SHOW IH: Howler 2.0 is PR outreach as a service starting at $99/mo
Hey guys! 👋
~3 months ago we launched Howler as a simple “PR outreach as a service” product; a productized alternative to $5k/mo PR agencies for $149/mo. 🚀
So far we’ve helped ~100 startups like Ben (YC W18), Bitsbox (as seen on Shark Tank), and Off The Grid get dozens of interviews with outlets like TechCrunch, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. (You can see some of the features we’ve gotten our subscribers here.)
We’ve taken all the feedback we’ve gotten from our subscribers and have just shipped a 2.0 with an updated pricing model, brand identity, and landing page. We’ve also recently on-boarded someone to our team in NYC to lead our outreach campaigns and account management. Here's how Howler 2.0 works:
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We'll write a custom press pitch for you, and we’ll refine it together until you confirm
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We'll use that press pitch to algorithmically generate a hyper-targeted media list from our database of 500k journalists
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We'll send personalized pitches to the 125-500 emails in that list
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We'll follow up with each journalist 1-2 times
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We'll CC you on the thread if any of them express interest
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We'll monitor HARO and reach out to journalists proactively if we think you’re a good fit for their story
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We'll provide analytics of open & reply rates throughout the campaign
We’d really appreciate your feedback on our messaging + pricing model! We also have a 20% discount code for fellow indie hackers: INDIE. 🙂
Thanks!
– Matt, Aaron, David, & Frances
Hey Matt!
Awesome service! I have some feedback about messaging and pricing.
Messaging
Your headline reads "Get more press with AI-powered media outreach." Is your target audience's main pain point that they don't get as much press as they want? To me, it seems like cost would be the main pain point. IMO, "Get more press" is not as compelling as "Stop wasting thousands of valuable $$$ on a PR agency."
A second note on the headline: To me, AI isn't attractive at all. Maybe I'm a little jaded because I'm in martech so I hear it all the time, but AI doesn't add any value in my eyes. What I want is affordability, speed, peace of mind, and a managed service. I would focus on talking about the benefits that AI provides (get matched with the right journalists, reach out quickly, etc.) instead of focusing on the feature of AI.
Nail down your positioning. I think you're half-way there with your "PR outreach as a service" tagline but I would take it a few steps further. Looking at your pricing, the companies you work with, and your website copy, I'd go with something like "PR as a service for startups at a fraction of the cost" And then use that in your website copy and marketing to more clearly communicate who you are.
Pricing
One of the things I noticed right away is the pricing differences for each tier. It took me quite a while to fully understand the differences between each tier. The longer it takes a user to understand which one is applicable to them, the more likely you are to lose them.
I don't understand why the Basic plan is $99/month and the Startup plan is also $99/month with the exception of the first month being $199/month. While I understand that this makes the Startup plan look more appealing, it also seems a little bit shady and confusing.
What's the reasoning behind charging more for the first month? Is it only because of the custom press pitch? This makes it seem like it costs more than it really is. I may look at the pricing and see $199/month or $399/month and think "that's way too much for me" and leave before ever reading the small text that says it's for the first month. To me, it would make sense to break it up into tiers like $79/month, $149/month, and $299/month where you subsidize the cost upfront and then maximize LTV over time.
I'd switch out the "Subscribe Now!" CTA with something more friendly like "Get Started" or "Get Me PR!"
As a final note, calling your "subscribers" something more professional like "clients" may help with communicating the level of service you provide. "Clients" communicates a two-way relationship and professional service. "Subscribers" communicates a one-way, transactional, cookie-cutter service.
Hope that's helpful! :)
Thanks so much for all this feedback Corey! Going to use this to make a ton of refinements over the next few weeks. 🙏
Hey Matt, love the idea and can definitely see us using your service for whiteboardfree.
Question for you about the pricing tiers. If we already have our own press release written and would just like your team to review and distribute it, should we choose the basic or the startup plan?
Thanks Tony! What kind of press release do you have? We write special versions of press releases that are more adapted for email outreach as opposed to the traditional statement of information like these.
If you already have the 2-3 paragraph conversational email pitch copy that includes more or less a paragraph about what you do, a paragraph about how it works, and a paragraph about why now is the best time for the journalist to cover it, then I suggest Basic!
I'll reach out through your site to show you guys what we have, and we can go from there. Look forward to trying out your service!
Great product, saved us so much time and we are happy with results. We run a Fintech startup called Richie Invest. Finding journalists and reaching out to them is very time consuming. Howler made our lives easier and we are still using their services.
Keep up the good work
Thanks!!
Appreciate it!
Awesome service! I will definitely buy it for failory.com - In June I am travelling to London, but as soon as I come back I will contact you. Keep it up!
Thanks Rich! Looking forward to working with you! Love Failory. 🙂
Hi @matthenderson ... I might want to use your services for hyperlogs.com. We are techies and suck at marketing, but we're also bootstrapped and self-funded (not looking for funding).
How are you different from similar services such as PromoteHour etc?
Thanks Matt.
Hey Antonio! Hyperlogs is dope.
PromoteHour "guarantees press," but they only offer a 50% money-back if they don't get you press. Because they're more than double the price, you're not actually really getting a deal by using them. Further, their journalist database is only ~1,100 people so you're not getting a targeted media list.
We've built out a database of 500k journalists categorized by what they're likely to write about next (based on what they've written about before, where they write, and what they've tweeted about). We've also built out a media list generation algo that matches our subscribers to the journalists most likely to cover them.
I've used Howler and didn't get any results for Altruisto.com. I've gotten more results from doing press outreach myself (I have no expertise/experience in PR).
How did you do the outreach yourself? What you learned could be useful for others in the same boat.
Interesting, as someone who didn't do anything with press, this could be a good starting point. What is HARO (it is not clear from the link you included) and what stage should you be in for your service to bring the most value?
HARO is Help a Reporter Out: https://www.helpareporter.com/. Basically when a journalist needs an interview or quote from a subject matter expert for a piece they're working on, they'll send a request to HARO which forwards it to all their email subscribers (a lot). By monitoring HARO, we look out for opportunities where you'd be a good match for their story, then submit your info to them.
Thanks for clarifying!
Nice service. Love the site too.
Thanks Lee! Anything we could improve?
Not that I can see, it's all good.
I love the idea. Will try it out for Letterjoy.co. Do you refund if you don't get results?
Thanks Michael! Looking forward to working with you. We're an outreach tool, and don't guarantee press on every campaign. We've designed our campaigns to be monthly so we can iterate messaging and target segmentation based on campaign results. Think of us as the best way for you to get Letterjoy in front of the right journalists with minimal time & effort. You can cancel anytime, so if you work with us for a month or two and don't see any results, you can cancel no questions asked!