What do people ask most about nonprofit PR in LA?
Most people ask what PR costs, how coverage is earned, and whether it fits their organization. Jump to a topic using the list on this page, or start with the nonprofit PR Los Angeles guide for the overview.
What nonprofit and cause PR is
What is nonprofit PR?
Nonprofit PR is the work of earning media attention for a cause, charity or mission-driven project so donors, volunteers and partners hear about it from trusted outlets. Susan von Seggern, a Los Angeles publicist, does this through sustained media outreach, press releases, lead service monitoring and events, adapted to each cause client.
What is a PR strategy?
A PR strategy is a plan that decides which stories to tell, which outlets and contacts to reach, and which tactics to use over a set period. For causes, Susan von Seggern builds strategies from four pillars: sustained media outreach, press releasing, lead service monitoring and events, weighted to the news a client actually has.
What does a PR person do?
A PR person finds the newsworthy angles in an organization, identifies the right journalists, producers and podcasters, pitches them, and supports the coverage that follows. Susan von Seggern also writes and services press releases, monitors five lead service feeds daily for journalist requests, and plans media-facing events such as luncheons, launches and fundraisers.
What are the four types of PR?
There is no single official list, but four commonly named types are media relations, community relations, corporate communications and crisis communications. Susan von Seggern organizes her own media work into a different four-part framework: sustained media outreach, press releasing, lead service monitoring and events. That framework is built for generating coverage in the current media landscape.
What are examples of PR?
Examples of PR include a press release announcing a nonprofit partnership, a pitched interview on a podcast, a reporter quoting an expert after a lead request, and a media cocktail hour before a benefit. Campaigns announced by Susan von Seggern include the Sleep To Live Well Foundation and Family Paths partnership and the Redesigning Nonprofits book launch.
What are some examples of PR activities?
Common PR activities include building media lists, writing and sending pitches, drafting press releases, posting releases to a newswire, answering journalist lead requests, booking podcast interviews, and running events. Susan von Seggern’s event work has included festivals, conferences, concerts, fundraisers, author events and premieres, plus gifting events and gift bag inclusions.
What is the difference between PR and advertising for a nonprofit?
Advertising is paid space your organization controls; PR is earned coverage that an editor or producer chooses to run. Richard Branson, quoted on Susan von Seggern’s site, put it this way: a good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front page ad. PR cannot guarantee placement, but earned stories carry outside credibility.
Pricing and budgets
How much does nonprofit PR cost in Los Angeles?
Susan von Seggern does not publish fixed prices; each PR campaign is individualized, so cost depends on scope. The main drivers are how many of the four pillars you use, how many events are involved, whether a newswire release is budgeted, and how long outreach runs. Ask for a scoped estimate through her contact page.
Does Susan von Seggern offer a public relations package?
She does not advertise off-the-shelf public relations packages. Campaigns are individualized for event, corporate, cause and cultural clients, mixing sustained media outreach, press releasing, lead service monitoring and events. That lets a small nonprofit pay for a focused launch while a larger organization adds events and wire distribution.
What makes a PR campaign cost more or less?
Cost usually rises with campaign length, the number of announcements, event production and paid distribution. It falls when a campaign is tightly focused on one milestone. For wire releases, Susan von Seggern has an annual deal with Business Wire that she says significantly saves her clients money compared with one-off releases there or on other wires.
Is a newswire release worth the money for a nonprofit?
It depends on the milestone. A wire release adds broad distribution and a public record, but personal email servicing to targeted journalists often does the heavy lifting. Susan von Seggern posts releases to a wire only if budgeted, and recommends Business Wire for its respectability, using her annual deal to lower the cost.
Do PR people get paid well?
Pay in public relations varies widely by role, city, seniority and whether someone works in-house, at an agency or independently. This guide does not publish salary figures. For current national wage data, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook lists pay for public relations specialists and managers.
Can a small nonprofit afford a publicist?
Often yes, if the scope is narrow. Because Susan von Seggern individualizes campaigns rather than selling fixed retainers, a small nonprofit can focus on one fundraiser, one launch or one partnership announcement. Lead service monitoring and targeted email servicing can also produce coverage without event or wire costs.
