We’ve just sent out the first issue of a planned monthly newsletter. The aim, like any newsletter, is of course to bring our name and capabilities to the attention of prospective clients – no shame in that – but we have also set out to make it useful to those who read it.
It’s aimed at chiefly at smaller companies – those that may have only a handful of major events each year that they’d like publicised – and it also sets out to address the fears of those that have a poor view of public relations agencies. The number of tales that we hear of firms that have been stung by agencies charging them fixed retainers and seemingly to deliver very little is disconcertingly large. Monthly fee arrangements do work well for companies that produce a regular flow of announcements and other work, and help with budgeting and cash flow for both sides, but such a set-up is not suitable for the ad hoc projects that are typically generated by a smaller firm. For that reason we are keen to get the message across that we are delighted to quote fixed prices for individual press releases, copy writing or any other sort of marketing assignment. Simple as that – you have a job, we’ll give you a price. It doesn’t matter if a task takes longer than expected, once agreed the price holds good. We think it’ll be a valuable service, and has already seen us work with some innovative smaller companies over the past few months.
We are, as they say, in ‘interesting’ times – and we all need to be adaptable to come through it in one piece. In fact, times like these can create all sorts of unforeseen opportunities – the trick is to be out there looking for them. We’re optimistic about the future here at ClearLine, but we recognise that the shape of our business model may be rather different in a year or two’s time. Interesting times, indeed.
