The fintech space is as exciting and innovative as it is crowded. With hundreds, if not thousands, of established players with giant valuations, getting your foot in the door as a newer project is challenging.
First off, there is no chance you will be able to match their marketing and PR budgets. Second of all, most journalists are bombarded with pitches every day, most of which come from those same big names. This makes it even harder for you to stand out from the crowd.
But there is good news. You actually don't need a massive budget or an army or PR professionals to get yourself noticed anymore. What you really need on your side is a solid strategy. One that accepts the status quo for what it is and looks for ways to build that all-important trust, credibility, and clear understanding of the value you bring by working around it.
Stop trying to be the "next big thing."
Let's kick things off with a counterintuitive tip: stop trying to be the next big thing. Yes, you will hear endless business advice about shooting for the stars and setting outlandish 10-year goals. But the truth is that journalists are tired of hearing about the "next PayPal" or "Stripe killer." Instead of positioning yourself as disrupting an entire industry, focus on what makes your approach genuinely different.
What is your actual edge? What is the value your company brings? This might be:
- Serving an overlooked customer segment.
- Applying technology to fix a specific friction point.
- Creating a business model that works where others have failed.
- Bringing financial services to communities traditionally left out.
Be specific about the problems and pain points you solve as a business, and then build narratives around that.
Use PR distribution services wisely.
If you're a startup or a minor player in the space, chances are you won't have the resources to build extensive media connections from scratch. But there are dedicated finance press release platforms out there that will happily do all of this heavy lifting for you.
For example, a dedicated Fintech press release distribution can land your news stories and announcements prime-time coverage across many of the leading publications in your space. Whether you want to share a new product feature, key hire, or announce your next funding round,
Depending on which fintech press release platform you choose, you can even get help on how to structure your release and get advice on things like messaging, SEO, and timing. This approach saves valuable time and resources while bringing your story to the right people. Just be sure your press release stands out with a compelling angle that specific journalists will find relevant.
Make data your storytelling superpower.
Journalists love exclusive data. This can be your ticket to coverage if you have unique information about customer behavior, market trends, or financial patterns. You might:
- Analyze anonymized transaction patterns from your platform.
- Survey your customers about financial habits or challenges.
- Compare costs or performance metrics across your industry.
- Track changes in specific financial behaviors over time.
Don't let the fact that you have a smaller user base discourage you from knowing your worth as a thought leader. You can still identify interesting patterns and insights worth sharing. Package these insights thoughtfully, explain why they matter, and offer them as exclusives to targeted journalists.
Show human impact through customer stories.
Let's be honest: technology can be a bit drab, particularly in the financial space. Yes, it's innovative and revolutionary, but what does that actually mean for the end user? At the same time, technology alone rarely makes compelling news (unless it's genuinely game-changing). What does? Real people experiencing real impact.
With this in mind, get permission from your users to share successful customer stories about your product/service. Are there first-time investors building wealth through your platform? Or how about people rebuilding credit after financial setbacks? Whatever it may be, these stories have far more staying power and relevance than vague mentions of tech.
Have opinions (even controversial ones).
Safe, generic commentary won't get you noticed. Having a clear perspective—especially one challenging conventional wisdom—makes you quotable.
Now, this isn't saying that you should be abrasive and a "troll" for the sake of views and clicks. But think about the space you operate in and the current trends you see. Do you agree with the current sentiment? Can everyone see a crash while you are optimistic? Do you think we are still being too careless about cyber threats? What's your take on regulation?
Be willing to critique established approaches or highlight overlooked problems. Just ensure your positions are thoughtful and authentic, not merely provocative.
Make your funding announcements work harder.
Your Series-A round isn't newsworthy to most journalists. Another fintech raising $5 million? That happened eight times in the past week. But with a creative approach, you can transform that standard funding announcement into something journalists actually want to cover.
- Got an investor with an unusual background or controversial reputation? That's a story.
- Using the money in a counterintuitive way? Journalists love that.
- Did you secure funding despite rejection from 87 VCs? Share that battle.
- Can you connect your raise to a timely economic trend? Now you're relevant.
The main takeaway is that journalists typically don't care about your funding—they care about the story behind it.
Final Word
The fintech media world can be unforgiving. It's filled with established players, both new and old, and attention spans are short. Great tech does not automatically equal coverage, but neither is it a game reserved only for companies with massive budgets and connections.
You have one main advantage as a minor player in this world: your nimbleness. You can speak openly, while your larger competitors need three layers of approval for every quote. You can share human stories while they're stuck with corporate messaging. You can take positions that would terrify a public company's board—and that's your secret weapon.
Don't just compete for attention—compete differently.