How the work gets done
How does Susan von Seggern generate media coverage?
She uses a four-part media relations framework developed over more than two decades in PR: sustained media outreach including podcast pitching, press releasing, lead service monitoring, and events. Newer tactics such as podcast pitching and hyper-local coverage are combined with tried and true methods like press releasing and steady pitching.
What is sustained media outreach?
Sustained media outreach means identifying the outlets and contacts that fit a client and pitching them consistently over time, not just on launch day. In Susan von Seggern’s framework it includes podcast pitching. For causes, it keeps a mission in front of editors between big announcements.
What is lead service monitoring?
Lead service monitoring means watching feeds where journalists post requests for sources and pitching the ones that match a client. Susan von Seggern monitors five lead service feeds daily, plus emails and Substacks from journalists. She has placed lead service coverage in Good Housekeeping, Yahoo, the New York Times, HuffPost and Best Life.
What is podcast pitching?
Podcast pitching is pitching a spokesperson as a guest on podcasts whose audiences care about the topic. It is one of the newer tactics Susan von Seggern uses alongside traditional outreach. For nonprofit leaders, a long-form interview gives room to explain a mission in a way short news items rarely allow.
What is hyper-local coverage and why does it matter for causes?
Hyper-local coverage is news from neighborhood and community outlets that serve a specific area. Susan von Seggern lists it among the latest PR tactics she uses. For a cause, local readers are often the people most likely to attend a benefit, volunteer or give, so community outlets can matter as much as national ones.
What is the most widely used PR tool?
The press release, delivered by email and often posted to a newswire, remains one of the most widely used PR tools, alongside the personal email pitch. Susan von Seggern announces significant milestones by release using an exclusive or pre-brief model, then services the release by email and posts it to a wire if budgeted.
What is an exclusive or pre-brief press release model?
In an exclusive, one outlet gets the story first in return for running it prominently. In a pre-brief, selected journalists see the news before it is public so they can prepare stories for release day. Susan von Seggern uses one of these models for significant milestones, followed by email servicing.
How does event PR work for a fundraiser?
Event PR uses an event as the news hook and as a place to meet media. Susan von Seggern has developed an events PR framework through hundreds of events, including fundraisers, festivals, conferences, concerts, author events and premieres. Tactics range from large celebrity and media events to small media luncheons, sponsorships and gift bag inclusions.
Who it is for
Who does Susan von Seggern work with?
She consults for event, corporate, cause and cultural clients. Announcements on her site span nonprofit foundations, philanthropy book authors, charity fashion events, documentary crowdfunding campaigns, conferences and technology companies. This guide focuses on cause work, with priority on fundraising events and corporate cause partnerships.
Does she work with corporate clients on cause campaigns?
Yes. Corporate PR is part of her background, including globe-trotting corporate work, and corporate clients are one of her four client types. Her event PR framework includes event sponsorships, exhibiting or speaking at conferences, and gifting events, which suit companies supporting a cause. See the corporate cause partnerships page for details.
Is this a fit for a gala or benefit event?
Yes, events are one of her four tactical pillars and fundraisers are among the hundreds of events she has worked on. Example: SewDown, a 2024 LA Fashion Week show and sale she announced, named the C.O.A.L.I.T.I.O.N for the Homeless and Families in Need as charity recipient for all proceeds.
Can she help with a nonprofit book or documentary launch?
Yes. She announced the launch of Redesigning Nonprofits (Wiley), which included over thirty national launch events, and the DETOX documentary on technology addiction with its Indiegogo campaign. Her portfolio also lists crowdfunding and release campaigns for the documentary Mantra: Sounds Into Silence. Author events and premieres are part of her events framework.
Does she handle crowdfunding campaign publicity?
Her portfolio includes crowdfunding work, such as the Mantra documentary crowdfunding campaign and Geoship’s equity crowdfunding campaign. She also announced child actor Jonathan Morgan Heit’s Kids for Kenya campaign on Crowdrise, which set out to raise a minimum of $11,000 for NextAid. Results for each campaign vary.
