Tips on finding a good charity PR agency

Finding a good charity PR agency can be difficult for various reasons, including those listed below.

1) Cost and value for money

  - in general, PR agencies charge around £250 - £1000 per day and expect clients to pay a retainer, which means you will probably have to commit to at least £1000 per month to take on a PR agency. Agencies and freelance consultants also vary greatly in what they will produce in a day, so it's worth checking what is included in a day's work to get an idea of which agency is offering the best value for money.

2) Sector experience

  - very few PR agencies specialise in the charity sector. Most prefer to focus on other, more lucrative sectors and only dip their toes into charity PR. This makes it hard to find an agency that has an in-depth knowledge of the sector.

3) PR expertise

  - PR is different to other professional services, such as accountancy or law, as there is no a standard route for qualifying as a PR professional. PR consultants come from a wide variety of backgrounds - some may have done a degree in a related subject (such as media studies or marketing) or moved into PR after working in other corporate job functions, while others are ex-journalists (eg. Tony Blair's spin doctor Alistair Campbell). Journalists offer a useful perspective on PR as they have seen it from the other side - they know what it's like receiving hundreds of press releases and having to choose which ones they'll publish. They also understand how journalists like to be approached and can package the story so it's more likely to generate interest.

At Acorn PR, we have ex-journalists on our team, we do not insist on a retainer and work exclusively with not-for-profit clients. Acorn PR charges an affordable daily rate and bills between one and two days for all the work involved in a press release (including research, interviews, sourcing photos, drafting, collating media contacts, distribution and follow up work). For more information, see our About us and Staff page.