Career Development

Intro to Independent PR: Part One with Robert Udowitz

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According to the 2008 PRSA Membership Value Perception and Satisfaction Study, 6 percent of PRSA’s members are “independent practitioners”. This month’s “Intro to” series features two such professionals who once worked in agency, corporate and association PR and have since joined the ranks of independents.  Robert Udowitz, Principal at RFP Associates, LLC, spoke with Mike Greenberg of the New Professionals Section about life as an “indie”.  Check back on Friday, February 25 for part two of the series with Susan Rink, Rink Strategic Communications, LLC.

 

Mike:  What was your PR experience like before you decided to practice as an independent?

Robert:  I am entering my seventh year as an independent. Immediately prior to going out on my own I was working at a trade association as its director of communications. Before that I had been in corporate communications and at a couple of PR agencies in Washington, DC, and New York City.

Mike: What do you offer clients that an agency doesn’t?

Robert: In most cases I offer my clients equal if not more experience through a more economical and efficient model.  I’ve done crisis counseling, community relations work, media relations, analyst and investor relations, writing and event planning.  I have even created an animated video—from concept, to writing the script and directing the shoot!

Mike: What is your work environment like?

Robert: My work environment is as professional as it was when I had an employer. With all the modern technology I use, the only disadvantage I have is the lack of an office tech support team at my beck and call. 

Mike: What types of non-PR abilities and interests are needed in order to succeed as an independent practitioner?

Robert: You must possess some simple financial management and business skills.  In particular, when you start out you need to determine how much to charge clients. Then you need to tabulate your monthly expenses so you know how much money has to come in to afford your lifestyle. From there it’s critical that you devote time each month toward bookkeeping and billing your clients. Your business skills are critical to building a client base, marketing yourself, and maintaining a steady income.

Mike: What are the greatest challenges an independent faces?

Robert: The work will always find you, but there’s never enough time to market yourself for those times when you need more work. As long as you stay networked and are always talking to your colleagues and meeting new people, you will find work the moment you have the time to take on something new.

Mike: What has surprised you the most about being an “indie”?

Robert: How capable I was. In the confines of office work there isn’t much time to create opportunities that go outside of your assignments. And, sometimes you observe that the decisions that are being made aren’t as productive as they should be. As an indie, you have an ability to accomplish more and there’s a degree of pride when you are able to look back and see all that you have done.

Mike: What advice would you give a new professional who wants to work as an independent?

Robert: You have to have experience, and preferably a diverse amount of experience.  The more you’ve exposed yourself to professionally before you go out on your own, the more of an asset you’ll be for your clients.

Robert UdowitzRobert Udowitz, Principal, RFP Associates, LLC

Over the course of his 25-year career, Udowitz has worked at public relations/public affairs offices, corporations, and trade associations. He recently began RFP Associates, LLC (www.rfpassociates.net), a PR agency search firm specializing in the request for proposal process for companies seeking a public relations agency. Prior to creating RFP Associates, he operated RUdowitz Consulting, a PR/PA consultancy based in Washington, DC, where his clients centered in the financial industry but included commercial real estate companies, trade associations, a magazine publisher, and government contractors.

Udowitz has been a member of the Board of the Public Relations Society of America’s National Capital Chapter for the past four years and on the Board of the Independent Public Relations Alliance for more than five.

FREE Webinar: Breaking Into International PR

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Ever thought about working overseas or wondered what it might be like representing foreign clients at a major agency? Have you considered working at the U.S. headquarters of a foreign-based company or an international non-governmental organization (NGO)?

Geared towards students, new professionals and more experienced pros looking for new horizons, this free webinar will provide expert advice on how to take advantage of the growing opportunities in the global practice of public relations.

The webinar will be led by David Gallagher, senior partner at Ketchum and president of the company’s European operations. Based in London with dual U.S. and U.K. nationality, David is also chairman of the British Public Relations Consultants Association and a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and the PR Guild of the City of the London. He sits on management boards for Ketchum companies in the U.K., France, Spain and Italy, and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s global advisory council on news, media and entertainment and sits and its global health advisory board. He is a journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.

Date: Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Time: 1 p.m. Eastern
12 p.m. Central
11 a.m. Mountain
10 a.m. Pacific
Duration: 60 minutes

To register & more info: http://bit.ly/eyPDWQ

Nine factors that determine news value by Brian Camen

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Since this blog is dedicated to new PR professionals, it’s always important to be reminded of the basics. The following are nine factors that determine news value (originally posted on my blog, The PR Practitioner).

