On the Search For Publicity?

If you are one of the millions of businesses looking to gain national media attention for your book then you are probably facing the difficult decision of finding the right PR firm.

What can make this decision difficult is that there are so many different kinds of public relations firms out there. Some are local, some national. Some retainer based, some project based. So how do you know which PR firm will be the best fit for your companys PR goals?
Here are 10 tips on how to choose the right PR firm to get your message the media attention that you desire.

1. Find a public relations firm that specializes in your industry. For example, says Marsha Friedman, if you have a technical B2B business then you should find a national PR firm that specializes in B2B. If the PR firm regularly works with companies that are in your industry, they will be familiar with how to share your message to the media. Another great thing is that they will be able to get started immediately.

If you choose a national or local PR firm who is unfamiliar with your industry , be prepared for them to spend some time researching your industry in order to get a full handle on your topic adds Marsha Friedman. And guess who will be paying for the PR firms research time: you! Most firms charge a costly monthly retainer, so the longer it takes for them to get started the more money that will be coming out of your PR budget.

Just to give you an idea the minimum is around $3,000 per month, the industry average is approximately $5,000 per month and the large PR firms can charge anywhere from $20,000-30,000 per month.

2. Choose a public relations firm that specializes in your medium of choice. If you are ready to hire a PR firm, then chances are that you have given a bit of thought as to what medium you want to use. By the time you are ready to find a public relations firm you should know what medium you want to use to spread your message. It is useful to know that not all PR firms work with all types of media, says Marsha Friedman.

A whopping 95% of firms specialize exclusively in pitching to the print media . If you want to use the electronic media to spread your message to the masses it is in your best interest to search for a public relations firm that deals exclusively with these. The best way to find out, says Marsha Friedman, is to ask the PR firm if their specialty is radio, TV or print !simple as that!

3. Ask the PR firm to supply sample campaigns. Before choosing a PR firm, request to see some sample public relations campaigns that the firm completed for their clients, says Marsha Friedman.

This is the best way to find out the quantity and quality of their work. When you are given a campaign it is important to know what the duration of the campaign was. For example, if they show you a PR campaign that has one huge newspaper placement (such as USA Today or The New York Times) and the duration of the campaign was 2 years - be cautious.

If it took 2 years to get one major newspaper or magazine , based on the minimum retainer level, you would have paid a massive $72,000 for that one media hit. Sample PR campaigns are a great indicator of the effectiveness, especially the cost effectiveness, of a PR firms work.

4. Find a pay-for-performance PR firm! The costly monthly retainer can drain a tight budget, so it is good to know that there are other options out there. Marsha Friedman says, There are a handful of PR firms out there that get paid based on their performance or per project.

My PR firm is one of these and it really works for our clients . The reason is that they only pay for the media exposure that my PR firm actually obtains for them. So instead of paying a monthly fee, they pay for the results that my PR firm obtains for them. By choosing a non-retainer based firm you are truly making your PR firm put their money where their mouth is!

5. Speak to the PR firms clients. When you are choosing a national PR firm it is very important to ask to speak to some of their clients, past or present. When you get them on the phone, ask the PR firms clients what sort of radio, TV and print exposure they received and how long it took for the PR firm to obtain it for them.

Marsha Friedman adds, Great questions to ask are; How well did the PR firms staff interact with them? Was the firm interested in your campaign? How creative were the pitches and press releases? These answers will give you valuable insight as to how the PR firm will handle your campaign.

6. Be confident in their skill in PR. Before you agree to work with a PR firm, make sure that you are convinced that the PR firm will execute a dynamic and successful campaign . Dont forget to ask lots of questions, request copies of sample campaigns and then do a comprehensive review of all of the materials.

I would suggest that before you make your final decision you talk to owners and definitely request a proposal, says Friedman, ask the important questions. What sort of media would they suggest to meet your campaign goals? How long the campaign will last? Do they have quantitative goals for the campaign? When will these goals be met? How the PR firm answers these questions will ultimately determine the level of confidence you have in their ability to service your campaign .

7. Dont limit yourself to PR firms in your area. If youre looking for regional or national exposure dont limit your search to PR firms that are located within your vicinity. Many people believe that you need to have a firm located just down the street so that you can have regular face-to-face meetings with them, says Friedman. But this is not how it works.

In my 20 years of gaining local media attention for my clients, I have only had a face-to-face meetings with a handful of them. The reason for this is that I dont need to. All of a PR firms work can be done via phone and email which is a far more efficient, and time saving, way to work. If your goal is to attain national media attention, find a PR firm that specializes pitching to the national media. A national media PR firms experience level is what is important, not where they are located. Looking for local media attention? The look locally! Friedman says As they are in the middle of the market you are after, their contacts and knowledge will be far more effective than that of a national PR firm.

8. Become familiar with your Campaign Manager. There is one person in particular who plays a vital role in driving the success of at the PR firm: your Campaign Manager. Before you make the decision on which PR firm you use, meet your Campaign Manager. Find out what their experience level is and how long they have been with the PR firm. A great nugget of information is that many Campaign Managers are rookies fresh from college, says Friedman.

Even more frightening is that many national and local PR firms hire interns to handle the client accounts that are not from one of their big guns. If you dont investigate the qualifications of your Campaign Manager, then how can you be confident that your campaign will be handled in a professional manner ?

9. Find a PR firm that believes in what you have to say . The best type of PR firm is one that not only understands your message but also has lots of enthusiasm for your topic. Friedman says, If you find a PR firm like this, their enthusiasm for your message will show in the work that they do. The pitches and press releases will be more creative and their communications to the media will be attention grabbing and clear. In order for a PR firm to successfully work for you, they need to understand your passion and be able to translate it into something that will be of interest to the masses. It can be quite costly if they misunderstand your point.

10. Trust your gut. Friedman says, My final tip to choosing the right PR firm has everything to do with your instincts . When you are in the process of deciding if a PR firm is a right fit for your needs it is inevitable that you will have strong views about their work and approach.

Even if everything seems perfect, if your instincts tell you otherwise - listen to them! instincts tend to be accurate, so if something seems a little off in any way, be weary of working with them . There is nothing worse then finding out your instincts were right when it is too late!

Well there you go! The 10 tips on how to choose the right PR firm for you!

Article Source: http://www.articlesfeed.com

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