Getting Your Launch Into a Newsletter

Newsletter editors are curators with an audience. Their readers trust them to pick the few things worth knowing out of the many. If your product is chosen, you borrow some of that trust, and the readers it reaches are people who actually asked to receive that kind of thing.

It is also one of the quietest, kindest ways to launch. There is no ad to buy and no feed to game. There is a short, honest note to a person who is deciding what to put in front of their readers. This guide shows how to write that note, and how to behave around it.

Think of the editor's reader first

An editor's loyalty is to their readers, not to you. Every item they include is a small bet that readers will be glad of it. Your task is to make it easy for them to see why your product is a good bet.

That means your pitch should answer, in effect: "Why would the people who read your newsletter care about this?" If you cannot answer that, the newsletter is probably the wrong one.

Finding the right newsletters

The right newsletter reaches the people you built for.

Ask your users. What do they read? What do they forward to colleagues? Their answers are the best map.

Search your field. Look for newsletters on the topic and the problem your product solves, not only on "startups" in general.

Read back issues. A newsletter's archive shows what the editor actually features. Do they cover new products? Small makers? Open source? Only big companies? Pick those that have featured things like yours.

Check the size and style. A small, focused newsletter may serve you better than a huge, general one.

Look for submission guidance. Some publications say plainly how to suggest a product. Follow it exactly.

Make a shortlist of five to ten. Fewer, better matches beat a long list.

Read before you write

Spend a few minutes on each:

• Read the last three issues.
• Notice the length and tone of an item.
• Notice whether they write in first person.
• Notice whether they mention pricing, availability, who is behind it.
• Notice what they never include.

Mirror the shape in your note, so the editor can picture how your product would read in their pages.

Write a short note

A good pitch email is brief. Editors receive many.

Structure:

1. A greeting by name, and one line showing you read the newsletter. "I enjoyed your piece on offline-first tools."
2. What it is, in one or two plain sentences.
3. Why their readers might care, in one sentence.
4. One proof point: a screenshot, a real user quote with permission, or an honest fact about how it works.
5. The link, and how to try it, including any free access.
6. An offer: to answer questions, provide a screenshot or a short description in the editor's own format.
7. A thank you, and nothing more.

Keep it to a short paragraph or two. The editor should understand it in fifteen seconds.

A subject line that helps

Make the subject plain: "A tool that turns voice notes into tidy lists (for your readers who write)". It says what and for whom. Avoid hype and avoid pretending a message is a reply.

What to leave out

• Long histories of your company.
• A list of every feature.
• Press-release language.
• Attachments, which may be filtered. Link instead.
• Flattery that is not specific.
• Demands or deadlines.

Make it easy to include

Editors like items they can lift with minimal work.

• Provide a one-line description and a short paragraph they can adapt.
• Offer one clean screenshot with alt text, or say that you can send one.
• Give the exact name and web address.
• State who made it, with a real name.
• State the price in a pointer to your pricing page instead of a figure that may be out of date.
• Say what is not finished. Honesty is attractive.

Check your page before you send. Make sure it loads, that sign-up works and that a stranger can understand the first screen.

Be honest about what you ask for

Do not hint at paid arrangements unless you mean them. Many newsletters sell labelled sponsorships separately. If you want to pay for a sponsored slot, ask for their sponsorship details. Do not pay for what is meant to be an editorial mention, and do not accept an arrangement where payment is hidden.

Advertising rules in many places expect that marketing be clearly identifiable. UK advertising guidance says that marketers must not omit material commercial interests when featuring a testimonial or endorsement, and similar expectations exist elsewhere. For the editor and for you, the clean approach is: editorial picks are free and chosen on merit, and sponsorships are labelled.

Do not ask for a favour you cannot return

Think about what you can offer:

• Early access or a free account for the editor's own use, with no strings.
• A useful fact or story for a future piece.
• Introductions, if you know people.
• A thoughtful reply to something they wrote.
• A share of their issue with your own audience, if they feature you and you do it sincerely.

