You Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Publicist
It’s very early in the morning, and I’ve spent the last five minutes deleting spam e-mails touting the latest software programs, seminars and too-good-to-be true credit offers.
With the economy the way it is, more people are increasing their marketing budgets to boost sales. And while there are a lot of good deals out there, it’s important to watch out for scams and smooth-talking marketers (see this article from AWAI’s Katie Yeakle for tips on avoiding business opportunity scams). After all, you don’t want to waste money on things you don’t need…and this is true for PR services as well.
I am a publicist and copywriter, but I’m also a small business owner, and I don’t like to see fellow entrepreneurs “get taken.” Many times, new clients will come to me with horror stories of how they spent a fortune on a large, well-known PR agency, but didn’t see any results.
Don’t let this happen to you.
The right PR agencies are great for business owners who just don’t have the time or skill to handle their PR efforts on their own and need to outsource this function. But if you have the time to conduct your own publicity activities, please try to do it yourself.
It is not that difficult (see our step-by-step guide here and listen to our podcast here)…it just takes a little extra time and effort.
Not only will you create valuable media relationships for future stories, but media members would rather talk directly to you than a publicist and hear your personal story and ideas. And once you get the hang of pitching and contacting reporters, you’ll start to see media results that can lead to a dramatic increase in credibility, awareness and sales.
Then, you can conduct the appropriate research and hire the right publicist to handle your PR efforts for you. But until that time, you can save yourself a lot of money and stress by reaching out to the media on your own.
If you have questions about your PR efforts, please let me know. I’m here to help!
December 2nd, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Melanie,I believe I have a worthy idea,I started a website to promote it/sell it but have had no takers.I’ve been told the site does’nt quite get the message across as to what I’m selling.I have set up over 20 blogs,joined several forums,placed free ads,placed free pr’s…lots of visitors but no takers.Could you please take a look and tell me what’s missing? Thank you…
http://www.garbagegifts.com
January 30th, 2009 at 12:05 am
Dear ReUseItNut:
When I read your post, the first thing I noticed about your website was the NAME of it, garbategifts.com
To be perfectly honest, any company or website name that contains the word “garbage” will inevitably be a very, very tough sell!
No one would want to buy anything associated with the term “garbage.” It just has a very negative conotation. I would definitely change the name to somthing more appealing!
Hope that helps…good luck with the business!
David