Free buyer guide · no email required · 78 pages
The Startup PR Buyer’s Handbook.
Decide whether and when to hire PR, what it should cost, who to choose, and how to manage and measure the work.
Written by PressFriendly, a PR agency.
Choose a starting point
Do we need PR yet?
Test your timing, evidence, internal capacity, and business need before spending.
Who should run PR?
Compare founder-led, freelance, fractional, internal, and agency models.
What should PR cost?
Set a realistic budget and understand what different scopes and billing models buy.
How do I choose an agency?
Build a shortlist, inspect the proposed team, compare evidence, and check references.
How do I manage the first 90 days?
Set responsibilities, approvals, reporting, and early review points before work begins.
Why is our PR stalling?
Separate provider, company, strategy, and external causes before changing course.
Buyer tools and checklists
Browse the full handbook
78 pages across 11 sections
01
Start Here
02
Decide Whether and When to Invest
- What is PR? Reputation, relationships, and mediaUnderstand what PR does and how paid, earned, shared, and owned channels differ in practice.
- PR vs. marketing, ads, growth, and contentMatch the business problem to PR, marketing, advertising, growth, or content support and keep shared work clear.
- What PR can and can't do for your businessSet realistic expectations for the attention, understanding, and business decisions PR can support.
- What does PR-ready mean when you are hiring support?Clarify what a provider means by PR-ready and distinguish readiness for media outreach from other useful PR support.
- Do you need outside PR help yet?Decide whether to wait, handle communication internally, buy a project, or hire ongoing PR support.
03
Define What You Need to Buy
- What can a PR agency actually do for you?Understand the work an agency can handle, the senior advice you are buying, and the inputs your team still supplies.
- Is social media, community, and content part of PR?Clarify whether social, community, and content work is included, who handles each task, and what costs extra.
- How to set PR goals and KPIsChoose a clear PR goal and a few useful measures, with a practical startup example and realistic attribution limits.
Core Services
- What is media relations and press coverage?Understand what a media-relations agency does, what reporters control, and how your team can help.
- What does a product launch or announcement service include?Compare launch support, agree on company inputs and timing, and check what happens if the date slips.
- What is thought leadership (bylines, exec visibility, podcasts, speaking, awards)?Choose worthwhile articles, podcasts, speaking opportunities, and awards based on expertise, audience, time, and cost.
Specialist Services
- What is digital PR and link building?Compare online PR and link-building services, judge relevant results, and recognize paid-link and search-policy risks.
- What is analyst relations (Gartner, Forrester)?Decide whether analyst relations matters to your buyers and distinguish briefings, paid advice, evaluations, and reuse rights.
- What is funding and financial communications?Communicate financing and transaction news with the fact checks, legal review, and timing the event requires.
- What is crisis communications?Choose communications support that works with the incident team and helps affected people get accurate, useful updates.
04
Choose the Operating Model
- Agency vs. freelancer vs. fractional vs. in-house hireCompare founder-led, freelance, fractional, agency, internal, and hybrid support by the work and company capacity.
- Large agency, boutique, or solo operator: which delivery model fits?Compare large firms, boutiques, and solo operators through their delivery teams, capacity, and fit for the assignment.
- Do you need a PR specialist in your industry?Compares domain fluency, regulation, technical accuracy, audience specialization, learning, and conflict risk.
- How to scale a startup PR programIdentify the missing work or skill, add suitable PR capacity, and assess whether the added cost and coordination helped.
05
Hire a PR Partner
Build and Screen the Shortlist
- How to build and screen a PR agency shortlistBuild a manageable shortlist using a short brief, relevant recommendations, and early checks on budget, availability, and fit.
- When to disqualify a PR agencyDefines integrity and control failures that disqualify an agency and separates them from trade-offs that require diligence.
- Conflicts of interest and competing clientsDiscuss meaningful competitor overlap, confidential information, competing demands, and protections that fit the assignment.
Evaluate the Finalists
- What questions should you ask in an agency pitch?Use five practical questions to understand an agency's approach, delivery team, relevant work, company time needs, and commercial terms.
- How to read a PR case study criticallyAssess a case study's relevance, the agency's contribution, the actual work, and the limits of the claimed result.
- How to verify a PR agency through referencesLearn what working with the proposed team was like and whether a comparable client would hire them again.
06
Price, Scope, and Contract the Work
- What PR costs: ballpark budgets before you take meetingsChoose an affordable project or ongoing PR scope, understand quote drivers and extras, and use published prices with their limits.
- What should the scope of work spell out?Agree on the services, team involvement, company inputs, reporting, costs, changes, and exit before work begins.
- How PR agencies charge: retainers, projects, hourly work, and publication-based feesCompare retainers, projects, hourly work, publication-based fees, and hybrids by the assignment and total commitment.
- How to evaluate a guaranteed-coverage claimIdentify what a coverage promise actually guarantees, who controls publication, and whether the result is independent, paid, syndicated, or financially guaranteed.
- How to evaluate contract terms, renewals, and notice periodsUnderstand the contract term, renewal, notice, remaining payment, and handover before committing.
- What do you own or retain when a PR contract ends?Clarify the materials, usage rights, company accounts, and usable files retained when the engagement ends.
- How to negotiate a PR agency contractNegotiate the scope, team, price, flexibility, rights, and risks that materially affect the engagement.
07
Onboard and Manage the Engagement
Company Assets and Decisions
- What should a press kit and boilerplate contain?Choose useful company facts and assets, check accuracy and permissions, and keep the press kit current and accessible.
- How to assign PR responsibilities and decision rightsClarify the company and agency contributions, main contacts, approval boundaries, and handoffs that keep work moving.
- How do approvals and sign-off work day to day?Set clear approvals for facts, quotes, and sensitive information while letting routine agency work proceed.
