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If you are one of the millions of businesses looking to gain local exposure for your business, corporation or product then you are probably facing the difficult decision of finding the right PR firm. What can make this decision difficult is that there are so many different kinds of public relations firms out there. Some are local, some national. Some retainer based, some project based. So how do you know which PR firm will be the best fit for your company's publicity objectives ? Here Marsha Friedman, Chief Executive Officer of EMSI, a national and local public relations firm, will share her first 5 tips on how to choose the RIGHT PR firm to get your message the media attention that you desire

1. Find a firm that specializes in your industry. "For example," says Marsha ," if you have a technical B2B business then you should find a national PR firm that specializes in Business to Business . If the PR firm regularly works with companies that are in your industry, they will be familiar with how to convey your message to the media." Also, they should be able to get started right away . "If you choose a local PR firm who is unknowledgeable of your business , be prepared for them to spend some time researching your industry in order to get a full handle on your topic" adds Marsha . And guess who will be paying for the PR firm's research time: you! "Most firms charge a costly monthly retainer, so the longer it takes for them to get started the more money that will be coming out of your marketing budget. Just to give you an idea the minimum is around $3,000 per month, the industry average is approximately $5,000 per month and the large PR firms can charge anywhere from $20,000-30,000 per month."

2. Choose a firm that specializes in your medium of choice. If you are ready to hire a PR firm, then chances are that you have given a bit of thought as to what medium you want to use. "By the time you start looking for a PR firm you will probably have a good idea if you want to use talk radio, television, newspapers or magazines to get exposure for your topic. It is useful to know that not all PR firms work with all types of media," says Marsha . "A whopping 95% of firms specialize exclusively in print." So if you are interested in doing radio or television you need to find a firm that specializes in these mediums. "The best way to find out," says Friedman, "is to ask the PR firm if they specialize in electronic or print media !simple as that!"

3. Ask the PR firm to supply sample campaigns. "Before choosing a PR firm, request to see some sample public relations campaigns that the firm completed for their clients," says Marsha Friedman. "This is a great way to find out how hard the PR firm works for their clients." Make sure to ask what the duration of the campaign was. "For example, if they show you a PR campaign that has one huge newspaper placement (such as USA Today or The New York Times) and the duration of the campaign was 2 years - beware . "If it took 2 years to get one major newspaper , based on the minimum retainer level, you would have paid a massive $72,000 for that one media hit." Sample PR campaigns are a great indicator of the effectiveness, especially the cost effectiveness, of a PR firm's work.

4. Find a pay-for-performance PR firm! The costly monthly retainer can drain a tight budget , so it is good to know that there are other options out there. Marsha says, "There are a handful of PR firms out there that get paid based on their performance or per project. EMSI is a pay-for-performance firm and our clients love it . The reason is that they only pay for the media exposure that my PR firm actually secures for them. So instead of paying a monthly fee, they pay for the results that my PR firm obtains for them." By choosing a pay-for-performance firm you are truly making your PR firm put their money where their mouth is!

5. Speak to the PR firm's clients. When you are choosing a national PR firm it is very important to ask to speak to some of their clients, past or present. When you get them on the phone, ask the PR firm's clients what sort of media exposure they received and how long it took for the PR firm to obtain it for them. Marsha adds, "Great questions to ask are; How well did the PR firm's staff interact with them? Was the firm interested in making their campaign a success? How successful were the pitches and press releases? These answers will give you valuable insight as to how the PR firm will handle your campaign."

There you have it ! The first five tips on how to choose the right PR firm for you! Stay tuned and Marsha Friedman will share her next five tips in Part 2. If you would like to learn more about gaining national and local media exposure for your company, product or service, without the financial burden of monthly retainers, Marsha is here to help . Feel free to contact her directly at mfriedman@emsincorporated.com or visit her firm online at http://www.emsincorporated.com. As a PR expert Marsha Friedman has the ability to get the media attention that you desire without breaking your budget with costly monthly retainers .