On this page12
- Who can actually make a warm intro to a reporter?
- Why do relationships come before the ask?
- What should the forwardable blurb look like?
- How do you ask the introducer without making it awkward?
- What should you never ask for in a warm intro?
- Is it the investor's or the ecosystem's job to help with this?
- When a warm intro isn't worth chasing
- FAQ
- Can a PR agency give me warm intros to journalists?
- Should I offer something in return for the intro?
- How long should I wait before following up with the reporter after an intro?
- Can I ask a journalist I know to introduce me to a colleague?
To get a warm intro to a journalist, find someone the reporter already trusts (an investor's comms lead, your ecosystem foundation's comms team, a founder they've covered, or a PR person they work with), then make the ask easy: send a short, forwardable blurb that explains the news and why it fits that reporter's beat. Ask for an introduction, never for coverage. The intro gets you read; the story still has to earn the piece.
Most founders I speak to know warm intros work better than cold email. Where they go wrong is in who they ask and what they hand over.
Who can actually make a warm intro to a reporter?
Not everyone who knows a journalist can introduce you to one usefully. The intro carries the introducer's credibility, so the question is how much the reporter trusts that person's judgement about news, not how well they know each other socially.
This is how I score the usual intro paths. I call it the vouch-weight table, because what you're borrowing is the weight of someone else's word.
| Introducer | Vouch weight with the reporter | What they can credibly say | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| A founder the reporter covered recently | High | "I trust this team, and their news is real" | Only works if the two companies aren't competitors |
| Your lead investor's platform or comms team | High | "We backed them, and this is why it matters" | Some funds only intro portfolio news they've vetted |
| Your ecosystem foundation's comms team (L1, L2, chain) | Medium to high | "This is a meaningful build on our network" | They prioritise ecosystem-wide stories, not every project |
| A PR person the reporter works with regularly | Medium to high | "I've checked the story and it's newsworthy" | Their name is on the line, so they'll filter hard |
| Someone who was a source for the reporter | Medium | "They know this space, worth a conversation" | Works better for commentary than for announcements |
| An angel, advisor or friend who met the reporter once | Low | Very little | Feels like a favour being cashed in |
| Someone who follows the reporter on X | None | Nothing | Not an intro |
The top half of that table is where your effort should go. A single intro from a founder the reporter already respects is worth more than five from people who shook hands with them at a side event.
Why do relationships come before the ask?
Because intros flow through people who already like working with you. Nobody forwards a stranger to a reporter they value.
I've seen this play out with referrals for years, and the pattern is the same.
the power of honest referral networks is crazy! here are things to keep in mind if you're looking for good referrals: • focus on building relationships • exceed expectations • build a strong personal brand • be humble Shilika Jain on X, 12 Jul 2023
If you only reach out to your investors when you need a press favour, the ask lands cold. If you've been sending them clean monthly updates, showing up for their portfolio events and helping other founders in their network, the intro request is a natural next step.
What should the forwardable blurb look like?
This is the part almost everyone skips. You ask a busy investor to "introduce you to someone at CoinDesk," and then they have to write the email themselves. Most won't, or they'll write a vague two-liner that does nothing.
Give them a blurb they can forward unedited. I use a five-part structure I call the forward-ready five:
- One line on who you are. Company name, what it does, in words a non-specialist understands.
- One line on the news. What's happening, and when.
- One line on why this reporter. Reference a story they wrote or the beat they cover.
- One line on what's on offer. Embargoed materials, a founder interview, data they can use first.
- One line that lets them say no. "If it's not a fit, no worries at all."
A worked example, for a made-up project so you can see the shape:
Hi [reporter], introducing [founder], CEO of [project], a compute network for AI inference on-chain. They're announcing a mainnet with three independent node operators on [date]. Given your recent piece on decentralized compute, I thought this might fit your beat. [Founder] can share embargoed details and is free for a call this week. Totally fine if it's not for you.
Five sentences. The introducer can paste it, add their own opening line, and send it in under a minute. That's what makes the intro actually happen.
