I can't afford a publicity/public relations campaign. can I?
Todd Brabender-Spread The News PR, Inc.
www.spreadthenewspr.com
It's a phrase I hear over and over again from many entrepreneurs, small
businesses owners and inventors: "I'd love to hire someone to launch our
publicity campaign professionally, but we can't afford it, so I'm just going
to have to do it on my own."
Over the past several months, I have been conducting an informal survey
among entrepreneurs and business owners who have contacted me about my
services. I have found that due to their lack of information or knowledge on
the topic, many businesses typically over-estimate or over-budget the cost
of a prospective public relations/publicity campaign. During my PR
consultation with them, I asked: "How much do you think it will cost to
launch a solid, effective PR/publicity campaign for your product/business?"
Of the 102 people I've queried:
· 11% - Thought a professional PR campaign would cost $10,000+ per month
· 32% - Thought a professional PR campaign would cost $5,000-$10,000 per
month
· 39% - Thought a professional PR campaign would cost $3,000-$5,000 per
month
· 12% - Thought a professional PR campaign would cost $1,000-$3,000 per
month
· 6% - Thought a professional PR campaign would cost less than $1,000 per
month
The truth is you can get a publicity/PR campaign in all of those prices
ranges. What you get for your money and how effective the campaign will be
is the real question? It is true that the more you pay the more you get. But
getting the most publicity/PR exposure doesn't mean you have to get most
expensive PR agency or specialist.
A good rule of thumb is to align yourself with a PR business that best
reflects your business size. Most times their rates will be in line with
your prospective PR budget. If you are a small business owner with two
employees, you need not hire a high-dollar PR agency with dozens of
employees. Find a PR business whose office size and capabilities closely
resemble your business.
Case in point there is a large PR agency in a fancy building downtown a
few miles from my office. Frankly, we are not even competition to each
other - in fact we have even referred clients to each other. Why? They
typically work with large corporations and implement campaigns of around
$10,000 per month. My business works with smaller businesses/individuals
a PR/publicity campaign with my company would be about $10,000 for an entire
year - not just a month. Mechanically, the downtown firm and my business do
the same thing when it comes to PR campaigns: professional media release
composition; extensive media market research; articulate personalized
distribution to the media; months of media relations (article
placements/interview scheduling/media request fulfillment, clipping racking
of media placements, etc.).
Signing up with the big firm doesn't mean you'll necessarily get an
experienced associate working on your campaign. So are you getting what you
are paying for? A friend of mine who works at a major PR firm gave me the
following breakdown of billing fees in his office:
· Interns/Junior Executives - bill at $75 / hour
(Very little, if any professional experience)
· Account Executives - bill at $100 - $125 / hour
(1-3 years of professional experience)
· Senior Account Executives - bill at $125 - $200 / hour
(Multiple years of professional experience. Agency decision makers.)
Compare those prices to many small PR shops or individual PR specialists.
Many have started their own PR businesses after years of experience in the
industry and typically charge $50 - $100 per hour to professionally launch
and maintain your campaign. Many times, you can get a seasoned PR veteran
who will work directly with you and your staff for cheaper than the
"Intern/Junior" executive rate at a downtown firm.
However, one word of advice when choosing a smaller firm or individual to
do your PR, make sure they have the same tools that the bigger agencies do:
updated media lists/contacts; personalized media distribution capabilities;
professional clipping racking services to get copies of each of your media
placements (articles, tapes from TV/radio shows) as well as the intangibles
of expert communication/media relations skills and professional pitching
prowess. If they are cheaper, but don't have all the tools to help you in
the best manner possible, you are probably better off spending a little
extra money to make sure your campaign is launched and maintained correctly.
The major benefits of hiring a professional (individual PR specialist or PR
firm) to launch your campaign are:
· Proper Campaign Implementation - Improperly composed or poorly pitched
campaigns are the major downfall of many PR efforts. Poorly written,
over-commercialized media releases; uncalculated, misdirected mass e-mailing
of the release pitch; no follow-up media relations/media request
fulfillment; etc.. Your first impression to the media is a lasting one -
make sure it's a good one.
· Media Contacts - Most PR agencies have established multiple media contacts
over several years that can lead to much better and more numerous media
placements for your campaign. Let their foot in the door benefit you.
· Efficiency and Effectiveness - PR specialists/agencies generate publicity
full time, 8-12 hours per day and know the ins and outs, shortcuts and
secrets to getting the job done better and quicker. Sure you could hang your
own drywall or do your own plumbing, but do you have the tools, the time and
the expertise to make it cost effective. I always tell my clients, "You do
what you do well, I'll do what I do well and we'll collectively move this
business further up the ladder."
One caveat when it comes to choosing a professional PR agency or individual
to work with - signing up for a higher priced campaign doesn't necessarily
mean you will get better results than a cheaper campaign. And the inverse is
true as well. Over the past year or so, many "low-cost PR/publicity
services" have begun to pop up all over the Internet. Ones that promise to
write and launch a press release for as low as $99. They are low in cost -
because frankly many are low in quality. Bigger is not necessarily better,
and cheap does not always mean a good bargain.
If you have the time, tools and talent to launch and maintain your own
campaign, you should definitely do so. If not - there are a number of public
relations/publicity firms, specialists and services out there. Research to
find the one whose services and fees match your business plan. Once business
owners, entrepreneurs, and inventors learn more about their options when it
comes to launching a PR campaign many find that they can't afford NOT to
have one.
About the Author
Todd Brabender is the President of Spread The News Public Relations, Inc..
His business specializes in generating media exposure and publicity for
innovative products, businesses, websites and inventions.
(785) 842-8909
todd@spreadthenewspr.com
http://www.spreadthenewspr.com