PubliCity Outside Your City: Outsourcing For More Affordable PR Services

We all know that the Internet has taken away geographic boundaries in the
business world. The accessibility and expansiveness of the Internet allows
the entrepreneur/business owner anywhere in North America to search outside
his local yellow pages for the best and most affordable services available.
This is especially true when it comes to finding PR/publicity services for
your business. What it boils down to
is . the Inter'net can mean a 'net savings in your publicity budget.

A few months back, I got an email from a California client who discovered
that the local part-time freelance publicity specialist he had hired was
charging three times the amount I charge and providing half the services I
offered. Because of that, the client hired me to work with the freelancer in
heading up this nationwide campaign launch. The freelancer told me that
because of West coast cost of living/overhead, he was forced to charge the
higher fees -- surprisingly, he was one of the cheapest publicity pros in
that area! I have heard stories like this time and time again from clients
who hit the 'net in search of a cheaper alternative to PR services listed in
their local directory.

That fact was drilled home to me even more when I recently took a detailed
look at my portfolio of clients. I was surprised to learn that over the last
few years more than 40% of my clients for my Midwest-based PR business have
come from the West coast, another 25% from the East coast and 10% from
Canada. A quick e-mail polling of clients revealed the same story over and
over. They simply found it hard to locate professional, affordable PR
services in their area, so they turned to the Internet to find it.

Frankly, for publicity campaigns restricted to your city/region, I recommend
going with a local PR specialist/firm. They typically know the local media
market best and have solid media contacts there. But for a national or
industry rade specific publicity campaign for your product/business,
explore the possibility of hiring a PR individual or team outside your
geographic area -- especially if your product has nationwide appeal. One
client remarked that he liked how our campaign brought a Midwest feel to his
East coast-based business and helped him open up potential new business
avenues. Another client said he looked to outsource to a small to mid-sized
city PR business because, as he put it, "No matter the size of the office,
West coast PR firms seemed very plastic and glitzy, while the East coast
firms seemed to be too hectic, almost frantic." That may indeed be a huge
generalization on his part, because I'm certain there are wonderfully
professional PR businesses in almost every city.

Be advised -- mechanically, most PR agencies do basically the same thing.
Sure each firm/office/freelancer has their strong points. The major
difference lies with the respective creativity, ingenuity and
professionalism of the PR individual or staff.
Don't take this to mean that "cheaper is better" - there is certainly
something to be said for the phrase "you get what you pay for". Just don't
pay three, four or even ten times as much to get you the same amount of
quality. Look for a firm that can give you an entire campaign from start to
finish -- release/kit, media market research, media contacts, large-scale
media distribution, media tracking/clipping -- not just a $100 - $500
release distribution.

Take to the 'net and see what you can find. Above all, ask for references,
writing samples, publicity placement history -- where they have generated
publicity for past clients. Make sure they are technologically advanced
enough to get timely, high-quality publicity information to media outlets
all over the nation that benefits your business. Look for a PR service with
a broad range of media contacts in multiple formats (print, broadcast &
Internet) and strong media tracking capabilities. Some PR pros promise to
pitch your campaign to hundreds of magazines and newspapers when your
strongest media market may be in radio/TV shows & newscasts -- or vice
versa.

I am not reinventing the PR wheel here, I am simply saying that when it
comes to generating publicity for your business/website/venture/invention,
the best match for you may not be in the big glass building in your city's
downtown. Big firms in big cities most often mean big fees and not
necessarily big quality.

Bottom line -- the Internet is giving entrepreneurs of all types the
opportunity to afford publicity -- publicity from outside your city.

Todd F. Brabender
Spread The News Public Relations
Generating publicity/media exposure for innovative businesses, products,
inventions & experts.
http://www.SpreadTheNewsPR.com
info@SpreadTheNewsPR.com