Startups often agonize over the wording in their press releases for weeks, yet give almost no thought to the accompanying visuals—big mistake.

Don& #39;t send a pitch without *at least* one of these images:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🦸‍♂️" title="Man superhero" aria-label="Emoji: Man superhero"> Hero Shot
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🏙️" title="Cityscape" aria-label="Emoji: Cityscape"> Office Logo
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🦁" title="Lion face" aria-label="Emoji: Lion face"> Logo in the "Wild"
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🎨" title="Artist palette" aria-label="Emoji: Artist palette"> "Illustrated" Logo

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https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🦸‍♂️" title="Man superhero" aria-label="Emoji: Man superhero"> The Hero Shot

Ideally, you have a product that looks cool.

Minimally, you& #39;ll have a clean image that explains your product& #39;s value proposition.

Pictures *are* worth a thousand words – Invest in them!

https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/24/faceboo-launches-drop-in-video-chat-rooms-to-rival-houseparty/

/2">https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/2...
Note: Don& #39;t send a busy reporter a folder of screencaps. Do the work to assemble an image that helps put the product in context. Minimally, put the screencaps on device templates and use graphic elements to help explain how your product works.

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https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🏙️" title="Cityscape" aria-label="Emoji: Cityscape"> The Office Logo

Unfortunately, many B2B products can be kind of dull looking. A reasonable alternative to the "hero shot" is a photo of the founders against the backdrop of a semi-artful logo in your startup& #39;s well-lit lobby.

https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/22/collaborative-meeting-notes-platform-hugo-nabs-seed-funding-from-google-slack/

/4">https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/2...
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🦁" title="Lion face" aria-label="Emoji: Lion face"> Logo in the "Wild"

A photo of your logo out in the world is a powerful asset. The context clues help explain to potential readers what your startup does, and it demonstrates you& #39;ve actually built something.

https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/24/instacart-third-party-apps-bots-priority-access-batches-orders/

/5">https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/2...
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🎨" title="Artist palette" aria-label="Emoji: Artist palette"> "Illustrated" Logos

Startup logos, even nicely drawn examples, don& #39;t usually make for compelling art. The "Swoosh" is shorthand for a venerable brand. Your logo is a null set that should be spiced up if at all possible.

Here are a few approaches:

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There are a couple of out-of-the-box alternatives to consider if you& #39;ve got a creative spirit and a willingness to invest a bit. These are harder to pull off, but when they work, they& #39;re quite powerful:

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If you want PR, invest in design

Unless you have outrageous traction, or have raised eye-popping amounts of VC, you will likely have to fight for every bit of earned media.

You& #39;ll be shocked how a little bit of visual dynamism can help you stand out in a crowded field.

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In closing, if you& #39;re going to spend thousands of dollars and dozens of hours working with a PR firm to hone a pitch and reach out to reporters, have a designer spend half a day developing some eye-catching visuals.

/End
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