Event or corporate news coming up? Tell Susan about it
FAQ
Corporate PR services earn media coverage for a company’s news, products, leaders and events.
Below are 49 questions companies ask Susan von Seggern about corporate PR, press releases, media relations, event PR, costs and getting started, plus common questions about PR careers. Each answer starts with the direct answer.
Last updated:
Corporate PR services are the work of earning media coverage for a company’s news, products and leaders. With Susan von Seggern, that work rests on four pillars: sustained media outreach, press releasing, lead-service monitoring and events. Each campaign is individualized, and newer tactics such as podcast pitching and hyper-local coverage sit alongside established methods.
Corporate media relations is the ongoing relationship between a company and the journalists, outlets and podcasts that cover its field. It means identifying the right target outlets and contacts, then pitching them for coverage over time rather than once. Susan von Seggern calls this sustained media outreach, the first pillar of her media relations framework.
A common way to group media communication is earned, paid, owned and shared media. Earned media is coverage journalists choose to run, paid media is advertising, owned media is your own website and newsletters, and shared media is social posting. Susan von Seggern’s work focuses on earned media: press coverage, podcast interviews and placements won through pitching.
PR and advertising do different jobs: advertising buys guaranteed placement, while PR earns coverage a journalist chose to publish. Susan von Seggern’s own website quotes Richard Branson: “A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front page ad.” Many companies use both, with PR supplying third-party credibility that ads cannot buy.
A press release service announces a company’s news to the media. Some services only distribute a release over a newswire; others also write it and send it directly to targeted journalists. Susan von Seggern’s press releasing uses an exclusive or pre-brief model, then email servicing to media, then a newswire posting if the budget includes one.
A public relations specialist manages how an organization is presented to the media and the public. Typical work includes writing press releases, building media lists, pitching journalists, preparing spokespeople and running press events. Susan von Seggern has done this work for more than two decades in Los Angeles, as a major label publicist, a boutique agency CEO and a corporate PR consultant.
Susan von Seggern does not publish fixed prices, because each campaign is individualized to the client’s news, timeline and goals. The fastest way to get a figure is to describe your company and announcement through her contact page. For context on one cost component, press release distribution can cost anywhere from $0 to thousands of dollars, according to Prowly.
Published prices vary widely. A 2026 roundup in Time partner content lists PRWeb at $110, EIN Presswire at $149, PR Newswire at $350 plus a $195 membership, and Business Wire at $760 and up. Prowly reports PR Newswire’s most basic option starting at $500 to $600. Prices depend on reach, extras and membership terms.
Often, yes. Susan von Seggern recommends Business Wire for wire releasing because of its respectability, and she has an annual deal with Business Wire that significantly saves her clients money compared with one-off releases through Business Wire or other wires. Ask about the current rate for your release when you contact her.
This site does not list fixed public relations packages. Susan von Seggern builds individualized PR campaigns around each client’s news, combining the pillars that fit: sustained media outreach, press releases, lead-service monitoring and events. If you want a defined scope, such as a single launch or a single event, describe it on her contact page and ask for a proposal.
Scope is the main driver: how many announcements, how long outreach continues, whether a newswire posting is included and whether events are part of the plan. Wire distribution itself is tiered; TNW describes one service where $299 per release covers 400+ outlets and $399 covers 500+ outlets. A single release with email servicing is a smaller scope than months of sustained outreach.
Both models are common in PR: retainers suit sustained media outreach over months, while project fees suit a single launch, event or release. This site does not publish Susan von Seggern’s billing model, so ask which structure fits your campaign when you get in touch. Sustained outreach, by definition, works over a longer stretch than a single announcement.
Campaigns combine up to four pillars. Sustained outreach targets the right outlets and podcasts. Press releases announce significant milestones through an exclusive or pre-brief model, email servicing and an optional wire posting. Lead-service monitoring answers journalist requests daily. Events add in-person moments, from media luncheons to conference speaking. The mix depends on your news.
It is a way to give a release more impact before it goes wide. In an exclusive, one outlet gets the story first. In a pre-brief, selected journalists see the news ahead of time so they can prepare coverage for release day. Susan von Seggern uses one of these models, then follows with email servicing and a wire posting if budgeted.
Lead-service monitoring means watching services where journalists post requests for expert sources, then pitching the ones that match a client. Susan von Seggern monitors five lead service feeds daily, plus emails and Substacks from journalists looking for leads directly. She has placed lead service coverage in Good Housekeeping, Yahoo, the New York Times, HuffPost and Best Life.
Yes. Podcast pitching is part of Susan von Seggern’s sustained media outreach pillar. Podcasts give executives and founders long-form time to explain their expertise, which is useful for corporate clients who want to be known as authorities in their field. Podcast outreach runs alongside pitching to print, online and broadcast outlets.
