In my work with new and growing businesses, a common area where people rush to spend is on PR: hiring a PR firm or publicist to get media coverage in order to draw attention, create buzz, generate audience, and impress investors. But before you drop upwards of $5k/month on an established firm, it’s important to understand when it’s the right time to build your external team.
As a marketing strategist who helps entrepreneurs transform bold ideas into smart, sustainable businesses, I’m here to tell you where businesses are getting it wrong in the rush to engage publicity services. Spending on external help before it’s truly merited can end up being a huge waste of money, fantastically frustrating, and even hurt your long-term communications strategy.
Many new entrepreneurs are unclear when it comes to marketing and publicity – what needs to be done, when, and how much it should cost. And there is a huge gap in the help available to you as a small business: you can either read a book for $10 and still be lost on how it applies to your business, or hire a firm for thousands of dollars a month with no guarantee of results. That’s not exactly the spectrum of choice we’re used to in our culture of innovation.
So in accordance with my mission to level the entrepreneurial playing field, I created a publicity bootcamp called DIYPR, priced under $1K, to teach pre-PR firm businesses how to set up their own publicity department and begin to build relationships with the media before it’s time to bring in the big guns at an estimated $60K/year.
Because I’ve learned that PR tools, protocol, and good habits can in fact be taught – and sometimes it’s actually more effective to have a startup CEO as spokesperson without a publicist brokering the relationship.
When you’re launching a product or producing an event on a budget, it’s important to look at every line item to make sure your spend is on target with your short- and long-term business goals. Every entrepreneur’s instinct is to do as much as possible in-house to keep costs down and the vision streamlined, but taking on duties that are unfamiliar can hinder success, from lack of expertise to draining valuable time and resources.
Here are the get-honest questions to ask yourself and your team before deciding whether to do it yourself or outsource your promotion:
What are my goals and what’s the entire spectrum of ways I can reach them?
What are the success metrics for your project? If you’re looking to showcase yourself, test an idea, or just get something out there into the world, it’s probably too soon to hook media attention. But if your goals are heavily invested in expansion or going up against major competition, you’d do well to set up the publicity channels to play at that level.
How much do I really have to sell?
There’s an infamous story about a business that landed that coveted New York Times profile – then didn’t have the inventory or infrastructure to respond to the resulting flood of inquiries. Don’t divorce your PR strategy from your production timeline, and above all, don’t alienate your sustaining audience.
Do I have the time?
If promotion brings a learning curve, it may take your entire Tuesday to write a media alert — time that could have been spent on another aspect of the business. Many of my clients are extremely smart about marketing, but they just don’t have the time to execute. These relationships are quite successful because we collaborate on the ideas and I can run with the game plan for making those ideas effective in the real world.
Do I have the money?
Not just for the publicist, but for all your marketing vendors: graphic design, printing, distribution, photographer, videographer, video editor, web design, advertising, and everything else that is needed to properly promote. I have seen small businesses and even nonprofits spend up to $10,000 per month to keep an established PR firm on retainer. Even if you’re hiring a freelancer, consider the average amount an experienced professional in your area makes — how much will you need to spend for a healthy portion of her time? Still, an agency or freelancer can be a far more cost-effective investment than a full-time staffer, because you benefit from more experience and wider resources for less than what you would pay for a full salary and benefits.
More publicity considerations to decide before you hire a PR firm…
- How did marketing and PR go for my last or most similar project? If I want different results, will it take outside help?
- How are projects with similar scopes doing their marketing and PR? Do I want the same results they have?
- Do I know my core target audience and which media they consume?
- Do I know the protocol for interacting with press?
- Do I understand the structure and content of a press release?
- Is this project truly newsworthy?
- Do I have a current and updated press contact list?
- Am I willing to spend the time to build long-term relationships with journalists, to treat them with respect instead of spamming every sales message?
- Am I an excellent, persuasive writer and communicator?
- Do I have an professional photo and video of my product or service to support my pitch?
- Do I know how to leverage online tools like social media to get attention?
- Do my investors or board expect to see media coverage of this project?
Be sure to explore all your options and ask the right questions to make the best possible decision about your promotional strategy and team.