I can't afford a publicity/public relations campaign . can I?

Written by Todd Brabender


I can't afford a publicity/public relations campaign . can I? Todd Brabender-Spread The News PR, Inc. www.spreadthenewspr.com

It's a phrase I hear over and over again from many entrepreneurs, small businesses owners and inventors: "I'd love to hire someone to launch our publicity campaign professionally, but we can't afford it, so I'm just going to have to do it on my own."

Overrepparttar past several months, I have been conducting an informal survey among entrepreneurs and business owners who have contacted me about my services. I have found that due to their lack of information or knowledge onrepparttar 106767 topic, many businesses typically over-estimate or over-budgetrepparttar 106768 cost of a prospective public relations/publicity campaign. During my PR consultation with them, I asked: "How much do you think it will cost to launch a solid, effective PR/publicity campaign for your product/business?" Ofrepparttar 106769 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 per month · 39% - Thought a professional PR campaign would cost $3,000-$5,000 per month · 12% - Thought a professional PR campaign would cost $1,000-$3,000 per month · 6% - Thought a professional PR campaign would cost less than $1,000 per month

The truth is -- you can get a publicity/PR campaign in all of those prices ranges. What you get for your money and how effectiverepparttar 106770 campaign will be isrepparttar 106771 real question? It is true thatrepparttar 106772 more you payrepparttar 106773 more you get. But gettingrepparttar 106774 most publicity/PR exposure doesn't mean you have to get most expensive PR agency or specialist.

A good rule of thumb is to align yourself with a PR business that best reflects your business size. Most times their rates will be in line with your prospective PR budget. If you are a small business owner with two employees, you need not hire a high-dollar PR agency with dozens of employees. Find a PR business whose office size and capabilities closely resemble your business.

Case in point -- there is a large PR agency in a fancy building downtown a few miles from my office. Frankly, we are not even competition to each other - in fact we have even referred clients to each other. Why? They typically 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 entire year - not just a month. Mechanically,repparttar 106775 downtown firm and my business dorepparttar 106776 same thing when it comes to PR campaigns: professional media release composition; extensive media market research; articulate personalized distribution torepparttar 106777 media; months of media relations (article placements/interview scheduling/media request fulfillment, clipping racking of media placements, etc.).

Signing up withrepparttar 106778 big firm doesn't mean you'll necessarily get an experienced associate working on your campaign. So are you getting what you are paying for? A friend of mine who works at a major PR firm gave merepparttar 106779 following 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.)

Choose a Passionate Business

Written by Rob Spiegel


How do you chooserepparttar right business to start? By following trends and trying to anticipate what consumers or business will want next? By looking for a hole inrepparttar 106766 market? These strategies may help you find a potential business concept, but would it be a business you would enjoy building 60 or 80 hours each week. Since most start-ups require a weekly commitment of big hours, you better find something you love to do.

There is a popular line torepparttar 106767 effect, "Do what you love andrepparttar 106768 money will follow." Like most pithy statements, it gets tossed around as though it's a truth. It's very American, and it may even be true if you are convinced it's true. Outsiderepparttar 106769 U.S.,repparttar 106770 statement would be viewed as laughably ludicrous. There is a more European version, "Whatever do you, love it."

If there is any truth to our exuberantly American statement, it's that when you love what you do, there is a greater chance you will do your work with great enthusiasm, thus increasing your likelihood for success. Launching an enterprise requires intense effort. Atrepparttar 106771 same time you're putting in long hours, you are also learning new tasks, whether it's marketing or hiring and employee management. One entrepreneurial friend noted that to succeed with your own business, you need to get very good a lot of different jobs. Just try this if you don't have a passion for you're work.

Most successful entrepreneurs love what they do. They jump into their work and they encourage those around them to bring zeal torepparttar 106772 effort. They are like crusaders who are out to convincerepparttar 106773 world that it will be a better place with their product or service. Enthusiasm is contagious. Entrepreneurs need great amounts of enthusiasm to generate loyalty from their employees and to spark interest and foster confidence from their customers.

As well as sustaining a high level of energy, drive optimism,repparttar 106774 entrepreneur has to become an expert inrepparttar 106775 subject matter ofrepparttar 106776 business niche, whether it's fishing vacations or aluminum. Most successful entrepreneurs exhibit a very deep knowledge of their market. They knowrepparttar 106777 history,repparttar 106778 early players. They knowrepparttar 106779 conventional thinking inrepparttar 106780 market and they're aware ofrepparttar 106781 new ideas struggling to gain attention. A good entrepreneur keeps all of this in perspective and has a good sense of what new trends will gain hold and which will sputter asrepparttar 106782 sidelines.

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