Part 2: Little successes make big news

You are targeting small and medium-sized businesses that are traditionally ignored by big PR firms. Can you tell us how PRSource.com is particularly suited for them and why a full-service PR shop could not meet those needs?
I believe a big shop could meet their needs for a cost but PR firms typically ignore these groups because "picking the low-hanging fruit" is labor intensive and generally the dollars are much less than going after the few big companies.

Small to medium-sized businesses represent the vast majority of commerce in America and around the world meaning they have the same needs as the big companies, only on a reduced budget or in a more targeted fashion. PRSource.com cuts out the fluff and allows you to pay simply for the services you want, nothing more.

Are there common PR opportunities that small and medium-sized new businesses miss?
Little successes can add up to big news for a company. Hiring employees, signing a new contract, winning an industry award; all these add up to keeping your company's name out in front of potential customers. I have a saying that "if you don't tell your news, who will?"

Is there a rule of thumb as to how a new small to medium-sized company should budget for PR?
Unfortunately, there is no PR budgeting rule of thumb. PR budgeting is reliant upon the executive team's aggressiveness. Typically, PR is a line item in the marketing budget and all too unfortunately ends up competing with the advertising budget for dollars.

The true value of PR is evident when a journalist writes a good story about your company in a targeted publication. That third party endorsement is far more valuable than any ad you purchase.

The PRSource website is great for small and medium sized businesses that like the a la carte approach, but what about if they choose to move up to full service PR campaign?
PRSource.com serves a great niche for those who want a quick PR campaign geared toward a specific event or specific news.

The types of enhanced services you would receive from a PR firm over PRSource.com would include long-term planning, strategic media relations, one-on-one media pitching opportunities, media training, marketing research, and other services. It is very important to remember when looking at PR firms that bigger does not mean better.

Many times smaller PR firms will give you such a better price for their services and the net results are similar if not better since they need your business much more. Don't be overly impressed with the mahogany desk and high tech gadgets in a big PR firm; you will be paying for them.

Have there been any surprises regarding the clients served by PRSource.com?
Yes, we are finding that we are serving a lot of nonprofits. I originally expected them to represent only 20 percent of our business.

And what percentage of your business have they turned out to represent?
About 40 percent.

I think it is great that David has taken the time and energy to teach PR people how best to approach him with stories and ideas. His approach is truly revolutionary among journalists and probably saves him a good deal of time in the long run. I think we may see more established journalists doing this in the future, however I do not see this as a trend among day-to-day "beat" reporters any time soon.

Finally, you recently did a major PR launch for an Internet project called "Cure Cancer With Your Computer" for your client, the National Foundation for Cancer Research and Intel. Can you tell us a little about that?

The project involves donating your unused computer time for cancer research. Many small businesses are logging on to download their computing time for a philanthropic cause. You can get more information at http://www.Intel.com/cure.

How successful has the project been so far?

At this time, 475,000 computers have been logged on and donating time. This represents 39.8 million hours of donated processing time.

I hope those hours just keep going up, and thanks for your insight!