This column is geared more towards DIY (Do It Yourself) PR, but I've received a lot of questions regarding the hunt for, and hiring of, a good publicist. I always advocate the hiring of a professional when you don't have the time, talent or inclination to do any job yourself. Publicity is no exception. Appointing a PR firm (or individual) can be expensive, so you want to make sure that spending your hard earned money will benefit you in best way possible.

When it comes to Public Relations you don't want to screw around. Your publicist is the liaison between you and the rest of the world, so it's vital to choose someone who's going to care and produce. This means someone with contacts, experience and a decent record - you didn't pick your instrument out of the dime bin and you should take the same care when choosing your PR.

Making The Decision

The first thing to consider when choosing a publicist is whether or not you're ready. An honest publicist will tell you if he or she can help you or not. You'd be amazed at the absolute crap I'm fed on a daily basis - even more so at how much of it comes from publicists.

So how do you know if you're ready? Use common sense and above all else - be honest with yourself. Delusions of grandeur aside, here are some real-world integers you can factor into your formula:

1. Number of gigs you play per week
2. Size of your audiences and fan base
3. Venue locations (are you playing several cities?)
4. CD sales
5. Amount of press you've gotten
6. Web site traffic

This isn't an exact science, so I'm not going to go into detail on the dynamics. I will say, however, if you're playing 3 gigs per month for 200 – 300 people at the same club and sold 100 copies of a CD that was reviewed by 2 webzines and your local free rag - you're not ready. On the other hand, if you're getting 2000+ visits per week on your web site and the band makes enough money to justify hiring PR, then you probably are ready.

Finding Your Publicist

If you've resolved to hire a PR person it's important to pick the right one for your act, but it's just as important to know a publicist's role before you start your search. Your publicist should be someone who has the time to work closely with you and your band - like another member. He or she is a middle-person between you and everyone outside of your fan base. A publicist creates and distributes press releases, designs and handles promotional materials, sets up interviews and show reviews, markets your music to media outlets and oversees pretty much everything else concerning your public image - all the while tracking anything and everything published about you in every medium.

Obviously you want someone with media contacts, but that's not enough. Music is subjective and publicists are human, so you'll want someone who really believes in your material and wants to help you market it. Your publicist should also have a good rapport with their media contacts - and this is the hardest one to research.

A PR firm's bread and butter is the contacts they've spent years building. They won't likely give up that information, but they should be willing to give you a client list. You can contact these people to find out if they were satisfied. Don't rely on testimonials because they can easily be fabricated. I've seen this before and it takes us nicely into a few things to watch out for.

Some Red Flags

Unfortunately, music is a business with more than its fair share of sub-standards and scams. In our quest to get out there, we're sometimes blinded by smooth talk and big promises. There's no tutorial I can possibly write to teach you how to identify and avoid being burnt in this capacity, but I can offer my best observations and hope you're able to apply them on every level.

The easiest way to check up on your potential representation is to do a web search for the company name. You will find some unsatisfactory comments - maybe even a lot of them, but don't use that as a disqualifier. There are a lot of artists that just didn't generate any interest and that's not the fault of the publicists if they did their job. PR can only get the word out - the rest is up to the media and the public. You'll want to weigh the good against the bad and see where they measure up.

Read the comments and understand what the artists are actually saying. Omit the ones that simply curse the publicist out and consider the ones that intelligently articulate their reasons for dissatisfaction. This will help you make a more educated decision. Often times the publicist will know who's posting bad press, so ask him or her about it. Then use your own judgment based on the answer. Things to watch out for are lack of communication, procrastination and a deficiency of results. We'll get into what constitutes results a bit later.

Don't fall for companies that claim to put your CD on the desks of top record execs and radio. They just can't do it. If they charge a flat rate for a fixed number of submissions to labels and radio - run like hell! If they make ANY kind of guarantee, they're most likely a scam.

A lot of these so-called companies will use trademarked logos on their web sites, offer a list of labels they work with, and/or display pictures of their "VPs" hanging with celebrities at Hollywood parties. These are all tactics they'll use to make themselves look more important than they are. You'll probably not find ANY good press about them, unless they wrote it - and then it'll be the same post on every site where there's bad press. A legitimate company doesn't have time to waste hunting these comments down and answering to them.

You may also see PR firms that a.) List no current or past clients on their sites, b.) List 20+ current clients on their sites or c.) List clients you can't find in a web search. As far as the first scenario, it should be obvious why you don't necessarily want to hire them; they don't appear to have clients. The second set-up is a publicist that can't give you a decent percentage of their time - depending on the size of the staff. Thirdly, if you can't find any of the clients on the Internet, then you have one of two situations: they're fabricated or the firms are just plain ineffective.

Lastly, look out for weird personal stuff about a publicist. I've heard lots of stories of behaviors unbecoming of a regular person, but even more so for the representatives. I'd steer clear of publicists who are regularly accused of any sexual relations with band members, or injected themselves into personal affairs.

The fact of the matter is that a publicist can't promise results and you can't really tell how good one is by what you've read. Unless they've represented or are representing name acts, hiring one is a leap of faith on your part. If you have a history of trusting the wrong people, you may want to consult the rest of the band or an entertainment lawyer.

Good Measure

You absolutely, positively can't measure a publicist's results by CD sales, web hits, or anything else that falls into a mathematical category. Any sensible company will tell you that it can't assure your level of success due to its campaign. PR firms can only do their best to put your name out there and hope it sticks. So how do you know if you're getting what you pay for?

As I've said before, a hired gun isn't doing anything for you that you can't do for yourself. The difference is that he or she has developed relationships with outlets it would take time and research for you to get to. But, that's where the results lay - outlets. If your press releases end up in webzines and print, your PR is working. If your CD is getting reviews (good or bad), your PR is working. If you're getting requests for interviews, your PR is working - get the point? You should get copy on any media that picks up on your band and therein are the fruits of your PR's labor.

What about the fee? You have to make the decision as to how much the exposure is worth to you. Most publicists operate on a flat monthly rate and they vary in cost - but they also offer different experience levels. PLEASE don't settle on a publicist just because he or she is within your price range - this could adversely affect your chances and it's a waste of good money!

You can hire a publicist based on performance as well, but the fees are hefty - $20k for a Letterman appearance and $25k for a spread in People Magazine, for instance. There's a good chance you're not ready to go that route yet. If you are, then kudos to you!

A lot of bands have fans that maintain their web sites, merch tables, street teams, etc. This may be a good place to seek talent if you decide can't afford professional PR. I've seen some incredibly well-done campaigns done by people with little or no experience, good writing skills and lots of moxy. Often times your fans will go to the ends of the planet to see you succeed and may end up becoming valuable assets to you and themselves in the future.

The Bottom Line

You're not going to make it without some form of promotion - talent scouts are all but a thing of the past in music. Publicity can be likened to fishing, in that you have to drop a line to get anything to bite. Whether you do it yourself or hire someone to do it for you, PR is going to play an important role in every step you take from here. Treat it like you do your music and you'll reap the benefits in a big way.