PR often comes a little further down the list to traditional marketing and I’ve never understood this. For all the importance we put on it, marketing is still a business blowing its own trumpet. PR, in contrast, has that third party endorsement whether that’s from press or the public that makes it so much more credible...

1. Reasons You Should Be Starting PR Earlier Rather Than
Later
Paula Gardner of www.paulagardnerpr.com looks at why you should be getting to grips with PR as
soon as possible.
PR often comes a little further down the list to traditional marketing and I’ve never understood this.
For all the importance we put on it, marketing is still a business blowing its own trumpet. PR, in
contrast, has that third party endorsement whether that’s from press or the public that makes it so
much more credible.
If that hasn’t persuaded you, here are another bundle of reasons why it’s important for you to think
about PR and how it can help your business:
1. The earlier you start on PR and reaching out the media, the earlier you will start to see results.
PR can be a long process (many glossy publications work 3-4 months ahead) so you need to take
action as soon as you can if you want to reach these
2. Journalists, publications and broadcast media have their favourite sources for expert comment
and content and building up these relationships takes time. You have to prove your reliability as well
as expert knowledge and once they have their pet sources it is incredibly hard to get them to change
to you instead
3. Even if you’re not actively doing PR, your competitors are, and no doubt making the most of it
too
4. Even getting your PR off the ground take a while. You have to get in the mind-set of what the
publications want, get your photos ready, not to mention build a media list. A lot of this is donkey
work before you even get onto the fun bit. The sooner you get this over , the better
5. If you are looking to work with a PR agent or agency then it may take a while for you find the
right fit, and even when you have found them, they will need time to get up to speed with your
business and how they can best represent it

2. 6. If you are doing your own PR, you will pick up a whole host of new skills and your confidence
will increase dramatically. Surely this is something that’s better to start earlier than later?
7. Going through the process of devising and planning a PR campaign and strategy will inevitably
cause you to look at your business in a different way and perhaps ask you and your team questions
that you hadn’t considered before: a very valuable exercise and one that will help your business
grow faster.
Finally, PR can be a lot of fun. There’s nothing quite like a great review or interview for boosting both
egos and sales!