Do you need a PR agency? Sometimes. Either way, learn to pitch for yourself.
We are not against PR agencies. EarnedDesk is a Sentral brand, and our own team brings in an agency for key seasons that need sustained focus instead of day-to-day reacting. What we also believe is that you should know how to pitch a journalist yourself, and that the relationships you build should stay yours.
What the reel gets right
Tracy Samantha Schmidt describes how the traditional agency model can look from the client's chair: a large monthly retainer, no guarantee of results, little view of where the money went, and no way to pick up where the agency left off.
She puts retainers at US$6,000 to US$20,000 or more a month, and the full bill at US$20,000 to US$100,000 or more. We use US$5,000 a month as our low-end comparison, so her range sits well above ours.
She is fair about the limits. Nobody can buy media coverage, so no agency can ethically promise it. Her complaint is about what follows. She argues the model is built to keep clients paying: updates about promising conversations with reporters, then a client who goes along until the budget runs out and finishes with no journalist contact list, no pitch templates and no training to do the work themselves.
Where we would take her points further
Her answer is to teach clients to do their own PR. We agree with the direction, and we built EarnedDesk to make it practical for a founder with a full day already. Here is how each gap she describes looks on our side.
| The gap in the retainer model | What you get with EarnedDesk |
|---|---|
| Little view of where the money went | You read five ideas every morning, each with an honest verdict of yes, maybe or not this one. The plan is US$199 a month and you can cancel any time. |
| No journalist contact list | Every idea names the journalist who wrote the story behind it, with links to their public LinkedIn and X profiles when the news source provides them. |
| No pitch templates | Each idea comes with an angle, a reason it is timely and a suggested format. You write the pitch yourself, in your own voice. |
| No training, and no way to pick up where they left off | You send every pitch from your own email, so the replies, the history and the relationships are yours. About 15 minutes a day builds the habit. If you want more help, Bootcamp pairs you with Sentral Media Group's media team for pitching support and training. |
We still hire agencies
An agency and EarnedDesk do different work. An agency can plan a campaign weeks ahead, run a sustained push and carry the follow-up for you. EarnedDesk reads the news each morning and shows you where to join a conversation that is already happening. One is planned and the other is reactive.
That is why our own team brings in an agency for key seasons that need focus, and works from the daily habit in between.
If you decide to hire one, ask for what the reel says clients usually go without before you sign: the media list, the pitch templates and a handover plan so you can pick up where they stop. Our guide to what a PR agency costs lists more questions worth asking.
Media literacy is the part you keep
A founder who understands how newsrooms work gets more from every agency they hire and more from every journalist they email. You learn what an editor needs, which stories deserve your opinion, and what a pitch has to contain to be worth opening. The daily verdict on each idea trains that judgment, because not every story needs your comment. Only the right one does.
That knowledge also protects you. Once you can read a journalist's recent work and judge a pitch, you can tell whether an agency is doing real outreach or only reporting on activity. Even if you never send another pitch yourself, you hire better.
A model where the relationships stay with you
The older arrangement keeps the relationships with the agency, and they leave when the contract ends. The model we are building keeps them with you. You get a daily brief, five ideas, the journalist behind each story and a pitch that goes out from your own email. When a key season arrives, you can bring in an agency for the push, and you already hold the history of every pitch you have sent.
Coverage still depends on editors saying yes. No tool and no agency can promise it. What you can control is whether the right journalists know your name when you do have something to say.
Common questions
Is EarnedDesk against PR agencies?
No. Our own team uses an agency for key seasons that need sustained focus. EarnedDesk is for the days in between, and for founders who want to hold their own journalist relationships.
Can I use EarnedDesk and a PR agency at the same time?
Yes. An agency can run a planned campaign while you use the daily brief to join stories as they break. Tell your agency which journalists you are already in touch with so nobody pitches the same person twice.
Will EarnedDesk get me coverage?
No tool can guarantee coverage, and anyone who does is overselling. Editors decide. EarnedDesk gives you the right story and the right journalist at the right time, and the pitch and the relationship stay with you.
How much time does it take?
About 15 minutes a day. Three of your five daily ideas typically take under 10 minutes to act on.
Do I need PR experience?
No. Every idea comes with the angle, why it is timely and a suggested format, so you know what to say.
Try EarnedDesk free for 3 days
Build the daily habit before your next key season. After the trial it is US$199 a month, and you can cancel at any time.
Card required, nothing charged for 3 days. Prefer to compare first? See pricing.