Low-Cost Attention Flywheel
Turn a relevant story angle into attention, customers, and referrals
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 96%
The method begins by working backwards from an outlet's needs rather than asking for generic coverage. The founder identifies a genuine angle that is useful to the outlet's audience, pitches it directly, and accepts that many attempts will fail. When coverage lands, the company converts the resulting attention into initial customers by having a simple offer ready. A strong service then turns those customers into repeat users and referrers, allowing organic growth to continue after the publicity spike fades. The cycle can be restarted when entering a new market. In Adam Uertitt's account, local television helped Send My Bag find its first customers, while later appearances supported launches in Britain and the United States.
Origin
Extracted from The Foundr Podcast
Core principles
- 01Earn attention before buying reach
- 02Shape the pitch around what the outlet needs
- 03Accept that most pitches will not land
- 04Use publicity to start referral-driven growth
How to run it
- 1
Choose the audience
Define the customer group and the media outlet that already reaches it.
Pro tip Start with a local or specialist outlet where your story is unusually relevant.
- 2
Find the outlet's angle
Determine what the outlet is trying to give its audience, then connect that need to a truthful part of your story.
Pro tip A founder background, local connection, market change, or launch can supply the angle.
Watch out Do not manufacture a story merely to attract coverage.
- 3
Pitch directly
Offer a concise story the journalist or producer can quickly understand and use.
Pro tip Explain why it matters to their audience now.
Watch out Expect many pitches to go nowhere.
- 4
Convert the attention
Make sure the landing experience clearly explains the service and lets interested people act immediately.
Pro tip Test the customer path before coverage appears.
Watch out Attention without a usable offer produces traffic, not customers.
- 5
Earn the referral
Deliver a service people want to use again and recommend, so growth continues after the media spike.
Pro tip Track repeat use and customer referrals separately from press traffic.
In the wild
Uertitt contacted a journalist he had met through a young entrepreneur award. He connected his earlier music business, a recognisable customer, and the new luggage-shipping idea into a local-news story. The television appearance sent a few hundred visitors to his basic website, and a couple of dozen people used the service the following month.
→ The company acquired its first group of customers after spending about £100 on the initial website and nothing on ads.
Send My Bag and its PR adviser framed the arrival of a Northern Irish luggage-shipping company in the United States as a business story. A roughly ten-minute CNBC Power Lunch appearance supplied national attention at low cost and helped launch the service into that market.
→ The appearance gave the company a low-cost starting push in the United States.
Common mistakes
Pitching only what the founder wants
Coverage becomes less likely when the pitch ignores the outlet's audience and editorial goal.
Treating every failed pitch as a verdict
Many stories will not be picked up. The method depends on repeated, genuine attempts rather than one guaranteed result.
Stopping at the traffic spike
Publicity starts the process, but product quality, repeat use, and referrals must carry growth afterwards.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for founders with a real, timely story and a product that customers can easily explain to others.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for businesses that lack a credible news angle or cannot convert a sudden burst of attention.
From the transcript
“you have to understand I suppose what the news or whatever program or newspaper it may be what they're trying to achieve”
“you also just have to put yourself out there”
“PR, if we can get it, just it gets the ball rolling”
From the episode
619: Airline Charged Me $65 - So I built a $250M Competitor