No matter how unique a product line is, a company won’t sell merchandise if no one knows about it. Public relations is the art of elevating awareness, and it’s one of the first areas beauty newcomers consider investing in beyond the basics of products and branding. Because it’s an art, though, there are no set-in-stone strategies for obtaining PR assistance and judging the jobs of PR agencies. To direct beauty entrepreneurs through the alluring yet frequently amorphous PR process, Beauty Independent picked the brains of nine PR veterans and beauty company founders. Based on their insights, here are six profile-raising steps brands shouldn’t skip.