough to compete. Small and medium-sized publications can “win” by building a paid relationship with the reader and focus on improving things that meet the needs of the reader (UI, remove ads, build niche features, etc.).  

GRACE: If you could be a fly on the wall in the boardroom of any tech company, which would it be and why? 

TRAVIS: Facebook — the company grew incredibly fast over the past decade, but it has had missteps the last few years. I’m curious to see how Facebook evolves at a time when perceptions of privacy and digital addiction are changing.