Hyper-local coverage comes from outlets focused on one city, neighborhood or community. For events and companies with a physical presence, these outlets often reach the people most likely to attend, buy or apply. Susan von Seggern uses hyper-local coverage alongside national pitching, which matters as newsrooms shrink: OBA PR reports 40% fewer reporters covering more beats.
Most distribution services publish within 24 to 48 hours, according to a 2026 TNW review of press release distribution services. Coverage from journalists can take longer, because reporters decide when and whether to write. That is why Susan von Seggern pairs releases with email servicing to targeted media and continued outreach.
Event PR can take many forms: producing large-scale celebrity and media events, small media introduction events such as cocktail hours or luncheons, event sponsorships, exhibiting or speaking at conferences, exhibiting at gifting events, and gift bag inclusions. Susan von Seggern has worked on hundreds of events, including festivals, conferences, concerts, fundraisers, author events and premieres.
No. Coverage cannot be guaranteed, because journalists and editors decide what runs. What Susan von Seggern offers is a framework built to improve the odds: sustained outreach to the right contacts, well-timed releases, daily lead-service pitching and events. Her lead service work has produced coverage in outlets including the New York Times, Yahoo and Good Housekeeping.
Susan von Seggern works with event, corporate, cause and cultural clients, with a particular focus on event and corporate work. Good fits are companies and organizations with genuinely newsworthy activity: a product launch, a milestone, a conference, an expert executive or a public event. In her own words, she works best with interesting, newsworthy and active clients.
Releases on Susan von Seggern’s website include technology, energy and media companies: Remotesome’s AI Transformation launch in October 2026, IceWind’s turbine deployment in Iceland in 2020, Bitcoin Association’s first Satoshi Nakamoto Scholarship in 2020, and KOCOWA’s December 2022 content announcements. Her portfolio also lists Rock Row, a green home development that sold out in five weeks.
It can be, when the startup has real news to share. Susan von Seggern’s portfolio includes early-stage work such as IceWind’s pre-product buzz campaign and Geoship’s equity crowdfunding campaign. Startups with nothing announceable yet may get more from lead-service pitching, where a founder’s expertise answers journalist requests, than from a full release program.
Yes. Cause clients are one of the four client types Susan von Seggern serves. Examples on her website include the launch of the Wiley book Redesigning Nonprofits with over thirty national launch events, the Sleep To Live Well Foundation partnership with Family Paths, and the Kids for Kenya campaign benefiting NextAid. This site focuses on event and corporate work.
No. Susan von Seggern is based in Los Angeles, but releases on her website cover clients datelined in Miami, Cambridge in England, Iceland, the Cayman Islands, San Jose and Tiburon. Her background includes globe-trotting corporate PR. Los Angeles clients also benefit from her local media network and hyper-local coverage tactics.
It depends on scope. An independent publicist like Susan von Seggern means working directly with the senior person who pitches your story, which suits most event and corporate campaigns. A larger agency can fit when you need many specialists at once, such as investor relations and paid media. Agency-based outsourced PR held 61.63% of the market, per Sprout Social.
Sometimes, but it is only one step. Prowly reports that 37% of journalists use a newswire every day and 30% use one occasionally, so wires do reach reporters. A wire posting does not tell any specific reporter why the story matters to their beat, which is the gap direct pitching fills. Susan von Seggern pairs wire postings with email servicing and sustained outreach.
Susan von Seggern works as an independent publicist and consultant rather than a large agency, so clients work with her directly. She has more than two decades of Los Angeles PR experience, a broad media and service-provider network, and a four-part framework that adds podcast pitching, hyper-local coverage and daily lead-service monitoring to releases and events.
You can. Value wires such as PRWeb ($110) and EIN Presswire ($149) are listed in Time partner content. Doing it yourself fits simple announcements with a modest goal. Hiring a publicist fits when the news is significant and you want an exclusive or pre-brief, targeted email servicing and follow-up pitching, which is how Susan von Seggern handles releases.
PR software gives you databases and outreach tools, but someone still has to write and pitch. Prowly offers plans starting at $258 per month, and Cision can cost thousands of dollars, according to Prowly. Software fits companies with an in-house communicator. A publicist like Susan von Seggern fits companies that want an experienced person doing the pitching.
Susan von Seggern is based in Los Angeles, where she has worked in PR for more than 20 years. Her LA work includes events across Hollywood, such as the Hollywood Carnival parade on Hollywood Boulevard and the SewDown show during Los Angeles Fashion Week, as well as corporate clients in and outside California.
Examples on her website include SewDown, the community powered show and sale for Los Angeles Fashion Week on October 19, 2024; the Hollywood Carnival Parade and Festival on Hollywood Boulevard; the DIY Convention at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel; and CONTACT in the DESERT in Joshua Tree, described in its release as the largest UFO conference in the US.
