Startups, Nonprofits, Small Businesses: Too Early, To Late, Or Right On Time? When is My Brand Ready for PR?

By Jennifer L. Jacobson, AKA The Feral PR Consultant

Running a business or a nonprofit can be stressful and often requires the kind of long hours and sleepless nights typically associated with house-training a new puppy. There are many hats to wear, and more moving parts than a Rube Goldberg device. So it's no wonder that many first-time entrepreneurs, and even seasoned ones, often miss the signs that their brand actually needs PR. And it's tricky to tell whether a brand is too early, too late, or just right for PR. Fortunately, I've written some ground rules to help you know when to start, based on my 25+ years brand promotion.

"It's especially hard for first-time entrepreneurs to know if they're ready for PR because they're in the middle of the storm. They're trying to secure funding, find suppliers, and make repeatable sales. They're not studying news cycles and identifying potential stories and strategies to elevate their brand. They might not even understand how important that can be to their long-term growth or survival."

The Three Bears, upon discovering someone has been in their house! (Project Gutenberg)

Signs You're Ready for PR!

Here are some of the most obvious signs that your brand is actually ready for PR. You don't have to meet every single one, but if you meet at least two, you're probably ready for PR, and possibly missing out on waiting any longer.

Your competition is doing really well in the news/media/press.
If your competition is out there, day after day, making headlines, chances are, you're in the right space to do the same. This is a good time to find your brand's unique story and pitch it to reporters

"A lot of brands don't realize how much they could benefit from PR until they see their competition getting the news pickups and press mentions that they could have had."

You're attending, demoing, or speaking at industry events.
If you or someone from your organization is going to events to network, meet brand partners, find potential investors, or to have a booth, you're ready for PR. Depending on your stage, you might just need "a little PR" but any amount of PR you can get will help your brand.

You have at least one person whose job it is to get new customers or donors.
If your organization is looking for leads and building a sales or donor funnels, PR should be ready to support you. When done right, good PR can help prepare your target audience to, not only hear about, but be receptive to your team's pitch. This can lead to easier sales/donor conversions and pre-vetted leads. It also helps you stand out from the competition.

Sales or donor engagement is going "so well" that you don't think you'll ever need PR.
While this is a fine place for your pocketbook today, how will your brand be in a year when a similar organization enters your space? Will your audience remember to be loyal to you, or will they try out the competition? I've met many entrepreneurs with successful businesses who "don't need PR" because "business is good." I have yet to meet an entrepreneur who was doing so well they wouldn't also benefit from the authorship and placement of thought leadership articles in industry publications and national media outlets.

You've hired someone to "do your social media."
Your brand is taking off. If you're paying someone to engage with your audience, you're ready for PR. Even if you only do one PR story a quarter, it's time to start thinking about how to get the media to engage with your brand.

You're paying for advertising.
If you're allocating a significant amount of money to advertising your brand, you're ready for PR. Unlike advertising, public relations and earned media proves to the public that your brand can be trusted. Anyone can pay for advertising, but quality brands are vetted by journalists, reviewers, and reporters. While the results of PR can be much harder to measure than direct advertising engagement, the results are far more lasting.

​You know need new customers/donors ASAP, but they just aren't finding you.
​For many new businesses and nonprofits, they've launched, their friends have come to them, but then there's a die-off period where nothing seems to be happening. PR is a great way to kickstart public awareness of your brand and get new audiences to engage with you.
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You're launching in the next 6 months.
Your brand's launch is on the horizon and you're starting to get nervous and excited.  This is the time to start thinking about your brand's story. This is the time to start looking for a  PR firm or consultant to help your brand through the next phase of your journey.

You're Not Ready For PR If...

Sometimes brands aren't ready for PR just yet, and there are many good reasons to wait. Here are some of them.

​Your unlaunched brand has no way to benefit from public engagement right now.
Public engagement and relations costs real money and there's no sense spending it when there's nothing for the public to do/buy/donate to/know about. If your upcoming brand has nothing to launch in the near future you're likely in this camp. You're not even building a customer base or subscribing anyone to an email list. You're at the point where you're just figuring out a plan and building infrastructure. You're not ready now. When you're about 6 months out from needing customers, then you should start thinking about PR and interviewing PR firms.

You have no money for any kind of audience growth, marketing, branding, etc.
For whatever reason you have no money for any kind of marketing. You may be pre-launch. You may have hit a financial wall. You're hopefully working toward getting the funds as soon as you can. This is a dangerous place for any brand to be in for too long.

You're temporarily avoiding the public.
Your organization is going through a rough spot, scandal, merger, acquisition, or something that you don't need or want a lot of attention focused on. Sometimes it's better to say nothing until outside narratives calm down.

You're Late To The PR Game (but There's Still Time) If...

You've already launched.
On no! Your brand has launched already. You didn't do any PR outreach, and no one covered you. A launch with no PR is a missed opportunity. Getting PR attention works best when there's something "new" to pitch. Finding the "something new" is now going to be your challenge.

​Your established brand stopped doing PR and never picked it back up.
​Staying relevant in the public eye requires regular PR attention. I've met many brands who say things like, "we don't need PR. We were in Forbes." And I check and the article was from a decade ago. If you've been in the press, but all of your mentions are from 18 months ago, it's time to get back in the water and do it again. Your brand's competition isn't sitting on the sidelines. You shouldn't either.

You Missed the Story
Sometimes brands take "too long" to get in on a nationwide story. When a major news trends you sometimes have one week or one month to join in. If you miss your window, it can be hard to ask the press to re-engage with a story topic that was hot three months ago. News cycles move quickly. Find the next one and work toward it.

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About the Author

Jennifer L. Jacobson (AKA The Feral PR Consultant) is an author and marketing executive with 25 years experience advocating for emerging brands. Through cunning strategy, creative storytelling, and feral curiosity, she helps nonprofits, tech startups, niche consumer brands, theme parks, musicians, and artists get the attention they need to get to the next level. ​
​Ready to take your brand to the next level?

Apply for a free 30 minute PR consultation

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Note: The following article is 100% human-made. To learn how to "poison" the generative AI well and stop the theft of human-made work, click here and always remember to use potatoes! Stay feral! Together, we can have nice things and a better future. :)