My advice? Hire a PR professional who has experience in journalism — one who knows what a good story is, and can write it so it’s print ready. In today’s shrinking newsrooms, that’s more appreciated than most editors would admit.

Thanks for the column, Freddy. Well done as always.

But no, I didn’t mean to imply that experience/ education / relationships aren’t worth anything. Sometimes they can be quite valuable. I just don’t put doing your own PR on the same level as practicing medicine on yourself or defending yourself in court. That doesn’t seem so crazy to me.

Freddy’s Comment: You’re right — defending yourself in court and running a public relations campaign are not on the same level. At the worst in a civil case, you might lose some money. At the worst in PR, you might destroy your entire brand.

There might not be the equivalent of a bar association validating the credentials of PR people, but there are these measures of competence called university diplomas, customer testimonials, case studies and track records. How to pick a PR pro is the topic for an entirely different article, but let’s not belittle the level of skill and professionalism evinced by the top practitioners of this craft. I’ve seen what a great PR person is capable of, and they’re worthy of praise and every dollar of investment.

I’m sure every professional likes to think that there’s no way anyone could get by without them. Money managers are sure they’re always better at managing your portfolio than you could be. The data doesn’t support that though. On average, you’ll do worse with a pro than buying an index. Of course, everyone likes to think that they’ll pick the good money manager and do better. But someone’s a sucker for hiring the pro, paying the fees, and doing worse, right?

So, what’s the data on PR firms? On average, will my sales go up 10% if I hire a PR firm, but only 5% if I do it myself?

Anyway, sorry for the rant. I just get riled up when people tell us entrepreneurs what to do. ;)

Freddy’s Comment: Basically you’re saying that experience, education and established relationships aren’t worth anything, and you’d rather spend time away from your core business to go schmooze the media. All the power to you. I’ll look for your success story in the New York Times. ;-)

No offense — I do think your piece provides good food for thought and contributes to the debate — but you do seem to go further than Walzer. She shares her experiences and successes and tells people how they might try the same. You tell people that doing your own PR is like “serving as your own lawyer in court.”

No, I don’t think so.

Freddy’s Comment: Just as there are bad lawyers and bad doctors, there are also bad PR professionals. I’ve met a few myself. If your doctor does a poor job, you don’t suddenly turn to self treatment. (At least I hope not.) You find another doctor.

Walzer’s success story was anecdotal based on her unique situation; I can also find anecdotes of people who successfully served as their own lawyers in court. For most entrepreneurs, whether in court or on the media circuit, the best route is to hire experienced professionals. I think my comparison rocks, but that may just be the four cups of coffee talking.

Thanks for the blog, Freddy. And helping me to appreciate the pros.

OK, with any luck, right and better, too.

Jeff Yablon