Announcing Key New Hires at Your Company

As you build your executive team, the strategic use of a press release to announce important new hires can be a powerful tool.  They help you build your digital profile and company story. They also serve as a way to connect into your new hires’ network and to show momentum with potential investors for current and future funding rounds.

We have included a template for a new hire press release here. As always, make sure to follow best practices of issuing a press release.

Below you will find some key items to keep in mind before creating and distributing this release.

Make Sure it will Last. It is best to wait at least 30 days before doing a new hire release. The first 30-60 days will show you a lot about the compatibility of your new team member. While issuing a press release and having a team member leave is not the end of the world, it is much better to wait at least 30 days but no more than 90 days before formally announcing a new hire.

Tie into what Matters to Investors and Customers. Your new team member is likely to be amazing; however, it is important to focus on the aspects which will be most appealing to prospective investors and, in some cases, customers.

As you list their skills, experience, and expected contribution to your business, think about the conversations you have had with potential investors along the way. What have they been the most focused on?

It is important to highlight your new team member’s connections and experience in a way that shows your prospective investors the contribution they will make in relation to what they care about most.

Writing Your Headline. The headline and the subheader are the two most important sections of the release. They will show up on the search results and help people decide if they want to click through. They also can have tremendous SEO value.

• If the executive is from a well-known company from your industry, make sure to highlight the connection.
  • For example, Consumer Payments Company, Acme, Appoints Former PayPal Executive as CMO. 

• If they are not from a well-known company, highlight their most important quality to your company.
  • For example, Consumer Payments Company, Acme, Taps Payments Industry Veteran As CMO.

The Subheader. Tie into the aspects of their contribution which will be most appealing to prospective investors. Investors typically dig into areas they find promise in. For example, they may ask a lot of questions about your plans to expand into international markets through partnerships. You would want to highlight those points in the subheader.

• For example: Jane Doe to drive partnership initiatives as the payments company expands globally.

Capital Raising Tip: Pay close attention to prospective investor questions and what they are most excited about. Use those items in the subject line of your follow up emails, as talking points in interviews and if you are doing a Reg CF campaign as part of your overall marketing strategy. The hardest part of raising capital is moving an investor from initial interest to close. The more you can get them to respond to your emails and move the conversation forward the better. 

Body of the Release. In the subheader, you listed a key initiative that will be driven by the new hire. It is important to highlight experience that validates their ability to accomplish those goals, as you are sharing more details about the new hire throughout the body of the release.

Maximize Coverage. If your new hire is a well-known industry leader and/ or has a good network, reaching out to local and industry trade media to secure interviews and share the news release will generate even more buzz about your company. (See more on this in the How to Pitch the Media section located here).