Do not ask them to promise coverage in return for access. Offer access freely.

Timing

• Send your note a few days before your launch if you want a mention near it, but understand that many editors plan weeks ahead.
• Do not send on launch day expecting same-day inclusion.
• Avoid busy times such as the minutes before their usual send.
• Be patient. Replies can take days.

Following up

One polite follow-up after about a week is reasonable. Keep it shorter than the first: "Just checking this reached you. Happy to send anything useful." If there is still no answer, let it go. Chasing damages the relationship.

If the editor says no, say thank you. Ask, lightly, whether there is a better time or a different kind of product they would prefer to hear about. People remember courtesy.

If you are featured

Say thank you, publicly if appropriate and privately always. Then:

• Be ready for visitors. Make sure your page works and that you can reply quickly.
• Tag your links so you can see how many visitors came.
• Share the feature honestly, with the context. Do not exaggerate what was said.
• Tell the editor what happened, briefly and with numbers if they want them. Editors like to know that readers acted.
• Do not demand corrections on matters of taste. If a fact is wrong, ask politely.

Respect the readers who arrive. They came because someone they trust pointed them to you. Do not let them down.

Respect the rules of email

If you are writing cold to an individual about something of professional interest, keep it relevant, honest and brief. Rules about unsolicited marketing differ by country and by whether you write to a person or a generic address. The UK Information Commissioner's guidance on direct marketing and electronic communications is a starting point. In general, identify yourself, be accurate and honour requests to stop.

Never add editors to a mailing list without permission.

Build a relationship, not a campaign

Over time, treat editors as people you want to be useful to.

• Read and reply to their issues.
• Send an occasional useful thing that is not about you.
• Share their newsletter with your own readers when you honestly like it.
• Remember what they cover and do not send things that do not fit.

A reputation for sending only relevant, honest, short notes is more valuable than any single pitch.

A pitch template

Subject: A tool for [specific people], in case it suits your readers

Hello [name],

I enjoyed your recent issue on [topic]. I have made [product], which [what it does in one sentence]. I think your readers who [fit] might find it useful because [one reason]. You can try it here: [link]. It is [free to try / early version]; I have listed what is not finished on the page.

I am happy to send a screenshot or answer any questions. Thank you for the time.

[Name, role, contact]

Common mistakes

• Mass-mailing the same note.
• Not reading the newsletter.
• Writing too much.
• Hiding what you want.
• Chasing.
• Overclaiming.
• Forgetting to thank.

On this site

The submit page starts a listing, which gives an editor a stable page to link to. The launches page shows how new products are described in a line each, the categories page shows how they are grouped and the contact page opens a line to our support. The blog has more guides for calm, careful makers.

Three small stories

The note that worked. A maker of a small planner sent three sentences to the editor of a stationery newsletter: what it was, why readers who like paper might care, and a link with a note that it was free to try. She had read the last four issues and mentioned one. The editor replied within a day and included it with a line of her own.

The note that did not. A founder sent the same long message to forty newsletters, with a press release attached and a deadline. Nobody replied. Two unsubscribed him from their lists, which he had also added them to without asking.

The note that opened a door later. A developer pitched a tool to an editor who said it was not quite right for the newsletter. He thanked her, asked what kind of thing would suit, and six months later sent a different tool that did. She featured it. Courtesy had kept the door open.

Keep a pitch log

For each pitch, note the date, the newsletter, the editor, what you sent, whether they replied and what you learned. After ten pitches you will see patterns: which kinds of publication suit you, which wording earns replies and which timing works. The log turns a nerve-racking task into a steady practice.

The short version

Choose newsletters your users already read, read their back issues, write a short, honest note that says what the product is and why their readers might care, make it easy to include, offer access freely, keep paid sponsorship separate and labelled, follow up once, thank people and build relationships over time. A good fit and a kind note do more than any clever campaign.