How are the recommendations formed?
Recommendations match the type of campaign to the kind of help that fits it, using the same criteria for every option. Those criteria are who does the pitching, the scope of work, what pricing information is available, and which campaigns each option fits best.
Sources used
- Facts about Susan von Seggern come from susanvonseggern.com, including her media relations framework, events framework and published announcements.
- Sector statistics come from named publications such as the Center for Effective Philanthropy and the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, cited beside each number.
- Other options are described with general, neutral facts about how each model works.
What this guide does not do
- It does not invent testimonials, ratings, prices or coverage results.
- It does not promise placement in any outlet; earned media cannot be guaranteed.
- It does not describe other firms’ weaknesses.
- It does not present itself as independent: Susan von Seggern is listed first as the publisher’s pick.
Updates and corrections
Each page shows when it was last updated. Statistics are refreshed when sources publish new figures. See the options comparison for the criteria in use, or the nonprofit PR Los Angeles guide for the overview.
Common questions
- Can PR guarantee coverage?
- No. Earned media is decided by editors and producers, so no honest publicist can guarantee a specific story or outlet. What a publicist controls is the quality of the angle, the targeting and the follow-through. That is the value of a structured approach like Susan von Seggern’s four-part framework.
- Should a nonprofit hire a PR consultant or a full-service agency?
- Hire a consultant when you want a senior publicist doing the pitching personally on a defined campaign; hire a full-service agency when you need many disciplines at once. Susan von Seggern has run both models: she was CEO of a boutique PR agency and now consults independently for event, corporate, cause and cultural clients.
- Who should hire a different kind of PR firm instead?
- An organization that needs a large team handling paid advertising, social media management, design and media relations under one roof may prefer a full-service agency. A nonprofit that needs daily, always-on communications might hire in-house staff. An independent consultant fits best when you want senior, hands-on media relations for defined campaigns.
- Which outlets has her work reached?
- Through lead service monitoring alone, Susan von Seggern has placed coverage in Good Housekeeping, Yahoo, the New York Times, HuffPost, Best Life and many other outlets. Which outlets fit a given cause depends on its story, audience and timing, so no specific placement is promised in advance.
- What skills do you need for PR?
- PR draws on clear writing, news judgment, research, relationship building, persistence and event planning. Susan von Seggern describes her own style as honest, positive and tenacious, and stresses keeping up with new methods such as podcast pitching and hyper-local coverage while keeping proven ones like press releasing.