Do you need PR?

Maybe.

Do you need better life choices?

Possibly.

Have you ever wondered who actually needs public relations?

I have.

Mostly because people ask me all the time.

After 30 years in this business, I’ve come to the conclusion that many people who think they need PR actually need something else entirely.

Sometimes it’s a better website.

Sometimes it’s customer service.

Sometimes it’s a brand that doesn’t look like it was assembled during a lunch break.

And occasionally, yes, it’s better life choices.

For example, if your website still says “Under Construction” and it’s been under construction since the Obama administration, you probably don’t need PR, you need a web developer. If your customers are leaving one-star reviews because nobody answers the phone, you don’t need PR, you need to answer the phone. If your social media strategy consists entirely of posting blurry photos of office birthday cakes, we should probably address that before calling CNN. And if your company bio starts with “We are passionate about excellence,” I’m going to need you to sit down for a moment, but let’s continue…

Imagine for a second that tomorrow morning you wake up and discover you’ve landed a feature in Forbes. Amazing, right? Now imagine that article sends 10,000 people to your website, the same website that still says “Coming Soon.” Or worse, a website that appears to have been built sometime around 1994, shortly after the invention of the internet and just before anyone figured out fonts. The visitors arrive excited to learn more about you, instead, they discover three broken links, a contact form that doesn’t work, a stock photo of a smiling businessman holding a headset, and a copyright date from 2007.

Maybe your homepage proudly announces an event that happened last summer, or your “latest news” section features an exciting update from 2012. Maybe the “Meet the Team” page introduces employees who left the company during the first Trump administration. Which means your website has survived longer than several cabinet members. Suddenly publicity doesn’t feel quite as exciting. In fact, publicity is a little like inviting everyone over to your house. Before you send the invitations, you might want to make sure there’s furniture. One of my favorite questions to ask people is this:

“What happens if you get exactly what you’re asking for?”

It’s amazing how often that question changes the conversation. People tell me they want media coverage. Why? People tell me they want to go viral. Why? People tell me they want to be famous, to which I usually respond: “Have you met famous people?”

The truth is, attention isn’t always the prize people think it is. I once had a client tell me they wanted to be featured everywhere. Everywhere. Television. Newspapers. Podcasts. Magazines. When I asked what they wanted people to know about them, there was a very long pause. You should probably know why you’re getting attention before you start chasing it.

Another thing I’ve learned is that PR is often blamed for things PR cannot possibly fix.

PR cannot make people like a bad product.

PR cannot make a boring story interesting.

PR cannot explain why your nephew built your website in 2014 and then disappeared.

PR cannot make your boss stop hitting “Reply All.” Trust me. I’ve tried.

So who actually needs PR?

The inventor who accidentally solved a problem nobody realized they had.

The small-town bakery with a six-month waiting list and a cult following.

The guy restoring vintage typewriters in his garage who’s somehow become famous on TikTok.

The company doing something so unusual that people can’t stop talking about it.

The business that has spent years earning trust and deserves a bigger audience.

Those people benefit from PR because they already have something valuable, PR simply helps people discover it. The rest of us? We might just need a better website, a stronger cup of coffee, and a stern warning before replying to company-wide emails. Come to think of it, maybe that’s the next business I should start. Reply-All Prevention Services. Anyway, where were we?

Oh yeah, Publicity is easy, being ready for it is where things get interesting. 

But wait…Is Your Story Actually PR-Worthy?

Before you hire a publicist, pitch a reporter, or dream about your future Forbes cover, ask yourself these five questions:

1. Would I stop scrolling for this?

Be honest. If your story showed up in your own social media feed, would you click on it, or would you immediately move on to the video of a raccoon stealing dog food?

2. If a reporter called tomorrow, what would I actually say?

If your answer is, “Well, we’ve been in business for 12 years…” we may need to keep digging.

3. Am I solving a problem, or just existing?

Congratulations on launching a business. So did approximately 5 million other people. What makes yours interesting?

4. Would anyone tell a friend about this?

The best stories spread because people can’t help but repeat them. If your story sounds like every other story in your industry, that’s a clue.

5. If I landed on the Today Show next week, would I be ready?

Could people find you online? Does your website work? Are your links broken? Is your contact form secretly sending inquiries into another dimension? If you answered “no” to any of these questions, don’t panic, the good news is you probably don’t need PR yet. The even better news? You just saved yourself a lot of money.

Not sure if your story is PR-worthy? Let’s find out. Send me a note and I’ll help you uncover what’s actually interesting about what you do. (Hint: it’s usually not what you think.) Starr@starrhall.com 

What is your headline? Let’s start there!

– Starr Hall, Publicist. Storyteller. Reply-All Survivor