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Build a Press List by Googling Your Competitors

Build a Press List by Googling Your Competitors is a cold outreach tactic for getting your first users: To find relevant outlets, they googled competitors like Duolingo and Drops, which surfaced a long list of sites that already cover the space, then logged every URL in a spreadsheet.

It's a strong fit for teams of almost any kind, and works especially well for any product with established competitors. As a cold outreach play, plan for low effort and expect results to arrive at a steady pace, all grounded in 1 linked primary source.

Cold outreachLow effortMedium

Why does cold outreach work for this?

Sites that already wrote about a competitor are pre-qualified to care about your product.

The exact steps (4)

The full step-by-step this founder ran, what they posted, where, and in what order, plus the watch-outs, is part of the library.

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Sources

Works for
Any / universal

Frequently asked

How is the "Build a Press List by Googling Your Competitors" tactic verified?
It is drawn from 1 primary source — a real founder write-up or interview, not generic advice. It is linked in the Sources section above so you can read the original account yourself.
How much effort is it and how fast are results?
It is low effort, and results tend to be medium.
Where can I see the exact step-by-step?
The full step-by-step a founder ran, documented via Source — IndieHackers, is in the paid library.

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