10 Ways to Save on PR — New & Improved

A client asked why their press release bill was 3X higher than before. Though the answer was a no-brainer — they issued 1 press release one month and 3 the next — I was reminded that these days everybody is mindful of costs. In the future I’ll ask: “Are you sure you want to do this release?”

Fact is, not every “story” a client considers hot stuff is really worth a press release. Make sure it has genuine news value before pushing the button on editorial costs to create it, staff, management and customer time/resources to review & approve it, and wire service costs to distribute it.

What’s newsworthy? New products. Client wins. Major partnerships. Key new hires and promotions. Some awards, i.e., those sponsored by a key industry organization or media that can add luster to your reputation with customers — but first make sure that the entity bestowing the award will participate by providing a press release quote; if they have a special “award logo” you can post on your home page, even better. Just one caveat: Recognize that other media rarely run coverage on a competitor’s awards program. However, you’ll get the usual postings on Yahoo Finance, etc., and the award logo looks spiffy on your home page.

As long as we’re in penny-pinching mode, here’s an updated version of one of our most popular blogs, “10 Ways to Save on PR.”

1. Hire Agencies that Hire Journalists. Reporters are trained to ferret out a news angle quickly, make it compelling and produce results on deadline. Emphasis on speed and performance translates to lower billable hours.
2. Always Ask What it’s Worth. Product development teams tend to think that everything they invent is priceless. Counter by asking how much revenue it will generate. Allocate PR resources accordingly.
3. Focus on 3 or 4 Big Stories. Ask management to list the top stories they want highlighted in the coming 6 – 12 months. Focusing on “what’s big” ensures a consistent story line and strong image. Diffuse PR programs undercut the brand and waste hours.
4. Brief the Account Team. Many an hour is lost because the client pulled its agency into a project at the last minute with no prep. Time spent up-front leads to high-impact, cost-effective results.
5. Use “Straw Man” PR Plans. A bulleted one-pager on goals, news, message, spokespersons and media targets is easy/cheap to create, and gets the attention of the execs you design it for. Sir Winston Churchill refused to read any memo longer than half a page.  Your execs think the same way.
6. Shop Around for Wire Services.  This is the Internet Age.  There is no excuse for vendors that charge $hundreds/$thousands for electronic press release transmissions that cost them pennies. Look for better deals from new online distribution services — after you first check that they offer the same breadth of distribution and immediate turnaround as the Big Boys.
7. Distribute Locally – Never Nationally.  The only reason to use any wire service is to push your announcement to search engines.  The same SEs receive your release whether you distribute it with a local dateline (low price) or nationwide (high price).  Always go local.
8. Keep Press Releases Short.  A  press release should be a door-opener with reporters, not a warehouse of technical or marketing gibberish.  Keep releases short and simple — like a wire service story — to generate interviews and coverage and cut content creation and wire service costs.
9. Re-Purpose Content.  Writing is expensive. Editing is cheap. If a subject is hot enough for a white paper, it may also be good for a blog, podcast or bylined article. Maximize your mileage on content by adapting it to multiple vehicles. (As an example, this year Crawford has created 15 home page blogs for one client and placed nearly every one of them, with only minor changes, as a “guest blog” or byline with the customer’s targeted media.  Blog creation and external placement were included in the monthly retainer — the client didn’t pay one nickel extra.)
10. Keep Meeting and Reporting Time to a Minimum.  Take a close look at your line-item agency invoice. You may be amazed at how much time is devoted to weekly meetings and reports.  It shouldn’t take that long for the agency to say what they’ve done and plan to do. Streamline the report, too.  Fancy, colorful spreadsheets overflowing with tabs on last year’s results, this year’s editorial calenders, next year’s trade shows and other filler are a waste of time. The weekly report should focus on one thing: Key action items. Period.

Get to it, my fellow Scrooges. PR is always your best and most lasting form of promotion, marketing, and yes, advertising — and the cheapest, too.

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