[Vancouver, CANADA] Describing itself as the Internet’s first true
do-it-yourself public relations company, PRMadeEasy.com has begun selling
PR tools and advice for a fraction of the cost of a consultant’s
hourly rate.
PRMadeEasy.com is the first major department of Reputations.com,
which is also newly-launched.
“The PR industry won’t be happy we’ve taken away the mystery that
translates
into expensive service fees for consultants,” said Wayne Hartrick,
chief executive officer of Reputations.com.
“We’re selling paint-by-numbers public relations that more than meets
the needs of small- and medium-sized businesses that can’t pay big
bucks to PR firms.”
While a senior PR consultant can charge up to a whopping Cdn $250
(US $375) per hour, the new services introductory subscription is
about Cdn $8 (US $12) a month. That modest price tag makes powerful PR
tools available to smaller businesses for less than the cost of s
single newspaper ad.
Subscribers receive access to more than 50 practical, step-by-step
templates, guides, and training courses assisting them to:
- Generate headline-grabbing news releases
- Avoid being misquoted in the media
- Create a crisis communications plan
- Talk to the online media
- Publicize special events
PRMadeEasy.com already has access to a market of more than six
million small-and medium-sized businesses through signed agreements
with business affinity programs, most of which are exclusive. For
example, a recent agreement with Business Savings Club includes
PRMadeEasy.com in MasterCard’s Business Savings Program.
“The US PR industry recorded $3 billion in fees in 1999 and is
growing at 30% a year,” said Hartrick, who founded the company after
15 years in senior public relations counseling with clients Canada,
U.S.A., Europe, and Asia.
“That is translating into a shortage of PR practitioners and soaring
rates at a time when business is beginning to recognize that
reputation is as important as physical assets.”
Reputations.com and PRMadeEasy.com intend to meet the needs of the
massive market of small- and medium-sized businesses presently not
serviced by the traditional PR industry.