What are the benefits of hiring a freelance PR consultant?
- Sam Schofield
- Jun 5
- 4 min read
If you're thinking about raising your organisation's profile or require crisis communications support, you may have asked yourself what is the best option: hiring an agency, bringing someone in-house, or working with a freelance PR consultant.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution, of course. It depends on your business, goals and budget. Increasingly, however, organisations of all sizes are discovering that hiring a freelance PR consultant is a compelling option - often combining extensive experience, expertise, flexibility and value.
Senior expertise without the agency overhead
One of the biggest advantages of working with a freelance PR consultant is access to senior-level expertise without the often exorbitant fees associated with agencies. In fact, many agencies hire freelance PR consultants to service their client contracts for a similar reason - hiring full-time senior level PR experts can be costly.
With an agency, your account often receives senior oversight (from owners and directors, for example) but the delivery may fall to junior staff members. At scale, that model may work well, but it can sometimes mean your day-to-day contact lacks the experience you expected when you signed the contract.
A freelancer removes that layer. You work directly with the person you met, the person you hired in the first place, the person strategising and delivering from day one, someone who has already built their career in PR and chosen to operate independently.
Flexibility that fits your business
Hiring in-house or appointing an agency typically comes with a fixed commitment - both in terms of time and cost. A freelance PR consultant can work differently, often with a great deal of flexibility around your needs.
That might be short-term support around a campaign or product launch, ongoing retained support at a level that suits your budget, or potentially ad-hoc support as and when needed (although this may require a small retainer). You're not tied into a rigid structure and can scale up or down depending on what's happening in your organisation - whether growth, change or a quieter period.
Cost-effective without compromising on quality
Budget matters. Of course it does. Unless you're a multinational conglomerate with an almost bottomless purse, we all work to a budget, whether you know exactly what that figure is at this stage or not.
Agencies carry overheads - offices, teams, layers of management - and those costs inevitably feed into fees. Meanwhile, hiring in-house involves salary, benefits, recruitment time, and long-term commitment. A freelance PR consultant offers a more streamlined option, where you're paying for expertise, time and results.
That often makes freelance PR consultancy a more cost-effective option, particularly for SMEs, start-ups, businesses testing the waters with PR for the first time, or departments with tight budgets. And crucially, "cost-effective" doesn't mean cutting corners, but working with someone who has operated at a senior level in agencies or in-house and brings that expertise directly to you.
A more personal, accountable relationship
PR works best when there's trust, honesty and clear communications between the provider and the client. With a freelance PR consultant, that relationship is direct. There is no account handover to a different team, no internal shuffling to worry about, and no ambiguity about who's responsible for delivery.
You know exactly who you're working with and communications are straightforward and highly responsive. A good freelance PR consultant will work like a member of your team without the overheads of hiring that member in-house.
Fresh perspective and focus
Freelance PR consultants often work across different sectors and businesses (for example, here at Schofield Communications, I have a policy of avoiding potential conflicts of interest). Because of this, they bring a wide breadth of perspectives that can be incredibly valuable.
They are not bound by internal politics or industry-ingrained thinking but can challenge traditional assumptions and ways of doing things, identify new angles, and spot opportunities others have missed.
At the same time, a freelance PR consultant is focussed, avoiding multiple layers of approvals, cutting through the noise and focussing on what matters - delivering results for your business.
The right balance between agency and in-house
When you look at the options side-by-side, a freelance PR consultant sits between agency and in-house models.
Compared to agencies: freelancers offer greater agility, more direct access and better value.
Compared to in-house: freelancers remove the long-term commitment while providing expert support exactly when required.
For many, that middle-ground is the sweet spot, and likely why you're here reading this blog.
Why work with Schofield Communications?
Schofield Communications is a freelance PR consultancy - where you work directly with me, Sam Schofield, a PR expert with over 20 years' experience as a journalist, in-agency and in-house PR executive, and for the past 12 years as a consultant.
You're working directly with someone who has been providing senior level PR support to organisations of all sizes, working with C-suite leaders to marketing executives, in industries including health, education, social care, manufacturing, law and finance, to name just a few, generating regional, national, international, and specialist press coverage week-in, week-out, for decades.
Whether you need:
Strategic advice to sharpen your messaging
Hands-on media relations to build your profile
Support navigating a reputational challenge
Or simply a trusted sounding board
Schofield Communications can help, without the complexity or inflated costs. If you're considering PR support, Schofield Communications is here to help.
Drop me a message to arrange a free PR consultation.
