Let’s talk about $25 press releases.
If you were offered the opportunity for ongoing work with an agency client (writing press releases in this example), how low would you be willing to go on your rates?
And how low is too low?
Should I accept an agency gig paying $25 per press release?
Here’s a question originally posed to Peter:
A local PR agency wants to talk to me about doing press releases on a freelance basis. They would assign clients to me, and I’d get paid once a month based on the number of releases I did the previous month. They pay $25 per release. That seems awfully cheap. At the same time, I’d probably do well, maybe generating a couple hundred a month that I wouldn’t get otherwise. What say you?
Peter Bowerman on $25 Press Releases
I’d turn it around on you and ask, “Do you think that’s too low?”
The only way to answer the question is to figure out how long it would take you to do one. If you do one in, oh, 15 minutes or so, that could work.
Coming back down to earth, I’m guessing that between digesting the info necessary to write it and then writing it, you’re looking at LEAST two hours. So, you tell me. I say that’s criminally cheap.
Not to tell you what to do but they clearly don’t value writing skills. And it’s dangerous to set such a precedent. One man’s opinion. All my commercial writing colleagues would laugh over the phone and hang up. And still be laughing the next day…
Jennifer Mattern with a PR Pro’s Take on Cheap Press Release Clients
Oh, hell no…
As a long-time PR pro and freelance writer… just no.
Look. I’ve written press releases for “cheap” clients.
But that was around 20 years ago, building initial samples, all while creating a new market for myself.
I identified a client group that didn’t even know the opportunities press releases provided. No one in the industry focused on them. It was before the “social media release” was even a thing.
I had to spend time teaching those prospects, then convincing them to hire me when most were only used to working with generic, $5 / article, beginners without an ounce of PR experience.
So yes, I’ve taken on low-priced gigs. For a very brief period of time. To build a limited number of samples with entrepreneurs my other target prospects trusted. With a very well-planned approach that led to a thriving business where I charge more than 10x those early rates now.
Even as a beginner, you don’t need to do that now.
There’s a much broader understanding of what press releases can do.
Any legit PR agency will be charging at least $500 for a release (not counting distribution, which can run into the thousands depending on how customized the distribution plan is). You can bet your britches they’re not charging their clients anywhere near $25. Nor have they been for a very long time.
You might find jokers at SEO firms still asking for sub-$100 press releases. But that’s because they sometimes treat releases as little more than generic web content. No real news angles. All about getting links from distribution sites rather than genuine coverage that matters.
Are those gigs worth taking?
Maybe if you’re pressed for cash and you want to try a new project type. But nothing you learn writing those will prepare you for writing “real” releases a PR firm’s clients are going to expect.
Sidenote: There many shady SEO companies masquerading as “PR agencies” these days. If they’re pushing cheap press releases and conflict-of-interest relationships where they pay freelance writers to sneak links into articles they write for large digital publications, they’re not reputable. Run.
Personally, I don’t lower my rates for agency clients. Some will press for that, and if you’re newer and looking for a steady gig you might be open to that. Nothing wrong with that. After all, they need to mark up your services when charging their own clients.
So should a freelance commercial writer consider taking on a press release writing gig at $25 a pop? No. How about $50? I’d still say “no.”
If you have any experience in this area, you can easily charge $100-250 to agency clients, even with their mark-ups. If you have the PR chops, and not just broader writing experience, to back you up, you can charge much higher than that. (See the June 2025 EPUB for an example of why this background is so important in press release writing.)
Submit Your Question to the Well-Fed Writer Mailbag
Do you have a question related to freelance commercial writing (writing for businesses)? Submit your question using the form at the bottom of the main Mailbag page, and you could be featured in the Well-Fed Writer Mailbag series.