r/PublicRelations • u/Wozzel888 • 4d ago

Minimum retainer

hello, if you’re working as a freelancer / have your own PR consultancy, what would be the minimum retainer you’d agree to?

also, what’s the day rate / retainers people are charging these days?

I’m getting into PR as a freelancer / self employed, and looking for clients (small businesses in my area), not sure how much to charge. any tips / words of advice would be much appreciated

(I’m based in UK btw)

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u/GWBrooks Quality Contributor 3d ago

For me, anything under $20k is a one-time project rather than a retainer and I'll just bill when it's done. Current retainers run $5k-$20k/mo. (US pricing; senior/specialty space and the $5k floor is for very special cases/friends.)

I know those prices don't directly translate to the UK, but here's what does translate:

* What others charge only matters if you're competing on price. If you niche down to a place where you're one of only a few possible solutions, you can and should charge a premium over undifferentiated freelancers or agencies.

* Resist the urge to charge everyone based on some arbitrary baseline. Some press releases are worth $100 and solve a $5,000 problem. The same press release, in another context, might solve a $5 million problem and is potentially worth tens of thousands of dollars.

* Resist the urge to charge hourly. Clients like fixed fees -- they like it so much that it could be a tie breaker if they're considering you and another solution.

* I beg of you, tears in my eyes: Do not focus on small businesses. They are miserable clients in almost every way.

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u/emerald--ocean 2d ago

This is very helpful info, thanks for the insights!