Hiring a publicist can help you achieve your PR objectives.

By Laura Koss-Feder

Michael Lacey knew he needed PR assistance to help promote his growing business, Digineer Inc., a Minneapolis high-tech consulting firm. Although the 8-year-old company had been performing solidly year after year, when his salespeople and recruiters called on potential clients or tried to hire new staffers, they weren’t familiar with the business. Rather than employ a full-time, in-house PR staffer, the president and CEO decided to outsource with a PR firm eight months ago. The move allowed Lacey to increase awareness of the company while still watching its bottom line.

“We had a great story to tell and needed more recognition to help compete as effectively as possible for both clients and employees,” says Lacey, 37, who employs 65 people and has annual sales of $7.5 million. “That’s [why] we hired an outside PR professional who could focus on getting us publicity.”

Lacey asked others in his field for referrals, interviewing about six agencies in all. For a $3,000 per month all-inclusive retainer, Digineer has so far been featured in both local and national publications, and Lacey says he’s quite pleased with the results from Wax Marketing Inc. in nearby St. Paul, Minnesota.

“You need to go into PR with a plan of action and decide as a business owner what you are trying to accomplish and how publicity will help your company,” Lacey says. “You don’t want to see your name and face in the press just to make yourself feel good . . . If you want to see your face, just look in the mirror.”

Finding the Right Fit
Deciding when to hire a publicist—usually outside your firm first to save on the cost of bringing in a full-time publicist for at least $50,000, plus the added expenses of benefits—takes place when you are trying to increase awareness of your business in general or if you are rolling out a dynamic new product or service and need to get the word out to the press in a timely fashion. 

“Good PR helps promote the validity of your service or products and offers you the kind of exposure that advertising alone just can’t,” says Gene Fairbrother, lead business consultant for the National Association for the Self-Employed and president of MBA Consulting Inc., a Dallas-based firm that advises entrepreneurs nationwide.

If you are just looking for short-term publicity, it makes more sense to hire someone on a project basis and pay a fee based on how many hours will be needed. If you are seeking more ongoing guidance, as many growing ventures are, seek out a monthly retainer relationship, says Judy Phair, immediate past president of the Public Relations Society of America in New York City.

Most entrepreneurs find publicists by asking others in their industry for recommendations. Consider contacting the major trade association in your field, which may offer referrals. PRSA offers a listing by city at www.prsa.org. Interview at least four agencies, ask for a written proposal, and check references. Don’t necessarily pick an agency that offers you the stars and the moon.   

“There are no guarantees of anything in this business, and be wary of anyone who makes elaborate promises,” Phair says.

While PR firms come in all shapes and sizes—from local boutiques to worldwide empires—it may be best to start off with a smaller local or regional company with 20 or fewer employees that can devote more resources to your growing business. “You don’t want to be the smallest client in a very large PR firm,” Phair points out.

Although there are always exceptions, retainer fees tend to be lower with smaller PR firms, and there is a greater amount of wiggle room when it comes to negotiating price and contracts with smaller players who are hungrier for your dollars. Remember, they, too, are entrepreneurial in nature—just like your company. Although monthly fees are very region-dependent—with the East and West Coasts being the most pricey—expect to pay between $2,000 and $5,000, Phair says. Contracts usually last a minimum of six months to a maximum of a year. Wax Marketing, for example, targets smaller clients with sales between $5 million and $20 million, says Bonnie Harris, the firm’s president.

“You don’t want a contract that is too short. It can sometimes take months just to get a company in print, particularly in publications with long lead times,” Harris says.

Also, with a smaller firm, you are more likely to know who will handle your account directly, rather than finding out afterward that you’ve been handed off to a more junior person within the company. “Ideally, you want to meet the person who you will be working with ahead of time,” Lacey says. “You need to feel like you ‘get’ each other and that you can communicate easily with one another.” 

Connie Zack, co-owner along with husband Aaron Zack, 29, of Sunlight Saunas Inc. in Lenexa, Kansas, elected to work with a small PR firm, so she knows who’s handling all her publicity needs: the company’s president, who made the direct pitch for the business. The manufacturer and distributor of saunas wanted additional exposure and public awareness after relocating from Cincinnati to the Kansas City area, so in March 2004, the Zacks hired an outside agency on a $2,000 per month retainer. Sunlight Saunas obtains a lot of sales leads via the internet, and Connie, also chief sales officer, felt that mentions in local and national magazines and newspapers would help boost sales. So far, more than 35 articles on Sunlight Saunas have appeared in 30 publications, she says.

