There are times when we think that the job of publicists are simple, but in reality they do a lot more complicated things compared to some other professions. Duties such as getting press releases done and arranging interviews are just basic duties and involve more than just a phone call to an editor or a segment director.

In most cases, the tasks aren’t that hard. There are a lot of business owners who prefer to do it themselves because they have mastered the art of making good PR’s and have built good relationships with their corresponding publication of choice. BUT, if you are new and don’t have any idea on where to start, its best that you get a professional to do all the hard work. It is possible to learn the methods yourself, but you are putting the reputation of your business in danger once you make a wrong move. When you get a professional, make sure that he or she is very good.

Here are some of the reasons why it’s best to get professional public relation services.

Good publicists have the capability of keeping your business and products on top of the game. This is one of the basic knowledge publicists should learn. You are technically not part of the local media list of people to consider. By having a professional who has all the connections and a good reputation among various directors and editors, you can gain momentum in your PR marketing strategy.

You do not completely value the importance of responding directly. As much as you want your business to evolve, you just don’t have that much passion to guard your phone and emails for concerns from the press and local media. All journalists and publications keep deadlines strictly and if you are not there when they call you for a few adjustments, they will immediately replace your PR. This problem can also occur with a bad PR firm, so beware of such and screen your potential publicist thoroughly.

You have no idea of what journalists do. Knowing how journalists think and act is one of the best things you need to make sure that your PR gets published. Even though you are given the opportunity to get featured, a few wrong moves and you’ll miss the chance forever. A good PR should catch the interest of the journalist as well as the people. If you can’t get through the journalist, you will surely fail in attracting attention from the public.

You don’t have the skills to make a good PR story. A lot of former journalists who chose to become publicists have the tendency to consider their experiences in making PR’s. They may ignore certain angles just because it didn’t work for them in the past. Try to find someone who is not affected by this. A good PR should be coherent no matter how different the story and the advertised product or business is.

You may not know how to create a PR that fits the targeted readers and the medium. There are distinctions between releases that qualify for certain mediums. A good publicist knows this and would be able to translate a certain PR into several variations suitable for the medium you want to use. Also, you will need the professional opinion on the stories you choose in order to make sure that the content of the release is good.

There are exclusives and courtesies in the media world you may not know about. There are certain rules and considerations you have to take note in order to make good relationships with the media people. You may have the best story around, but if you give it to the wrong publication, or chose the wrong medium, it would be the end. There are times when you can’t associate with a certain publication because you are already connected to another. There are also instances wherein you need to choose only one TV segment to be involved with. A good publicist will help you with a lot of decision making throughout the PR campaign so you won’t endanger your reputation and your business.

There are even more things a publicist can do for the good of your business. There are a lot of great PR classes around that can help you make your own efforts good enough for the local media. But there are things that it cannot provide you as well. Its not as simple as you think it is and if you want to get your story to the national level, you will need to hire an experienced publicist to help you all the way.