Public Relations

We offer entry-level public relations services to help you achieve external communication goals. Customized to your goals and budget, our services allow you to create:

• Traditional media content such as press releases and byline articles
• Digital media content such as blog entries and online articles

Marketing Communications

We develop professional and polished marketing materials that promote the features and benefits of your products and services. We offer creative direction, copywriting, and design services for various deliverables including:

• Flyers
• Brochures
• Newsletters
• Online content

Technical Communications

We document your processes and the technical features and benefits of your products for both internal and external audiences. We can create new documents or redesign existing materials including:

• Installation guides
• User manuals
• Maintenance manuals
• Help content
• Frequently asked questions

Corporate Communications

We help you communicate effectively with employees and investors through the development of materials that articulate your brand, vision, goals, and business plan. Potential deliverables include:

• Printable documents
• Online content
• Presentations
• Training materials

Public Relations

• Raise the profile of your business or organization in the marketplace
• Generate interest among potential investors and/or acquirers
• Develop and maintain an active presence in the traditional and digital media
• Influence policy and opinion related to subjects of importance to your long-term sustainability

Marketing Communications

• Publish and distribute polished and professional materials that reflect your brand and your aspirations as an organization
• Engage potential customers as either a prelude or follow up to personal selling
• Generate interest in a product or service
• Promote product enhancements or releases

Technical Communications

• Publish and distribute polished professional materials that ensure the effective, safe use of your products (either internally or externally)
• Increase efficiency and spread knowledge internally
• Fully support your customers and reduce the number of questions or problems reported

Corporate Communications

• Build trust among employees and investors
• Attract potential investors by articulating your brand, vision, and goals
• Keep employees engaged and improve their performance
• Turn employees into brand ambassadors

Every communications project begins with one or more free consultations during which we evaluate your needs and priorities.

We then use this information to present a detailed project proposal that includes a needs analysis, a proposed project plan, a list of deliverables, a time frame for execution, and an estimated cost. This information is your property; you can use it as you see fit, such as to execute the project internally.

Once you approve the project proposal, the project begins officially and will generally follow one of the processes described below.

Public Relations

1. Perform an analysis of your business’s or organization’s current media activities, including both successes and opportunities for improvement.
2. Develop a communication program describing the goals of your public relations effort, your target audience, and the traditional and/or digital media vehicles required to achieve your goals.
3. Execute the communication program, usually over a six or 12 month period.
4. Evaluate the effectiveness of the communication program and evaluate next steps.

Marketing, Technical, and Corporate Communications

While specific steps may vary slightly depending on the type of project, we use this established process to ensure project success:

1. Develop a creative brief or requirements documents describing the goals, topics, messages, and target audiences.
2. Conduct the necessary research and acquire/produce supporting documents.
3. Develop a detailed outline of the content structure and a mockup of the design (layout, fonts, styles, graphics, images, etc.).
4. Write all content and create necessary graphics, charts, and other visual representations.
5. Revise and finalize content based on your input.

Our communication services are priced to be affordable for small businesses and organizations who require professional public relations and/or communications support but may not have sufficient time or cash flow to develop an in-house communication team.

Although prices vary depending on the project, typical project cost ranges for the different services we offer are:

• Public relations: $250 for one-off projects and between $10,000 and $25,000 for six or 12 month campaigns.
• Marketing communications: Between $400 for a simple sales flyer or advertising copy and $3,000 for a starter marketing communications packet (e.g., logo and brochure).
• Technical communications: Between $500 for a “cheat sheet” or design refresh and $5,000 for a comprehensive installation manual with original graphics.
• Corporate communications: Between $400 for a simple flyer or intranet copy and $5,000 for comprehensive training materials for new sales personnel.

Structure

We offer several different pricing structures for communication projects. You are free to choose the one that makes the most sense for you.

Flat Fee Project

With Flat Fee Project pricing, you are billed a flat fee for a project as defined in a detailed project proposal. You either pay the full fee at project completion or in a series of installments with the first installment due at project launch.

A flat fee for a given project offers you a known expense for budgeting purposes with no risk of cost overruns. However, it also means iterations are limited (as specifically defined in the project plan and the contract), which means less flexibility to modify the scope of a project as it progresses.

Hourly Project

With Hourly Project pricing, you are billed a fixed hourly rate for project-related activities. The hourly rate is determined in the project proposal and can vary for different types of activities. The proposal also provides an estimated total project cost, but the project can cost more or less depending on its execution.

An hourly rate offers you more flexibility for changing course or working through several versions of a given deliverable. Provided you would like to pay for more hours, you can continue to drive the process and make changes as you see fit.

With Hourly Project pricing, there is the possibility that the project may take less time than anticipated, thereby saving you money. On the other hand, the total cost may end up significantly higher than initially anticipated or budgeted.

Flat Fee Service

With Flat Fee Service pricing, you are billed a flat monthly fee for ongoing services provided that month as part of a multi-month contract. The flat fee is determined by multiplying the number of hours required to provide pre-defined services to you by the hourly rate established for those services. The flat monthly fee is agreed upon at the beginning of a contract period and is valid until the end of the contract.

A flat fee for an ongoing service gives you a known expense for budgeting purposes with no risk of cost overruns. However, the cost is fixed and recurring and therefore must be honored as long as the contract is in force.

Hourly Service

With Hourly Service pricing, you are billed a fixed hourly rate for ongoing services provided in a given month. The hourly rate is determined as part of an ongoing services contract (or a general understanding between Autonomous Mind and clients with whom we have an established relationship). In general, ongoing services are provided at your request and with or without an upfront estimate or cap on required hours (it is up to you).

An hourly rate provides you the ability to pay as you go; you only pay for services that you actually request. On the other hand, you cannot accurately budget monthly expenses because you may not know in advance what services you are going to request or how much it is going to cost. Also, as your requests become more complicated, Hourly Service pricing may become more expensive relative to other pricing structures.