The five ways a PR agency will waste your time and money
By Paul Green
Because I train a lot of business owners in PR and marketing, I often like to do some impromptu market research, to see what problems people are worrying about.
At my PR seminar a few weeks ago I asked how many people had used a PR agency before. Half the audience put their hand up.
When I asked them to keep their hand up if they were satisfied by the results, it didn’t surprise me that most people dropped their hand.
PR agencies are their own worst enemies. They fail to set clear expectations for their clients, keep them fully up-to-date with developments on a weekly basis, and provide regular written reports on actions and outcomes.
There is a perception that buying PR is a risk. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Because the reality is, you don’t need a PR agency. You can get more free publicity doing much of the work yourself (just get someone else to help you come up with ideas and turn them into press releases for you).
If you really must take on a PR agency, watch out for these five ways they will waste your time and money:
Your PR agency is staffed by PR luvvies rather than former journalists: I may be a PR person now but I was a journalist for 13 years. And that’s why I get really annoyed when I meet PR “luvvies” who don’t understand what it’s really like to run a business. I’ve got no time for them. And you shouldn’t either. Effective PR people are results driven, focused people who understand what your business needs to achieve and what part they must play in your success. That’s why I prefer working with former journalists. They understand what journalists really want and cut through the waffle and fluff that PR luvvies add in.
Your PR agency charges lots of expenses and add ons: If you ask for something unusual that costs money to execute, fair enough. But doing your PR on a day-to-day basis shouldn’t incur unusual costs for your PR agency. Basics such as media monitoring should be included in a pre-agreed fixed fee.
Your PR agency doesn’t understand there must a direct link between your PR and your revenue – or know how to put it in place: The most effective PR is Direct Response PR. That’s where you have a system to turn media attention into leads and those leads into sales. Without a system like this you are wasting your time. Most PR agencies claim there’s no direct link between PR and revenue. They’re so wrong it hurts.
Your PR agency claims it’s all about contacts and press releases: Total nonsense. You don’t need contacts and press releases are just a useful tool. What you really need is a good story and the right tools to communicate it to journalists.
Your PR agency is stuck in the dark ages: I interviewed a potential employee last week who said his old PR agency focused only on getting clients into newspapers. Still a powerful way to get publicity. But if you’re going to do PR you must look at online coverage too. Many PR agencies talk about online PR but don’t really understand what it is.
Publicity Heaven is not a PR agency, but provides essential PR tools for business owners.
Our former journalists can come up with PR ideas for you, turn them into press releases, and distribute them to working UK journalists – all at a fixed price. Click here to see our great value press release packages.
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