How to Bootstrap Your Public Relations

(Inc) — When Ross Mayfield was looking to spread the word about his new tech start-up Socialtext back in 2002, he didn’t turn to a traditional public relations firm. He just turned on his computer.

Mayfield, who was paying up to $30,000 a month to keep a public relations team at the ready for his previous ventures, instead decided tackle the increasingly fractured environment of media outlets himself. He started reading journalists he thought were likely to write about him, writing blog posts about related topics in the industry, and actively sharing information through e-mail. The strategy worked, and his business — which creates aFacebook-like networking site for the workplace — has been mentioned in myriad publications from the Harvard Business Review to TechCrunch over the years.