White-Label PR Best Practices
A large chunk of our PR business comes from our white-label partners. Here's what those relationships look like, and how we've seen them work best for mutual benefit.
Becoming a White-Label PR Partner
To become a partner is easy. Just email us.
These partnerships are open to other PR firms, marketing agencies, and other organizations and individuals who have groups of individuals and companies they want to resell our PR to.
White-label PR partners receive discounted pricing and access to special offers.
Working With Us As a White-Label PR Partner
We strive to keep the relationships with our partners straightforward and simple:
You tell us what you want
We tell you if we can get it for you
If we can, we bill you upfront
We strategize together on headlines and articles
We get the placement
Challenges As a White-Label Partner
Here are challenges we've seen arise in these partnerships from time to time, and how to avoid or overcome them.
1. Billing upfront. We bill upfront, so if you, as a white-label partner, bill on the tail end, you've got to float the cash in between. We recommend you bill upfront, just like we do. This mostly gets rid of issues like the client not paying for what they bought, although not 100%.*
2. Deliverable details. We know how it goes. No matter how many times you tell a client what they don't want to hear, they won't hear it.
For example, with rare exceptions we never promise that an article will include a photo, a link, or more than one mention or quote. No matter how many times we explain this to the client, there are still times when we'll get the article published and the client asks, "Where's the photo?!" When we point to the contract that says "No photo included," they say, "I don't care! I want a photo in the article!"
Sometimes no matter how much you try to prepare clients for this, it still becomes an issue. To minimize the times when it does, be 100% open with the client before any money changes hands. Tell them clearly: "This is not a feature article, no photo is included, we only guarantee one mention/quote, and we'll try to get a link but we can't guarantee it."
Put it in the contract.
Tell them again.
And then tell them again.
3. Communication. Talk to your clients a lot. Keep them in the loop. Don't let weeks go by. Even if nothing is happening, reach out and tell them that. "Nothing is happening, but we wanted you to know we're on top of it."
4. Share the process. Some PR firms sign a client up and the client doesn't hear anything until the PR firm says, "Here's a new article we got for you!"
At Canvas, we work with our clients and white-label partners to craft headlines together, then work on the article together. Sharing the process gives us a chance to deal with client issues before the article gets published and is set in stone.
*5. Dealing with difficult clients. There are great clients, good clients, and difficult clients. When you deliver a solid placement and a client does a chargeback anyway, that's a difficult client. It happened recently to a white-label partner of ours, and unfortunately there's not much we can do in those situations. Our partner asked if we could remove the article, and we couldn't. Once an article is up, it's up for life unless there's something seriously wrong with it, which is a whole other set of problems. The best protection is following #1 through #4 above consistently.
Benefits of White-Label PR Partnership
The main point of this post is to share the challenges that come with the PR business. No matter how you manage it, it can be hard work. But most of the time it's hard work and good results, and we're here to do the heavy lifting.
As our partner, your job is to manage communication between Canvas and your client. We handle everything else, including placing your clients in publications like Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, and the Wall Street Journal through fully editorial, non-paid coverage. That's the kind of credibility that follows a client around for years.
If you'd like to become a white-label partner, send us an email with some details about who you are, what you do, and who you do it for.
