Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Christine,

Before looking into purchasing PR services from someone. I think you need to do some research into what PR is and how it can work for you and your specific situation.  Think about whether are not you are a staff member can do the needed public relations yourself. If not then I would suggest asking around for bids from area PR agencies and freelancers (yellow pages, business forums, etc. are good sources). This can give you an idea of average cost which will vary from agency to agency.

 

 A good source of information on finding a PR firm is the Council of PR Firms (www.prfirms.org).

 

Here is a link to their article on hiring a PR firm: http://prfirms.org/resources/publications/hiring_firm.asp

 

I would be glad to talk to you more about your needs and to help you figure out the best course of action for your company. To borrow a phrase from another company an "educated consumer is our best customer."

Make certain that they can produce, check references and call past clients to learn about their results and experience with that company. Make sure you have detailed reports of what they have done and balance them against the results to see if you are getting a good ROI.

 

Erin

Hi Christine,

 

As an additional note to the great input above...After you do your research, you`ll also want to see how your personality works with the PR person you choose. As a small business owner, it`s usually a good idea to think of this person as an extension of your team.

 

Melanie

Hi Christine!

While I`m not a PR professional, I have learned quite a bit online by searching `how to do your own PR`.  There are a lot of really good resources online  - and even if you don`t do it on your own it might shed some light on the process.  I did my own PR the first two years of my business, then hired an outside one last year, and then went back to doing it house this year.  As a growing business, it`s quite an expense to hire one. What I found personally is that, I felt I had more passion and fire to sell my product and was seeing better results in house....plus I had all the time in the world to sell my own product, whereas the publicist I used I was sharing with a few dozen other small businesses, so I always felt like more could be done.  A great resource I really like is The Publicity Hound - Joan Stewart, she has a ton of great e-books to learn from....and they have landed my business quite a bit of publicity!  One word of warning though.....there`s a lot of `knocking on doors` and a lot of `no`s` or just no answers.  

 

Happy New Year!

Anne

www.SantaSpeaking.com

Hi Anne,

 

Congratulations on the publicity you`ve received! Sounds like you`ve found some great ways to do your own PR.  Are ebooks, and Publicity Hound good resources, to recommend, for small businesses to get their own publicity?

 

I think the " PR PROS" do, have a lot to offer, too. And there are a lot of great resources to find them, right  here.

 

Happy New Year too!

Janie

As a small business owner starting out with a limited budget, you can probably get more publicity for your new products and/or services on your own. Why? You have more passion for your business than anyone else, and this passion comes across when you talk to the media.

 

Check our "7 Steps to PR" on this site for help. Then, when your business grows and you need to focus on core business responsibilities, you`ll have a better idea of what to look for in a PR person or firm.

 

Hope this helps!

Melanie