WORK WITH ME
FREELANCE PR CONSULTANT
Senior, founder-led PR counsel without an agency layer. You work directly with me, Maria Jordan, on the strategy and the pitching alike, across the UK, US, Canada and ANZ.
What a Freelance PR Consultant Does
A freelance PR consultant is a senior communications practitioner you hire directly, rather than through an agency. The person who sets the strategy is the same person who writes the pitch, calls the journalist and handles the follow-up. There is no account layer between the thinking and the execution, and no risk of a pitch meeting led by a partner you never speak to again.
In practice, that covers the full arc of a story: deciding what is genuinely newsworthy, shaping the narrative and the positioning around it, building the media list of named journalists actually covering that space, pitching, and managing what happens once the coverage lands. It also covers the moments that are less comfortable, an issue turning difficult, a spokesperson facing a first broadcast interview, a funding round that needs to land as more than an announcement.
The trade-off worth naming honestly: one senior person has a ceiling on capacity that a large agency bench does not. Where a project needs a specialist, a photographer, a media trainer, a regional partner, I bring them in for that piece of work rather than carrying permanent overhead you would otherwise fund. I have written about how to weigh that decision in PR agency vs freelance PR consultant.
Who I Work With
Founders and scale-ups at an inflection point, a launch, a raise or a market entry. Purpose-led organisations and NGOs that need credibility rather than noise. Established consumer, travel, sport and technology brands that want senior judgement on a specific story rather than a full agency retainer. Most engagements run across the UK, US, Canada and ANZ, and start as a defined project before anything longer is discussed.
How Working Together Starts
It begins with a conversation about what you are trying to achieve and whether there is a story worth telling right now. If there is not yet a clear read on where you stand, a PR audit gives you market, competitor and media analysis in writing before you commit to anything. If the direction is the question rather than the diagnosis, a strategy session sets it in a single focused block of work.
From there, engagements take one of three shapes: a defined project with a clear start and finish, a monthly retainer where there is a recurring reason to be in the news, or ad-hoc support on a single story. Pricing is confirmed after the first conversation rather than fixed to a package, because the work is scoped to what you actually need.
Whichever shape it takes, the reporting is the same: where coverage appeared, which outlets and journalists it came from, and how it landed, so you can judge the work on something more useful than a clippings count.
If you're still weighing up whether to bring in outside help
Explore The Services
The work a freelance PR consultant does, broken down by what you actually need.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a freelance PR consultant do?
A freelance PR consultant sets the communications strategy and delivers it personally: identifying the story, shaping the narrative, building a media list of named journalists, pitching, and managing coverage once it lands. Unlike an agency, the person who sold you the work is the person doing it.
Is a freelance PR consultant cheaper than an agency?
Usually, yes, because there is no account management layer to fund. The more useful comparison is seniority per pound spent: an agency retainer often buys junior execution, while a freelance consultant puts senior judgement on every part of the work.
Is a PR consultant the same as a publicist?
Not quite. A publicist is typically focused on securing personal or celebrity coverage. A PR consultant works on the wider reputation and communications strategy of a business, of which media coverage is one output alongside positioning, messaging, crisis counsel and spokesperson preparation.
Which markets do you cover?
The UK, US, Canada and ANZ. Media relationships and outreach are adapted to whichever of those markets your business is actually targeting, rather than pitching the same list everywhere.
Do you work on a retainer or a project basis?
Both. Most clients start with a defined project, a launch, a raise, an audit, and move to a retainer once there is a recurring reason to be in the news arriving faster than they can handle alone.
How quickly can I expect coverage?
It depends on the outlet. Online titles can move within weeks of a strong angle; print long-leads plan months ahead, which is why timing is built into the strategy from the start rather than treated as an afterthought.
What happens if a project needs more capacity than one person?
I bring in specialist support for that specific piece of work, a photographer, a media trainer or a regional partner, rather than carrying permanent agency overhead. You get senior judgement on every account with the ability to flex for a particular market or moment.