Big Gnome

In the world of web, this is old news, but we wanted to share it anyway. Our site was featured on Web Creme, a web design inspiration blog, and a few other similar sites last month. If you ever need a muse for web design, check out Web Creme, Unmatched Style, CSS Mania, and Most Inspired.

I’d like to tell this to some people, but I play nice. Not because their current firm isn’t good…I think businesses do not always need a PR firm to get great PR. Jason Calacanis, founder and CEO of Mahalo, and who also founded and ran both Weblogs Inc. and the Silicon Alley Reporter, wrote a solid guest column for GSATC last week, “How To Get PR For Your Start-Up – Fire Your PR Firm.”

As a public relations professional, is it bad that I agreed with Jason? He offers advice to CEOs of startups on how to secure and manage PR including: picking up the check, approaching smaller publications and web outlets; being “everywhere,” and being a human being. That’s my number one.

Being human isn’t putting the hard sell on a prospect every time you see them – it’s interacting, listening, and developing a rapport and relationship with that person, whether it’s a potential client, or a journalist or editor. We all want to be listened to, acknowledged and cared for. And, everyone has a need.

If a PR firm or person is not the right fit for that need, then you’ve “saved” some bank for something more critical. However, what if a business owner doesn’t know what to do and needs help? First, read Jason’s article. If you need more hands-on guidance, then maybe we should talk.