Reach Machines » Calacanis Gets it Right (For the Most Part)

August 24, 2008

Calacanis Gets it Right (For the Most Part)

Filed under: PR, Starting a Company, advertising, marketing strategy — bstraley @ 11:02 pm

I am not a recipient of his email newsletter. Nevertheless, I found a recent message he sent out cross-posted here. It’s essentially a “how-to” for startups to generate buzz among the online cognoscenti for little more than a few appetizer and drinks tabs and shameless, relentless plugging to anyone who will listen and has a reason to care.

As someone who’s in the midst of the zany process of building a business from scratch (not doing it alone mind you), I have to say just about everything he recommends hits home. Effective PR is all about conveying your passion for your brand and not kidding yourself that you’re building a brand. Your passion for your product/service is ultimately what will make or break your message provided you can string a few coherent sentences together about who you are, what you do, and why the audience should care.

My only criticism of his post is how it dismisses the value a PR firm can add. Startup life is all about making trade-offs and understanding you can’t have it all, all at once. It’s an iterative process of focusing on the next milestone while at the same time maintaining the momentum (and cash on hand) to conquer the next. This is where a good PR professional/firm can come in handy and deliver a ROI. There are some PR folks out there that can and do deliver fantastic results that would be difficult/impossible for a startup CEO to do on his/her own. I’ve had first hand experience when it works (NYT Business, BusinessWeek, etc.) that would have been difficult/impossible had it not been for the PR professional with which I was working at the time.

That said, outside PR help should be a considered purchase and its up to the PR pro/agency to prove they’ve got a sound strategy and the ability to deliver before you make any commitments of budget. Be open to it, but be careful. It can be a waste of time and money if you’re not.

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