The good people at Ynot.com requested an interview from me about adult star publicity. Now, I rarely do interviews. In the ten years that I have been doing adult star publicity, I may have only done five. The last interview I did was for CNN about two years ago when I was still at Digital Playground. Mainly, because if there is an interview opportunity, I would prefer I get a client into the spot.
But I like Ynot so I thought I would answer the questions that they sent over. When the collection of interviews was posted some of my answers were not used. Which is all good, and up to their editors. However, being one not to let my work slip by I thought I would post all my answers here, in their entirety as supplemental info to the Ynot piece.
Enjoy!
Alexander Raymond
@MonstarPR
Co-Founder of StarFactoryPR & owner of MonstarPR.com
1) Why does a porn star need a PR agent?
Short answer: because people are not going to know how great you are unless they have someone telling them. Long answer: it takes a team to cultivate and sustain a successful career. There are a lot of beautiful and talented people out there, so what makes one stand out from another? Creating awareness.
2) What do they pay you for your services?
Money.
3) But surely porn stars have succeeded without needing PR agents?
Anything is possible. There are girls now, who never had a publicist who are very recognizable names. Yes, they might be able to succeed without a PR agent, but they do probably had a solid support team - agent, manger, etc. Though, it makes you wonder how much further could they have gone with someone has a the contacts, the established connections to the media make more things happen for them.
For example, anyone can write a “press release” and send it over to AVN and Xbiz. But we have more contacts than that. Not only, look at the quality of a Star Factory PR press release. Look how much “meat on the bone” there is. We have an established technique that has succeeded for nearly a decade. We know what grabs people’s attention and draws them in. We know what angles to use, what media outlets are looking for. That is what we bring to the table.
Can someone succeed on their own? Sure. But that is an rarity. Why not stack the odds in your favor by hiring someone who is experienced in the field of promotion?
4) What tangible extra income and opportunities do you provide to your clients?
That is a tough one to answer, because we are not agents. An agent’s job is to get people booked and put money in a client’s pocket. A publicist’s job is to promote the projects said client is working on. However, because of who we are and our established longevity, there are opportunities that present themselves, paying opportunities. Such as appearances or a “paid promotion” type avenues.
5) What opportunities might they miss without your help?
Star Factory PR has connections that go back 10 years. Our job, daily, is to strengthen the contacts we have and establish new ones. Client/Talent just cannot do that on the scale that we do. Can not dedicate the time or resources to seek out these opportunities. They are busy performing, staying in shape, formulating new projects.
6) Please name a porn star whose career has benefited from your assistance, and what you have done for them?
I’ll give you the perfect example - Tanya Tate. In just the relatively short amount of time that she is been in the industry, five years, she’s been on the cover AVN, been on the cover of FHM Magazine in Turkey. Been in a theatrical documentary, The Aroused Project, photographed by acclaimed photographer Deborah Anderson. Seen on a nationally broadcast UK reality program. Taken part of panels at Comic Con, appeared at several conventions and won a slew of awards.
This is a perfect example of a symbiotic relationship between talent and a publicist. We are both on the same page as to how she wants to be promoted and has an open mind to the projects I propose. Because she trusts me to do the job that I do and she has the drive, determination and the wherewithal to aggressively pursue those avenues of publicity.
That quality is very hard to find. A lot of people will pay a publicist money and sit back and expect magic to happen. It doesn’t work like that. There has to be that symbiotic relationship. A publicist is going to keep you busy, because that is what it takes to make a successful career.
7) How do you cut through the clutter of all the porn stars out there?
What Star Factory PR does is we meet with potential clients and look for that unique special trait that they have and we broadcast it. We try to go beyond the superficial stature of performer, because there are hundreds of performers out there, and find what makes our someone stand out.
8) What are the signs of a bad porn PR agent?
I think if someone tries to hard sell you, that’s a warning sign. If it’s too good to be true it probably is. If they are busy burying other PR companies in the initial meeting, that is a bad sign. I tell people to shop around, see who works better for you. A bad PR person doesn’t want you to shop around.
9) How do you shop for a good porn PR agent; what are the things to look for?
Do your homework. Look at a PR company’s track record. See what their strengths are and see what their weaknesses are. Don’t go by how much they cost because if you paying less for bad PR, you may as well spend nothing.
What is their turn over rate? Why are people leaving/staying? Look for more than just a weekly press release. Who are they pitching their clients to. I saw one “publicist” pitching their client to someone on Twitter who doesn’t even have a website yet. How is that a quality contact? I’m not going to waste my client’s time, have them do an interview somewhere, that is not going to have any traction.
You should be your own unique individual and a publicist should strive to feature that.