Between PR and advertising, many online businesses today prefer PR services because of two good reasons: one, PR is cheaper than advertising; and two, PR services are lasting in effect when it comes to promotions. But we could also argue that given PR as a cheaper commodity and effective in promotional services than advertising, still, many companies cannot afford to have its services.

This is especially true with small-time and starting companies. They would initially ask for prices of PR services as they would want to have a full blast of professional PR boost up in their companys brand. Many of these companies despair on such very expensive price for its services. Thus, the end result is that many just redirected the PR task to themselves.

But then again, these companies are looking in the wrong places. There are actually a lot of cheap PR services that could provide professional PR work for a company. Well, if you are one of those looking for a professional PR, but a little tight in budget, I suggest that you do a little research first before deciding to assign the task to yourself.

As I was saying from the very beginning, PR could do your company a lot of advantages beyond what you could ever imagine. Being small and/or new company, I emphasized such recommendation because PR definitely could place you in time in line with your strong competitors. Among these advantages is that PR could rightly present your companys name in front of the media people. Getting into the medias nerves is quite very crucial for a new and unknown company because first impressions with them are always a lasting one. Thus, right from the start, you have to make a good impression by implementing the right campaigns. And PR does just that. In addition, PR has a lot of media contacts that could put you on track to becoming known publicly. In short, professional PR services know the ins and outs of generating publicity with their secret recipe of doing the job better and in the fastest way possible.

So, how much does a PR campaign really cost? Todd Brabender, president of Spread The News Public Relations, Inc. conducted an informal survey among 102 entrepreneurs asking the same question and has gathered various price ranges:

11 percent thought a professional PR campaign would cost $10,000 or more per month

32 percent thought it would cost $5,000 to $10,000 per month

39 percent said $3,000 to $5,000 per month

12 percent guessed $1,000 to $3,000 per month, and

6 percent thought a professional PR campaign would cost less than $1,000 per month.

Brabender, as a PR professional himself, admitted that you could actually get a PR campaign with all of these prices. But the real question would have to be towards its result. Of these prices, how much publicity could you actually get? According to Brabender, Its true that the more you pay, the more you get. But getting the most publicity/PR exposure doesnt mean you have to get most expensive PR agency or specialist.

As I said before, companies always look at the wrong places for PR services. This is because a lot of these companies do not know exactly who to choose. The rule of the thumb is to align yourself with a PR business that best reflects your business size. When your initial concern is budget, then look for small PR firms. Usually, these firms offer prices within your reach. However, when you prefer to have a bigger firm, remember that signing up with the big firm doesnt mean youll necessarily get an experienced associate working on your campaign. There is actually a list of packages that you could have. These packages are a breakdown of how much professional work you would want in your company. Brebender shares these billing fees he got from a friend:

Interns/Junior Executives bill at $75/hour (very little, if any professional experience)

Account Executives bill at $100 to $125/hour (1 to 3 years of professional experience)

Senior Account Executives bill at $125 to $200/hour (multiple years of professional experience, agency decision makers.)

Be able to compare these prices with other PR firms before actually deciding which one suits your needs.

Another thing you should take to note is that you have to compare the PR tools of these firms. There are a lot of cheap PR services but then many of these firms do not have the appropriate PR tools and might not give you what you have wanted in the first place. If you are after a cheap PR service, then you should at least see the PR tools they offer, which are likely the same PR tools of the bigger firms:

updated media lists/contacts;

personalized media distribution capabilities;

professional clipping/tracking services to get copies of each of your media placements (articles, tapes from TV/radio shows)

the intangibles of expert communication/media relations skills and professional pitching prowess.

Choosing a professional PR firm gives you all the advantages. But be careful in choosing because it is still a waste of money and time when you have landed on a firm that does not really give your company good service.