Use the contact page on her main website at susanvonseggern.com/contact-2. Include your company or event, the news you want to announce, your timing and any budget range. Every contact button on this site links to that same page, so you can start from whichever page you are reading.
Bring a clear statement of the news, the date it becomes public, your audience and who can speak for the company. Background such as leadership bios, product details, photos and past coverage helps. For events, include the date, venue and any confirmed talent or sponsors, as the SewDown and Hollywood Carnival releases on Susan’s website show.
Earlier is better, because pitching, pre-briefs and press lists take time and many outlets plan coverage in advance. Susan von Seggern’s event releases show the pattern: the SewDown announcement went out September 12, 2024 for an October 19 show. Contact her as soon as you have a date, even if details are still forming.
News tends to be newsworthy when it is new, specific and matters to a defined audience: a launch, a first, a record, a partnership, a notable number or an expert view on a current story. Susan von Seggern’s releases lean on concrete facts, such as Remotesome’s 650+ member referral network or the 157 mph winds at IceWind’s Iceland site.
Start with the tactic that matches what you have. A dated milestone calls for a press release. An expert leader suits lead-service monitoring and podcast pitching. A gathering suits event PR. Ongoing visibility needs sustained media outreach. Susan von Seggern combines these four pillars into one individualized campaign for each client.
Her LinkedIn profile at linkedin.com/in/susanvonseggern has career details. In summary: more than 20 years in Los Angeles PR, including work as a major label publicist, CEO of a boutique PR agency, time in political PR, globe-trotting corporate PR, and consulting for event, corporate, cause and cultural clients.
A release with no pickup usually needed a stronger angle, a better list or follow-up. Susan von Seggern’s model addresses each: an exclusive or pre-brief before release day, email servicing to targeted contacts, then sustained outreach and lead-service pitching afterward. A wire posting alone publishes the news but does not pitch it to a specific reporter.
Start by monitoring coverage and social mentions regularly. Sprout Social reports that only 37% of respondents knew where negative sentiment around their brand was most concentrated, down from 56% in 2024. Knowing where the conversation sits helps target outreach. Ask Susan von Seggern what level of monitoring fits your campaign when you get in touch.
It can be, because newsrooms are smaller: OBA PR reports 40% fewer reporters covering more beats. That makes relevance more important, such as matching stories to what journalists wrote in the last 30 to 90 days, as OBA PR recommends, and answering requests reporters post themselves, which is what Susan von Seggern’s lead-service monitoring does.
Graduates commonly work in media relations, internal communications, PR agencies, corporate communications departments, marketing, investor relations and nonprofit communications. Many start as coordinators or assistants and move into specialist and manager roles. Susan von Seggern’s own path shows the range of the field: music publicity, agency leadership, political PR and corporate PR.
Media relations managers build relationships with journalists, pitch stories, prepare spokespeople, handle press inquiries and track coverage. In a corporation they often also write releases and coordinate announcements with leadership. Susan von Seggern performs this role for clients from outside the company, combining sustained outreach, press releases, lead-service monitoring and events.
It can be, but it is not the only route. Many publicists enter PR from journalism, music, politics or marketing and learn through practice. What employers and clients look for is evidence: writing samples, media relationships and placements. Susan von Seggern built her career across a major label, a boutique agency, political PR and corporate PR.
PR can be demanding, because it runs on deadlines, news cycles and outcomes that journalists, not publicists, control. Launch days, events and breaking news concentrate the pressure. Planning reduces it: agreed milestones, prepared spokespeople and releases drafted well before release day. Susan von Seggern describes her own style as honest, positive and tenacious.
Pay for PR professionals varies widely by role, city, industry and seniority, and this site has no salary data of its own. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes current median pay for public relations specialists and for public relations managers in its Occupational Outlook Handbook, which is the most reliable place to confirm current figures.
Entry-level PR roles can be competitive, especially at well-known agencies and in media cities such as Los Angeles and New York. Strong writing, a portfolio of published work and real media relationships help candidates stand out. Internships, agency assistant roles and freelance publicity for events or nonprofits are common ways into the field.
Neither is better; they suit different people. HR manages employees, hiring, policy and workplace issues. PR manages how an organization is seen by the media and the public. People who enjoy writing, pitching and news cycles tend to prefer PR. People drawn to people management, benefits and employment rules tend to prefer HR.
Senior leadership roles usually pay the most: chief communications officer, vice president of corporate communications, and agency principal or CEO. Specialties tied to high-stakes moments, such as investor relations and crisis communications, also tend to pay well. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports higher median pay for public relations managers than for specialists.
Back to the corporate PR services overview.
Tell Susan von Seggern what is coming up, when it goes public and who you want to reach. Event and corporate inquiries come first.