“I know who is doing all my PR—it’s not a new person who doesn’t really know me—and every month I have a succinct report that summarizes what has been done. The PR agency understands what we are about, and we have a great rapport. That’s not something you may have in a very large firm that has employees coming and going,” says Connie, 38, whose 7-year-old company has about $6 million in sales and 18 employees.

All the tasks your outside agency will perform—such as writing collateral material (press releases, media kits, newsletters, brochures and so on), pitching to local and national press, media coaching, planning special events and crisis counseling—should be spelled out in the contract, says Tucson, Arizona, publicist Alaina G. Levine, who is immediate past president of the Southern Arizona chapter of PRSA. She is also a director of special projects in the College of Science at the University of Arizona in Tucson and teaches a graduate class on entrepreneurship.

“You want to know that a consultant can offer you a full media strategy—beyond just pitching a story here and there—and you want to know how this person or agency will carry out its role for you,” Levine says.

Although it is not mandatory, you may include in the contract how often you will meet or speak with the outside agency and how frequently you want written reports. Lacey and his publicist speak with each other at least weekly to discuss ongoing projects. Although he and his PR firm have the advantage of meeting face to face because they are in the same area, you can still have just as much contact via telephone and e-mail with a publicist located in another part of the country.

Naturally, the monthly price tag should be included in the contract, as well as costs for any additional work and expenses that you will cover.  

Consider working with a specialty agency or one that has some background in your field, Fairbrother says. This is particularly important if your business is in a highly technical industry or if you are specifically seeking trade press and need a publicist familiar with your industry’s publications.

Harris, for instance, used to work in marketing for a high-tech company. And Jerry Daly, president of Daly Gray Public Relations in Herndon, Virginia, is another example: He has been in business for 19 years, handling travel and hotel publicity for clients seeking recognition in their particular industries. He also worked for two major hotel companies before going out on his own.

Says Daly, “Clients realize that we have a longtime knowledge of the industry as well as solid relationships with travel writers working on both consumer and trade publications.”

Get the Balance Right
Once you’ve established a solid relationship with an outside firm, it may be time to supplement that help with a full-time, in-house publicist or a marketing director—assuming you have the budget. Or you may hand this job over to someone you already employ to save money. For instance, Lacey is finding that the tasks of running his business are growing so quickly that he doesn’t always have the time to directly coordinate publicity efforts with Harris. Next year, he will appoint someone in-house to handle this job as well as internal communications.

“This way, we will have a dedicated person to give us both a consistent message inside and outside the firm,” Lacey says.

Bringing a dedicated publicist in-house was the way to go for entrepreneur Josh Shaw, 30, COO and co-founder of GoSmile Inc., a New York City manufacturer of tooth-whitening products. In fact, he decided more than five months ago to have a PR team consisting of both a vice president and a director of communications. Shaw previously worked with outside agencies and felt that in his very image-driven, competitive industry, the time was right for his burgeoning business, and he had the budget to bring publicity professionals onboard who could dedicate all their efforts to GoSmile.

“We are looking for co-branding opportunities and taking our products to the next level, and having 20 percent of [the efforts of] two people in a PR firm just can’t compare to having 100 percent [of the efforts] of two people within your own company,” says Shaw, who employs 45 people and has annual sales of approximately $10 million.

However, Shaw is also working with a small agency for a small monthly retainer for a six-month period. Because the agency specializes in broadcast PR, he’s hoping to generate TV stories about the business. Shaw recommends still working with outside agencies even after you have hired full-time publicists, especially if you are looking for very targeted assistance from specialty firms. “Your in-house team is important for ongoing publicity, but they may not have the contacts in the media that you need for a specific media blitz,” Shaw says.

To watch your costs, consider lowering the monthly retainer fee if you are hiring a separate in-house employee and plan to keep both in-house and outside PR specialists, Harris says. Of course, that will mean a reduced amount of work from the outside specialist. The in-house and outside publicists also need to get along and see eye to eye on how to best promote your company.

“Having the proper amount of PR help for your company is all a balancing act,” Harris notes. “You have to see what works best and what makes the most sense for your business—without sacrificing quality.”

Laura Koss-Feder is a freelance business and features writer in Oceanside, New York, who has written for Business Week, The New York Times and Time.