The best way to become a freelance PR consultant is to first spend a good amount of time gaining experience in an agency or an in-house PR department.  It’s helpful to get experience of PR best-practice in a diversity of industries and to learn from as many mentors and industry leaders as possible before setting out on your own.  You will also need to build up a portfolio demonstrating your involvement in successful projects/events/media strategies etc.

A PR consultant helps businesses raise their profile among stakeholders and build strong, positive and sustainable brand reputations.  A PR consultant will use a variety of communication channels, media opportunities and networking strategies to build trust, respect and authority among target audiences, which can be both internal and external.  They also work with different teams (eg sales and marketing) to ensure consistency of the brand message.

A public relations specialist needs a variety of ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ skills.  Outstanding communication and inter-personal skills are essential, as are strong copywriting, technical and organisational skills.  A PR specialist will also have good business acumen, be able to think creatively and come up with ‘out of the box’ ideas for strengthening a company’s reputation.  Attention to detail is also a must, as is a cool head in a crisis situation.

A PR specialist’s day is always varied.  It may involve discussions with the client about a PR opportunity, analysing the results of a PR campaign or event, brainstorming ideas, writing or disseminating news about the company, pitching ideas or news releases to media, preparing media events, fielding press enquiries, working on internal communications, interviewing company representatives for news releases, speeches etc or monitoring the various media and social networking channels for trends or issues that may affect the client or which present PR opportunities.

Asking how much a PR expert costs is a bit like asking how long a piece of string is.  There are so many different factors to consider such as the scope of work, the hours involved and what the expectations are.  It’s common for a PR expert to charge clients a monthly retainer or project-fee based on the anticipated volume of work, with the amount negotiated with the client depending on the individual circumstances of the job.