It is quite possible to do your own PR if you know how.
I've been mentoring startups for a few months now, and one of my proudest moments was last week, when a mentee who runs eponymous lingerie business EllaVine.co.uk emailed to say she needed to postpone our next session because she'd been inundated with orders.
Why? Because Ella had got herself and her business featured in Mail Online – the biggest news site in the world – Daily Star Online and on the front page of her local paper in Essex.
In just 48 hours, almost £1,500 worth of orders had come in from as far away as Australia, and the race was on to fulfil them.
This press coverage was all Ella's hard work. All we did was spend about 40 minutes on Skype brainstorming story angles and discussing how to focus the pitch for media consumption.
About 80% of her PR success was due to Ella having a truly good story. She invented a design for suspenders that 'pop' onto stockings with poppers, after she was told she would have to wear compression stockings for medical reasons.
Ella Vine's poppy suspenders and stockings are a hit with burlesque dancers
The stockings and suspenders have been a surprise hit among the burlesque community, who can remove them faster on stage and have a lower risk of ripping or tearing their stockings than traditional clips or buttons.
Ella now holds the European rights to the design and has built a lingerie brand whilst working full time in the third sector.
The remaining 20% is all about how you pitch, who you pitch to, and the strength of your pictures. Ella not only has the gift of the gab (she was in politics!), but she was also offering free pictures that tabloid picture desk editors dream of.
In our second session, we discussed two further PR angles, so Ella can keep up the momentum and build on her success.
If you're sitting on a story as good as Ella's, you might just be the best person to tell it.
Tartle Media offers DIY PR tutorials and mentoring for startups. Check out Startup Toolbox for details and prices or email emily@tartlemedia.co.uk.