As PR practitioners, we need to craft our pitches with the following factors in mind:

  1. Timeliness – Don’t pitch or send a news release about an event that happened two weeks ago. New news is always better than old news (unless it’s a source pitch about an anniversary of a major event)
  2. Proximity – Don’t pitch your news to the locals in Detroit if your company is located in Arizona and has no Detroit ties.
  3. Usefulness – People love practical tips and lists.
  4. Prominence – Even though cable news shows are always looking for sources, they would still rather have the leading expert (or someone famous) on to comment as opposed to someone with an uneducated opinion on the subject.
  5. Impact – The more people your story affects, the better.
  6. Novelty – The weird and odd stories are always an easy sell.
  7. Conflict – We love to hear about turmoil, fighting and the little guy defeating the big guy.
  8. Human Interest – People are interesting.
  9. Sex Appeal – Things that are trendy sell easier.

In your opinion, which of the above are the more important factors that determine news value?

Intro to series… Non-profit government PR by Kallie Bonnell

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Working at a non-profit (NFP) in the government space, especially in our current economy, is a daily exercise in doing more with less. Being creative and knowing how to leverage your product or service is very useful as budgets and state appropriation dollars continue to decrease. Creativity, thinking outside of the box, is an absolute must.

The daily work environment varies from organization to organization; but, in general, employees of NFPs are passionate about their work. The idea of a NFP, at its core, is not to turn a huge profit, but to provide a quality product/service, or successfully fill a need, while covering its budgetary costs. For this reason NFP salaries are typically on the low end, however truly enjoying and valuing your work, and non-monetary benefits, frequently found at NFPs, compensate for lower pay.

One of the major pluses of NFP work is that you can try your hand at almost anything. You might have to play squeaky wheel as the new pro in the office, but in my experience there is abundant opportunity to get a variety of PR, marketing, fund raising, and integrated communications experience. A wide skill set will make you very valuable employee to any NFP organization.

Finding a job in the NFP world is very possible. First, determine what you’re interested in. Next, identify NFPs in that industry and start researching. Try your local united way for a list of NFP organizations, or see if your city or state has a not-for-profit news website. Other avenues include your state employment websites. Check the internet for databases operated by your state, Indiana has, Indiana Career Connect, your state likely has something similar.

Kallie Bonnell is the Communications and Marketing Manager for a governmental body that provides technology solutions to higher education institutions. Kallie has worked in various public relations and marketing positions for the past five years.

FREE Event! Going Pro: Taking Your Social Media Skills to the Business Setting

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As new PR pros we are familiar and comfortable with using social media tools. But we also understand that it’s not all about knowing how to post a Facebook or Twitter update. How can we reach audiences in a way that delivers results, and proves the business value of social media? What’s the best way to authentically engage with customers, clients and key influencers?

During our free brown bag teleseminar next Friday, Sept. 10 at noon EST, we will explore how to effectively leverage our fluency in social media into online business communications.

Scott StrattenOur presenter Scott Stratten, or @unmarketing as his more than 60,000 Twitter followers know him, is a leading expert in viral, social, and authentic marketing which he calls “un-marketing.” His recent Tweet-a-thon raised more than $16,000 for child hunger, in less than 12 hours. One of his viral marketing movies was chosen by the Chicago Bears as their biggest motivator toward their Super Bowl run a few years ago, while another made their client more than $5 million in seven days. Scott has recently appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Mashable.com, USA Today, CNN.com and Fast Company.

In true social media fashion, Scott and I did a 140-character interview on Twitter to preview his upcoming presentation.

@ssiewert: How do you define “un-marketing” and how is it different from marketing in the traditional sense?

@unmarketing: UnMarketing is building relationships with your marketplace so when they have a need to buy, they choose you without hesitation

@ssiewert: What is social currency?

@unmarketing: It’s what you invest into a social media platform. Your time, knowledge, emotion. The more you give, the more you get

@ssiewert: How can young pros/Gen Y apply their years of personal experience online to achieve business objectives?

@unmarketing: You have the advantage, since you’re already online. Be yourself, have an opinion but also be humble. You don’t know everything yet 🙂

@ssiewert: What’s your #1 piece of advice for successfully engaging with audiences online?

@unmarketing: Consistent conversation presence. Meaning, it needs to be habitual and engaging. Not just speaking sporadically.

@ssiewert: What new SM trend or tool are you most excited about?

@unmarketing: To be honest, we need to look at how to do “now” better, instead of what’s next. Stop looking at bright shiny objects (I do this too much)

@ssiewert: Your new book, UnMarketing, releases soon. What inspired you to write it and what can we expect to learn?

@unmarketing: Years of frustration with hypocritical marketers, marketing the way they hate to be marketed to. This is the opposite 🙂

Next Friday grab your lunch, invite some peers to share your phone line and join us for an engaging open discussion. This session is free for New Professionals Section members and PRSSA members. Register now.