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.
Compared to alternatives
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.
Is a publicist better than in-house communications staff?
Neither is better in every case. In-house staff know the organization daily; an outside publicist brings established media relationships and campaign focus. Susan von Seggern brings more than two decades of PR experience and a broad media and service-provider network, which can complement a small in-house team during big moments.
Is earned media better than paid ads for a cause?
They do different jobs. Paid ads guarantee placement and timing; earned media offers third-party credibility but no guarantee. Individuals gave over $374.40 billion, 67% of U.S. giving, according to Double the Donation, so reaching individuals through trusted coverage is one reason causes invest in PR.
What is a public relations specialist versus a publicist?
The terms overlap. Public relations specialist is a broad job title covering communications planning and media work; publicist usually describes someone focused on earning press coverage for a client. Susan von Seggern describes herself as a publicist and PR consultant whose work centers on generating media coverage.
What is a PR agent?
PR agent is an informal name for a publicist who represents a person, organization or event to the media. The job is to pitch stories, handle press requests and help coverage happen. Susan von Seggern has worked as a major label publicist, an agency CEO, in political PR and in corporate PR.
Local and practical details
Where is Susan von Seggern based?
She is based in Los Angeles, where she has worked for more than 20 years. Her LA work includes events such as the Hollywood Carnival Parade and Festival on Hollywood Boulevard and the DIY Convention at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which gives her local media and venue context for LA fundraisers.
Does she work with nonprofits outside Los Angeles?
Yes. Cause announcements on her site include a Sleep To Live Well Foundation partnership in San Jose, Redesigning Nonprofits launch events in San Francisco and Corte Madera, and a campaign benefiting NextAid’s work in Kenya. Many of her outlets, such as national lead service placements, are not tied to one city.
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.
How long has Susan von Seggern worked in PR?
More than two decades. Her career includes work as a major label publicist, CEO of a boutique PR agency, time in political PR, corporate PR work around the world, and a return to consulting for events, corporate, cause and cultural clients. Her LinkedIn profile has career details.
What is PR work in Bigg Boss?
In conversations about the reality show Bigg Boss, PR usually means teams that promote a contestant online to build fan support during the season. That is a form of personal publicity on social media. It is not part of the cause, event and corporate media relations work described in this guide.
Getting started
How do I start a PR campaign with Susan von Seggern?
Start with her contact page at susanvonseggern.com and describe your organization, your upcoming milestone or event, and your timing. From there a campaign is individualized around the four pillars: outreach, press releasing, lead service monitoring and events. There is no published intake fee or package to choose first.
What should I prepare before contacting a publicist?
Prepare a short description of your mission, the specific news or event, dates, spokespeople, any notable partners or sponsors, and photos or video you can share. Clear, verifiable facts make pitching faster. Her site describes the clients she takes to new highs of media coverage as interesting, newsworthy and active.
How far ahead should we plan fundraiser publicity?
Earlier is better, because many outlets plan features weeks or months ahead and event listings need lead time. Announcements on Susan von Seggern’s site often went out several weeks before an event, such as SewDown’s September 12 release for an October 19 show. Confirm the right timeline for your event with her directly.
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.
What counts as news for a nonprofit?
News is something new and specific: a launch, a partnership, a notable speaker or headliner, a milestone, a report, or a timely response to a current issue. The Sleep To Live Well Foundation’s first community partnership and a 64-page family guide release are examples of cause news announced on Susan von Seggern’s site.
Common problems
What if our nonprofit has no news right now?
You can still earn coverage. Lead service monitoring matches your experts to journalists already asking for sources, and podcast pitching offers interview slots that do not depend on a launch. Susan von Seggern uses both, and her lead service work has produced placements in outlets including Good Housekeeping and the New York Times.
What if journalists do not respond to our pitches?
Silence is common and usually means timing or fit, not rejection of the cause. Sustained outreach, rather than a single blast, is why Susan von Seggern frames media work as ongoing. Refining the angle, targeting different contacts, and adding a hyper-local or podcast route often changes results.
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.