Mark Cuban recently discussed the effectiveness of PR for startups in a post, Why Startups Shouldn’t Hire PR Firms. This is a topic that has been discussed for years.

As expected, comments poured in from both sides. I even took a stand on the issue. The problem I have with Cuban’s comments is that he makes a blanket statement that the value PR people provide isn’t worth the cost.

If a CEO has developed a relationship with a reporter, he should by all means feel free to communicate directly with that reporter when he has something to say.

But how often does a busy CEO have the time to reach out to the dozen or more key media in his space?

I challenge Cuban or any other CEO to spend one week in the shoes of a PR person. Let me know how it goes and how much traction you actually got. I’m not just talking about sending out one or two email pitches to a couple of reporters, but actually take over the media relations for an upcoming product launch — handling all aspects of it.

Don’t forget to calculate the number of hours you spent and what it cost you based on your salary.

Based on your results and the overall experience, would you like to add PR to your other list of duties? Or is it worth it to hire an expert to handle PR?

Call me when you’re ready to let an expert handle it! 😉