If you don't yet have a press kit to attach behind that blurb, sort that first. My guide to the founder media kit journalists actually use covers what goes in it.
How do you ask the introducer without making it awkward?
Ask in writing, be specific, and make it easy to decline.
Name the exact reporter, not just the outlet. "Could you introduce me to someone at The Block" puts the research burden on them. "I'd love an intro to the reporter who covered [topic] at The Block last month, if you know them well enough" is a question they can answer in five seconds.
Then step back. Don't chase an introducer the way you'd chase a lead. If they haven't replied in a week, assume they're not comfortable making the intro, and don't hold it against them. Their relationship with the reporter is theirs to protect.
The mindset behind this matters as much as the mechanics.
If you're looking to grow in a particular industry, then here's an advice: "Don't always look for transactional relationships" Shilika Jain on X, 2 Aug 2022
Founders who treat introducers as a press vending machine run out of introducers fast.
What should you never ask for in a warm intro?
This list is where intros quietly die:
- Don't ask the introducer to promise coverage. They can't, and asking puts them in an impossible spot with the reporter.
- Don't ask for the reporter's personal number or Telegram. Let the reporter choose how to continue the conversation.
- Don't ask for intros to five reporters at the same outlet. Pick the one whose beat fits best.
- Don't ask for an intro to pitch something that isn't news. A minor partnership or a feature update will make the introducer look bad, and they'll remember.
- Don't pitch the same story cold to that reporter while the intro is pending. It makes the intro look staged.
- Don't forget to close the loop. Tell the introducer what happened, whether the reporter covered it or passed.
That last one is underrated. A two-line thank-you, with a link if the piece ran, makes them far more likely to help again.
Is it the investor's or the ecosystem's job to help with this?
Partly, yes, and I'd like to see more of them take it on. A lot of early-stage founders simply don't know how earned media works, and the people closest to them are best placed to teach it.
more ecosystems, foundations & VCs should make an active effort to educate builders about public relations Shilika Jain on X, 10 Jul 2025
If you're in an accelerator or an ecosystem grants programme, ask the comms team directly whether they do media intros for portfolio news, and what the bar is. Some have a clear process. Some will tell you to come back when you've raised or shipped mainnet. Either answer helps you plan.
When a warm intro isn't worth chasing
Warm intros aren't always the right move, and they have a cost: every intro spends some of someone else's goodwill.
- When your news is small. Save intros for funding rounds, mainnets, original data or a founder with a sharp view on a live story. Use a well-targeted cold pitch for the rest, built the way my crypto media relations guide lays out.
- When the reporter's beat is a stretch. A perfect intro to the wrong reporter is still the wrong reporter.
- When you can't respond fast. If the reporter replies and your founder isn't available for a week, you've burned the introducer's credibility along with your own.
- When you have no path at all. A personalised, humble cold pitch to a reporter whose work you've actually read can still do well. I covered how in Journalists Are Not on Your Payroll.
If you'd rather have someone who already has those relationships make the introductions, that's part of what founder profiling covers when I work with a team.
FAQ
Can a PR agency give me warm intros to journalists?
A good one can, but only for stories they believe in. If an agency promises intros to every reporter on their list for every announcement, the intros won't carry much weight. Ask them which specific reporters they've worked with on stories like yours.
Should I offer something in return for the intro?
Not money, and not anything that looks like a payment. The best return is being useful to the introducer: helping their other portfolio companies, sharing your learnings, and closing the loop on how it went.
How long should I wait before following up with the reporter after an intro?
Give it three to four working days. Then follow up in the same thread, once, with something new to add. If there's still no reply, treat it as a pass and thank the introducer anyway.
Can I ask a journalist I know to introduce me to a colleague?
You can, carefully. Journalists sometimes pass stories to the right colleague when it isn't their beat. Ask whether someone else on their desk covers it rather than asking for a formal introduction.
Not sure who in your network can open the right doors? Book 30 minutes with me and we'll map your intro paths before your next announcement.