Working Relationship
- How to set a communication and reporting cadenceChoose useful check-ins, written updates, progress reports, and urgent contact arrangements that fit the work.
- How response time affects PR opportunitiesHandle real media deadlines with clear requests, realistic turnaround, backups, and accurate answers.
- What inputs a PR program needs from the companySupply useful company information, customer permissions, expert access, and timely decisions without doing the agency's job.
- How to review pitches and quotes without strangling themGive focused feedback on facts, permission, meaning, and voice while leaving room for the agency's writing judgment.
Spokesperson Responsibilities
- What is media training and do you actually need it?Shows how to choose proportionate interview preparation and recognize training that improves a spokesperson's judgment.
- On the record, background, off the record: agree terms firstExplains interview terms, agreement before disclosure, and the limits of confidentiality and editorial control.
08
Measure and Diagnose
- Which PR metrics actually matter vs. vanity metrics?Offers a manageable way to judge relevant work, coverage quality, and audience response without inventing ROI.
- Why is AVE (advertising value equivalent) discredited?Explains why advertising-price estimates do not measure PR value and what useful evidence to discuss instead.
- How do you tie PR to revenue? The attribution problemShows how to connect PR with a buyer journey while distinguishing observed contribution from revenue causation.
- What does a good monthly PR report look like?Recognize a useful report that explains work, results, learning, setbacks, and next priorities without overstating business effects.
- What are the signs your PR has stalled?Recognize repeated delivery and learning problems, discuss real examples, and agree on a practical change.
- How to diagnose a stalled agency engagementDiagnose weak progress by discussing agency work, company inputs, shared working habits, and changed circumstances.
09
Correct, Renegotiate, or Exit
- How to run an agency performance reviewRaise a performance concern with concrete examples, hear the agency's view, and agree on changes and a review date.
- Should you pause, renegotiate, or end the engagement?Choose whether to pause, change, or end an engagement based on the problem, trust, and contractual commitment.
- How to offboard a PR agency and transfer the workTransfer materials, account access, live opportunities, and scheduled work with a clear final date and next contacts.
10
Buy PR for Common Startup Moments
- How to buy crisis communications support during an incidentHelps you find relevant, available crisis support and integrate it into the response team without delaying urgent action.
- How to scope PR support for a launch out of stealthExplains how to scope support around the actual reveal, company readiness, launch changes, and useful follow-up.
- What should funding-announcement PR include?Helps you decide why to announce a round, coordinate accurate materials, and buy the right support with appropriate counsel review.
- Should you invest in the founder's personal brand?Helps you decide whether founder visibility fits the audience, expertise, and time available, then choose useful support.
- How to buy and manage PR across multiple marketsExplains how to prioritize markets, evaluate local support, coordinate work, and handle relevant cross-border constraints.
11
Buyer Tools and Reference
Buyer Tools
- PR agency RFP template (copy-paste)Share a short company brief and request a proportionate proposal covering approach, team, scope, progress, and price.
- How to compare PR agenciesCompare PR agencies on their understanding of your business, working team, approach, relevant examples, scope, cost, and fit.
- PR readiness checklist: are you ready to hire?Check purpose, company availability, facts, time, and budget before committing to ongoing PR support.
- Kickoff brief template for your new agencyUse a short shared brief to explain the company, goals, evidence, contacts, approvals, and first priorities.
- Monthly PR reporting templateUse a concise reporting format for meaningful results, completed work, learning, next priorities, and company input.
Evaluate Strategy and Story Development
- How to evaluate the stakeholders in a PR recommendationHelps you identify the people who matter to a PR decision and judge whether the audience choices improve the plan.
- What research should inform a PR recommendation?Explains what research a sensible PR recommendation needs and when a larger research project is worth buying.
- What should a credible startup PR strategy contain?Shows how to recognize a clear startup PR strategy, with a concrete example connecting the business problem, audience, evidence, and work.
- What are messaging and positioning, and what's your role in them?Explains what useful positioning and messaging look like and how founders can contribute facts and productive feedback.
- Newsworthiness: what makes a startup story worth coveringHelps you judge whether a development matters to an outlet's audience and recognize when another channel is a better fit.
- Does your startup have enough stories to sustain PR?Shows how customer experience, data, expertise, and developments can support PR between announcements, and when to narrow the program.
- What should a useful PR calendar show?Explains how a simple PR calendar can coordinate upcoming work, company inputs, and important timing changes.
- PR ethics: accuracy, disclosure, and editorial independenceCovers accurate claims, honest disclosure, confidentiality, editorial independence, and a practical response to mistakes.
Evaluate Media Relations
- How to evaluate a proposed startup media strategyHelps you evaluate media choices through audience fit, representative examples, and clear differences between earned and paid opportunities.
- How to judge a PR agency's reporter researchShows how to judge representative media contacts for current relevance without taking over the agency's research.
- What does a responsible media pitch look like?Uses a fictional pitch comparison to show clear, relevant outreach and explain the client's role in checking facts and providing access.
- Press release vs. media pitch: when to use eachExplains when to use a company release, a media pitch, or paid wire distribution and what each can accomplish.
- What does responsible media follow-up look like?Explains helpful media follow-up, the value and limits of relationships, and how to distinguish corrections from editorial disagreements.
- How news timing works: embargoes, exclusives, and reactive PRCompares embargoes, exclusives, advance briefings, and reactive commentary so you can judge timing, tradeoffs, and company readiness.
- What should happen after earned coverage publishes?Shows how to share useful coverage with relevant audiences while preserving its meaning and respecting reuse rights.
When outside help is the next step
Bring your readiness, staffing, scope, or current-agency question to a free introductory PR call with PressFriendly.