Signs You Should Ditch The Publicist

Some journalists think of public relations as the "dark side" of communications.

By their assessment, PR folks get paid just to pitch stories whereas journalists have to find ways to sell stories to their respective audiences.

Most PR reps/publicists charge $100 and up to distribute press releases--without actual coverage being guaranteed. What some of them can be accused of doing is make clients pay for the possibility of exposure instead of obtaining the press clipping. But that doesn't mean that all publicists and practitioners in PR are bad people. It just means that clients need to be aware of who they are dealing with before wasting their money.
SIGN 1: They Don't Have A Web Presence

You probably thought I would focus on the publicist getting YOU coverage first.

Nope!

When I first started doing PR about three years ago, my first client was myself. I became the "guinea pig" for which kinds of pitches worked and which ones failed epically. Now, I have the art of pitching down to a science because I understand how news judgment is just as relevant to PR as it is to journalism.

Don't do business with a publicist who is afraid to be searched on Google.

SIGN 2: They Don't Have Any Specific Goals

Marketing 101 deals with selecting a target audience and knowing the difference between objectives, strategies, and tactics.

Sending a press release is a TACTIC and not a GOAL! (Objective)

Instead, a good PR person would choose a target of maybe 20,000 people to contact and hopefully 1,000 or 2,000 people who will follow through and use the product or service.

SIGN 3: You're Not Getting Anything Out Of It

If you are paying hundreds of dollars for service and not getting any return on your investment, you might need to find another publicist.