Get extensionHow to find leads in news and newsletters
A funding round, an acquisition, a new chief executive: news is the oldest sales signal there is, and newsletters now break a good share of it. The trouble is that you read the story, think "I should write to them", and never do. This guide is about closing that gap.
- 1Spot the article
- 2Press Save
- 3It lands in your list
- 4Follow up
Why news and newsletters are worth your time.
News coverage is a filter someone else has already run. A reporter decided this company's raise, hire or expansion was worth a story, which usually means the change is real and recent.
Newsletters add a second layer. A good industry newsletter names five or six companies an issue, each with a sentence on what they just did. Read with a Save button, one issue becomes a short prospect list with the reasons already written.
The signals worth saving.
Funding and acquisitions
New money, and pressure to put it to work. The first weeks after the announcement are when suppliers get chosen.
A leadership change
A new head of marketing or sales reviews the tools and agencies they inherited.
Expansion
A new market, a new product line or a new office each brings work the current team hasn't done before.
A founder's own write-up
An essay on Medium or Substack tells you what the company cares about this quarter, in its own words.
A quick test before you press Save.
Save it
- A funding or acquisition story about a company you could sell to
- A profile of a new executive in a role that buys from you
- A founder's essay that names the problem you solve
Skip it
- Opinion pieces with no company in them
- Stories about companies far too large or too small for you
- Round-ups you only skimmed
How to do it.
- Choose three or four publications that cover your market, and read those properly.
- Open the article itself. The Save button sits beside the headline on an article page; home pages and section pages have none.
- Pick the company in the story. The dialog suggests the companies named in the headline, so you rarely have to type one.
- Add a label for the reason (funding, launch, new hire) and follow up within the week.
Two ways to open.
Read about your Series A in [publication]. Congratulations. Teams at your stage usually start looking at [problem] next. Is that on the plan for this quarter?
Your essay on moving off [tool] was useful. We see the same problem with [detail], and I can share what worked for another team.
Templates, with the parts in brackets for you to fill in. The specific detail is what gets a reply, so don't send them as they are.
A recruiter reads that Harbor Books raised $4M to open ten stores. Ten stores means ten store managers. He saves the article, picks Harbor Books from the names the dialog suggests, and labels it Expansion. His message the next morning mentions the round, the stores and the hiring that follows.
An invented example. The people and companies in it are fictional.When to follow up.
Write within a week or two of the story. After a funding announcement a company's inbox fills quickly, and the people who write first with something specific get read.
Whatever the channel, set a follow-up date in On Radar when you save. A lead without a date is a lead you'll rediscover in three months.
66 sites in this channel.
| Site | Plan | What you save |
|---|---|---|
| Substack | Solo | Articles at a substack.com address, with the publication. |
| AdExchanger | Solo | Save a news article, filed under the company it is about. |
| Adweek | Solo | Save a news article, filed under the company it is about. |
| Australian Financial Review | Solo | Save a news article, filed under the company it is about. |
| Axios | Solo | Save a news article, filed under the company it is about. |
| BBC | Solo | Save a news article, filed under the company it is about. |
| BRIDGE | Solo | Save a news article, filed under the company it is about. |
| BetaKit | Solo | Save a news article, filed under the company it is about. |
| Business Insider | Solo | Save a news article, filed under the company it is about. |
| CBS News | Solo | Save a news article, filed under the company it is about. |
Showing 10 of 66. Each name links to its own guide, with where the button sits and exactly what a save keeps. The sources page has the full list.
What to avoid.
The short answers.
Which publishers work?
It's tested on 45 news publishers, including CNN, Fortune, The Guardian, BBC and TechCrunch, and on Substack, Medium, DEV, Hashnode, HackerNoon and Buttondown. About 40 more publishers are switched on but not yet confirmed.
Does it work behind a paywall?
It saves what the page gives without one: the headline, the summary, the publisher and the link. Text behind a paywall isn't read.
Why is there no button on the home page?
The button appears on a single article. Home pages and section pages list many stories, so there's no one company to save.
Is it safe for my accounts?
Save This Lead never posts, likes, follows or messages, and it never browses on your behalf. It reads a page when you press Save.
What does it cost?
There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $19 a month. The plan each site needs is in the table above and on the pricing page.
Go deeper.
More from Save This Lead.
One button to save.
One place to find it.
Keep useful posts, leads and their context together. Leave the copy-paste routine behind.
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