For small companies PR always seems like one of those elusive things that you'd kill to get but you just don't know how to go about it. PR has always been on my radar - I even took a PR class through an adjacent school while working on my MBA. All I can say is that those are hours I will never have back again. I really had high hopes for the class but it was less then inspiring. Though I did manage to faint due to the flu the first day of class so I made quite an impression as 'the freaky business school girl.' Can't say I made too many friends in that class after that.
Then the first full year of my business I paid - get this - $17,000 for a PR firm. Far and away the biggest financial mistake I've made thus far. It still pains me to see that number. Now maybe other PR firms are MUCH MUCH better (you literally couldn't have been much worse) but during the several months I was working with them, I generated more PR on my own simply by talking to various people then they generated for me. Honestly still makes me ill to think of that money wasted.
But that doesn't mean I don't value PR. We were featured on CBS' The Early Show this past holiday season and while it didn't necessarily bring us a ton of sales, it has helped elevate our brand name. How did I get the piece on CBS? Not by anything I did myself. Apparently it came via a blog post that a blogger wrote about us! And while I'm utterly grateful, that's not exactly a PR plan I can count on going forward.
Then today I stumbled upon this site that another small business recommended: http://www.ereleases.com/. From my understanding, it's a free PRwire service that sends your press release out to a national database of reporters along with two targeted submarkets (ie - grocery trade publications or tech market freelancers). Now it's not totally free, it costs $399 to send out a release, but there's no associated membership fee which is typically how other newswire sources work. They're also partnered with PRNewswire which gives it a little more credibility in my mind given that PRNewswire is the major press release newswire service in the US if not the world. And I did a quick scan of the database they say they send stuff to and it's certainly a lot of recognizable press outlets. I haven't used it yet but at $399 I'm definitely interested. I have two main things this year I'm working on for the company that, depending on how things come to pass, it might be useful to put a press release out there and see what happens. I'll definitely keep you updated on what happens if I do use it. Or if you have experience with this or another service let me know.
PS: I had been hoping to post today with pictures of my newly carpeted basement but, true to form for an old house, turns out that when adding carpeting to a house this old it's a multi-day process so that the glue strips and tacking can fully adhere to the cement flooring. As such, I now have a basement full of tacks and no carpeting. Hopefully on Thursday the carpeting will all come together and I can spend some time on Friday getting the basement set up.
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3 comments:
I made plenty of those dumb mistakes that cost me lots of money. One of the best things you can do is free. Write articles at ezinearticles.com. Become an expert in your field by writing your articles.
http://www.tallclothingmall.com
Oh, come on. You say that PR class wasn't very helpful? Especially as it discussed about everything other than PR? :-)
I haven't seen great PR even from big PR agencies working with big companies. The best stuff I've seen is being done internally at companies -- social media strategies, etc. I haven't yet worked with an agency that's really gotten it -- although they'll all say they do.
Krista - I'll check out the ezinearticles - thank you! As you said, anything that can be done to build ourselves up as experts, especially for free, can only enhance our brand and our standing in the "community." And great site! I unfortunately don't quite live up to such tall standards being only 5.7 myself but I did pass it along to my taller friends.
Lisa - admit it, you miss that class don't you. :) Though I'm still shocked both those companies we worked with are still in business. Goes to show that with the right business plan you can get money for just about anything. Or perhaps I ought to just sue a large competitor and hope that provides enough cashflow to carry me for a few years.
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