Guide · Funding announcements

How to announce your funding round

A round is news to you, your team and your investors. To a reporter it is one of dozens of funding emails that week. This guide covers how to turn yours into a story: when to go public, who to offer it to, what to put in the pitch, and what to have ready on the day.

By the Earned editorial team · Updated 2 October 2026

The short version

Wait until the money has arrived and every investor has signed off on being named.
Find the story inside the round: what the money lets you do that you could not do before.
Pick your approach: one exclusive, an embargo to a short list, or your own channels only.
Pitch one to three weeks before announcement day, in under 150 words.
Prepare the assets: a short release, two quotes, a photo, and the numbers you are willing to share.
On the day, publish everywhere at once, then follow up with the reporters who did not run it.

1. Decide when to announce

Announce after the round has closed and the funds are in your account, not when the term sheet is signed. Rounds change between signature and wire, and a correction later costs more than a week of patience now.

Then check three things before you set a date:

Investor approval. Confirm every investor you plan to name, how they want to be described, and who will give a quote. Some prefer not to be named at all.
Public filings. US companies raising priced equity often file a Form D with the SEC, and those filings are public. Reporters watch them. If you want to control the timing, plan your announcement around the filing date with your lawyer.
Something to pair it with. A round lands harder next to a launch, a first major customer, a hire or a number. "We raised" is a fact; "we raised so we can do X, and here is proof X is working" is a story.

2. Find the story inside the round

Reporters rarely cover a seed round because of its size. They cover it because it says something about a market, a problem readers care about, or a company their audience will want to know about early. Before you write anything, answer these in one sentence each:

What can you do now that you could not do before this money?
What does the round say about your market that a reader would find surprising?
What number proves the company is working (revenue growth, customers, retention, a cost you removed)?
Why now: what changed in the last year that makes this company possible?

If you cannot answer the second and third questions, consider leading with your own channels and saving the press push for a later milestone.

3. Choose an exclusive, an embargo, or neither

Exclusive

One reporter gets the story first and alone. You offer it to your top choice, give them a day or two to say yes, and move to the next if they pass. Best when one outlet clearly reaches the readers you want.

Embargo

A short list of reporters gets the news in advance on condition they publish no earlier than an agreed date and time. Ask each one to agree to the embargo before you send details. Best for trade and regional outlets that each reach a different audience.

Your own channels

Post it yourself: blog, LinkedIn, newsletter, investors' channels. No pitching. Best when the round is small or the story is still thin, and you would rather spend the press on a stronger moment later.

State the terms in plain words in your first email ("exclusive to you until Tuesday 6 a.m. ET" or "under embargo until Tuesday 6 a.m. ET"), and never offer the same exclusive to two people.

4. Write the pitch

Keep it under 150 words. Lead with the news, give the one number that makes it credible, say why now, and make the ask clear. The reporter should be able to decide in fifteen seconds.

Illustrative example, fictional company

Subject: Exclusive: Fieldline raises $4M to cut irrigation water use on mid-size farms Hi Dana, You wrote last month about drought rules hitting California almond growers. Fieldline, a soil-sensor company in Fresno, has closed a $4M seed round led by Furrow Ventures to bring its system to farms between 200 and 2,000 acres. The number: across 41 farms last season, growers using Fieldline cut water use by an average of 23% with no drop in yield. The round funds a second sensor line and a Central Valley service team ahead of next year's water allocations. I'd like to offer you this as an exclusive, publishing Tuesday 14 October at 6 a.m. PT. Happy to set up a call with our CEO and one of the growers this week. Best, Sam

Subject line: says exclusive, the company, the amount and the point in one line.
First line: ties to the reporter's own recent story, which shows you read it.
The number: one proof point, with its base (41 farms, one season).
Why now: the water allocations give the story a clock.
The ask: exclusive terms, date, time zone and a concrete offer of access.

5. Prepare the assets

Have these ready before the first pitch goes out, in one folder you can share by link:

A short release, three or four paragraphs: the news, the number, the use of funds, investors named as approved.
Two quotes: one from you that says something only a founder could say, and one from the lead investor on why they backed you. Skip quotes that say you are "thrilled".
A photo of the founders or the product in use, high resolution, landscape and portrait.
The facts sheet: round size, round name, lead and participating investors, total raised to date if you share it, headcount, location, founding year.
Numbers you will and will not share. Decide in advance so you are not negotiating with yourself on the call.

6. Announcement day and after

When the embargo lifts or the exclusive runs, publish your own post, share the article, and send your investors the links and suggested copy.
Email the reporters who did not cover it with the published story and one new detail, not a repeat of the pitch.
Add every reporter who replied, even to pass, to your list. The relationship is worth more than the single story.
Put the coverage to work: your fundraising deck, sales emails, hiring posts and award applications.

Mistakes reporters see every week

Announcing the round size with no reason a reader should care.
Sending a release as an attachment with no pitch in the email body.
Offering an "exclusive" to several outlets at once.
Pitching the wrong beat: a consumer tech reporter for an enterprise infrastructure round.
Following up three times in a week instead of once with something new.

Find the reporters who cover rounds like yours

Describe your company in one sentence and see the 3 reporters most likely to cover it, with the angle to pitch each one. Free, no card. Members get the full funding announcement playbook: the release, quotes and pitch drafted from their own facts.

See my 3 reporters

Startup Awards Calendar: deadlines and fees for 70+ awards and lists, useful after a round to build credibility.
How Earned researches its reporter directory.