1. Make great apps.
2. Be human.
3. There is no three!

Seriously, devs want great publicity, journos want great content, if everyone is doing the best they can, and not being robots or dicks, magic happens.

“Most developers just SPAM every press related email they can find and have a very low hit rate, not to mention piss off the very people they are trying to befriend.

And speaking of befriending, that’s one of the keys to a great app launch — getting to know lots of people in the industry... I’ve been going to conferences, blogging, tweeting, etc. for years now. And many of the people who write about my apps are people I now consider friends. The kind of people I hang out with at WWDC just to hang out, and talk to about industry news on AIM, and debate on Twitter about random stuff.

There are some really cool people in this industry. If all you do is beg for coverage, you’re missing out on getting to know some great folks.”

There's no doubt that the relationships are important to build, but I think it's important to have a story to tell and approach the people who have shown an interest in your type of story – especially when you are getting started and don't have those relationships in place.

Most of the "cold" pitches I've made to journalists that have been successful in the past have been in roughly the format..."I liked your article about X. Because you are interested in X, I think you might be interested in Y and here's why. If you are interested, let me know what I can do to help you cover Y (codes, art, answer questions, etc.)."

If you can't find something they've written that relates, you may be approaching the wrong person.

Great topic!
I completely agree with Jeremy and Rene.

A few things that worked for me:
-Share interesting and exclusive insights about the ecosystem and AppStore (luckily, we have a lot of data)
-Help them to create content and ask nothing in return
-Make intros with other cool people from the industry
-Keep an eye on what's going on. Remember the issue with AppStore updates? We got quoted on Marco's blog, TC and VB because we had relevant info and were fast enough to react.

The only downside, it does require you to be online all the time. But in order to create kick-ass products, you have to focus on products. But I think that's another topic on time management.

1. Build a great product. This is the most important thing.
2. Reach out to journalists who have proven interest in your product area,
3. Be brief, be sincere, include screenshots. Screenshots speak louder than words, and they're your best bet at getting me interested.
4. Ultimately, as sincere and wonderful as you may be, it's difficult to earn coverage for a subpar app/thing. Don't be a nag.
5. Even if you miss a couple journalists for one app launch, know that if you do great work, they'll cover the next update or the next app.
6. Be a nice person along the way. We're all into the same stuff, just be yourself! :)

I wrote too much and Branch got mad at me. So I uploaded my response here: cl.ly

Freddy that horizontal scrolling is brutal

I know, CloudApp decided long lines are too fancy.

So here's a .txt file uploaded to a web server - I think only print is more old fashioned than this: mcstr.net

In addition to the great answers above:

• Make good stuff.
• Be part of the community. Where possible, help others (karma, baby).
• Be prepared and take the time to write short, on-point messages. Don’t waste anyone’s time.
• If you expect someone to give you their time and attention, be prepared to give them your time and attention in return, should they ask.
• Focus on people and sites you like. Don’t worry about the rest.
• We're all on the same team: Journalists, developers, users.
• Don't be a jerk to anyone, ever.

“If all you do is beg for coverage, you’re missing out on getting to know some great folks.” — Yes!

I think Rene's second point, and what David has said, are key here and really shouldn't be underestimated. Journalists are an incredibly important part of the ecosystem and shouldn't only be contacted when we desire coverage; they should form as much a part of our social network as anyone else.

Wow, great stuff everyone.

@viticci sorry about that. I think it is built to have one point per reply so, though it might not be optimal, you could potentially post separate messages. Awesome list by the way! Thanks so much for jumping in!

Related questions for Rene, Federico, Ellis and those wearing fedoras with press badges:

• Do you like media kits?

• We usually include the app icon at a couple of sizes, lots of screenshots and the iTunes description as a text file. Is that good? Would you like more? Would you like less?

• Do you ever check to see if a media kit is available for download on an app’s product page? (We typically have them, but I’m not sure if press ever use them.)

Marc,

I am absolutely sure that you should make the information available and make sure it's easy to access. Ideally, a person who wants to write about your app or company, should be able to visit the site and get everything he needs for an article. And that includes:

-Company info
-App Description
-Good quality screenshots
-Feature list
-Promo video might be helpful
-Contact details
-Cases

I am currently working on this for Readdle.

@Denys Yep, that makes sense (and is close to what we’ve done in the past). I’d love to hear precisely which portions are important, so we can focus on those and disregard those that are unimportant.

Some really great tips here! I'd also add:

• Learn from other developers who get it and have mastered the art of the perfect launch (a lot of whom are in this group) ... and bloggers who's content you personally enjoy reading

• Further reading - Pitch Perfect, a short eBook, by Steven Sande & Erica Sadun from TUAW looks like a good read on this topic

Marc, we appreciate the work and care that go into media kits, but for iMore we never use them. We want to get our hands dirty and generate what we need ourselves, using the app, so it informs our coverage.

We DO want an iTunes link (many forget to include it, which is stupefying). If App Store screen shots have been marked up with ad copy, we might ask for them just in case they show things that aren't easy for us to get to on our own (high game levels, personal data filled screens, etc.)

I'd also really love never to get a DOCX attachment ever again :)

Yes, Rene is right. It is about being human. Don't see them as a means to an end. I interviewed Erica Sadun of TUAW about the topic and one thing she said was to be helpful by adding all the information needed. (not necessarily a media kit). stuff like, 1 min videos, contact details etc.

Because having someone go fish for this info is not going to happen. (unless you are Rovio :-)

Find journalists that have expressed interest in your area. Maybe they've covered similar apps or competitors. We all have limited time focus where it counts and build a relationship instead of spam. Cater to your market, you don't want to spend all of your energy marketing to early adopters and fighting to reel in sign-ups when you could walk up to another audience that has been chanting "take my money". Think about your market and think about where they get their news. Start there.

I guess this branch already became an infographic: appmarketer.co