can,amp,#39,afford,publicity,p business, insurance I can't afford a publicity/public relations campaign

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I can't afford a publicity/public relations campaign . can I?Todd Brabender-Spread The News PR, Inc.www.spreadthenewspr.comIt's a phrase I hear over and over again from many entrepreneurs, smallbusinesses owners and inventors: "I'd love to hire someone to launch ourpublicity campaign professionally, but we can't afford it, so I'm just goingto have to do it on my own."Over the past several months, I have been conducting an informal surveyamong entrepreneurs and business owners who have contacted me about myservices. I have found that due to their lack of information or knowledge onthe topic, many businesses typically over-estimate or over-budget the costof a prospective public relations/publicity campaign. During my PRconsultation with them, I asked: "How much do you think it will cost tolaunch 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 permonth· 39% - Thought a professional PR campaign would cost $3,000-$5,000 permonth· 12% - Thought a professional PR campaign would cost $1,000-$3,000 permonth· 6% - Thought a professional PR campaign would cost less than $1,000 permonthThe truth is -- you can get a publicity/PR campaign in all of those pricesranges. What you get for your money and how effective the campaign will beis the real question? It is true that the more you pay the more you get. Butgetting the most publicity/PR exposure doesn't mean you have to get mostexpensive PR agency or specialist.A good rule of thumb is to align yourself with a PR business that bestreflects your business size. Most times their rates will be in line withyour prospective PR budget. If you are a small business owner with twoemployees, you need not hire a high-dollar PR agency with dozens ofemployees. Find a PR business whose office size and capabilities closelyresemble your business.Case in point -- there is a large PR agency in a fancy building downtown afew miles from my office. Frankly, we are not even competition to eachother - in fact we have even referred clients to each other. Why? Theytypically 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 entireyear - not just a month. Mechanically, the downtown firm and my business dothe same thing when it comes to PR campaigns: professional media releasecomposition; extensive media market research; articulate personalizeddistribution to the media; months of media relations (articleplacements/interview scheduling/media request fulfillment, clipping rackingof media placements, etc.).Signing up with the big firm doesn't mean you'll necessarily get anexperienced associate working on your campaign. So are you getting what youare paying for? A friend of mine who works at a major PR firm gave me thefollowing 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 theindustry and typically charge $50 - $100 per hour to professionally launchand maintain your campaign. Many times, you can get a seasoned PR veteranwho 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 todo 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 mediaplacements (articles, tapes from TV/radio shows) as well as the intangiblesof expert communication/media relations skills and professional pitchingprowess. If they are cheaper, but don't have all the tools to help you inthe best manner possible, you are probably better off spending a littleextra money to make sure your campaign is launched and maintained correctly.The major benefits of hiring a professional (individual PR specialist or PRfirm) to launch your campaign are:· Proper Campaign Implementation - Improperly composed or poorly pitchedcampaigns are the major downfall of many PR efforts. Poorly written,over-commercialized media releases; uncalculated, misdirected mass e-mailingof the release pitch; no follow-up media relations/media requestfulfillment; 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 contactsover several years that can lead to much better and more numerous mediaplacements for your campaign. Let their foot in the door benefit you.· Efficiency and Effectiveness - PR specialists/agencies generate publicityfull time, 8-12 hours per day and know the ins and outs, shortcuts andsecrets to getting the job done better and quicker. Sure you could hang yourown drywall or do your own plumbing, but do you have the tools, the time andthe expertise to make it cost effective. I always tell my clients, "You dowhat you do well, I'll do what I do well and we'll collectively move thisbusiness further up the ladder."One caveat when it comes to choosing a professional PR agency or individualto work with - signing up for a higher priced campaign doesn't necessarilymean you will get better results than a cheaper campaign. And the inverse istrue 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 towrite 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 owncampaign, you should definitely do so. If not - there are a number of publicrelations/publicity firms, specialists and services out there. Research tofind the one whose services and fees match your business plan. Once businessowners, entrepreneurs, and inventors learn more about their options when itcomes to launching a PR campaign -- many find that they can't afford NOT tohave one.