By Chris Artis
As discussed today, publicity lists are among the most essential tools a publicist has to promote a new book. But how much do they cost?
Peter Grand, Inc. charges a one-time fee for installing the Publicity Assistant 2000 program. The amount is based on a per user basis and can run from $6,500 per user to as little as $800 per user (the more users, the lower the fee per user). All updates to the program are free to clients. He includes two 90-minute training sessions with the program’s installation, and there is an online guide for users. Peter Grand’s hourly fee for support is $200, though he says that most companies incur zero support costs per year. He can be reached at 914-576-9418 or petergrand@petergrand.com. His website is www.petergrand.com.
Ruth McFarland, SVP and Publisher of Cision declined to offer specific price quotes but told me that costs for the company’s products “vary depending on the number of users and the premium data requirements.” The owner of one independent PR firm told me they pay around $3000 per year for the Cisionpoint Small Business Edition. Cision can be contacted at 800-621-0561 and its website is http://us.cision.com/.
Other companies offering subscription based media list services (such as Cision), include PR Newswire’s MEDIAtlas (www.prnewswire.com) and MyMediaInfo (www.mymediainfo.com)