What PR and media liaison should cost, and what “coverage” really means

When a PR person or media liaison quotes you for their services, you're paying for far more than their email address or ability to find a journalist's contact. Understanding what sits beneath the price—and what gets quietly omitted from a cheap quote—is the difference between wasting money and building real media relationships.

What actually makes media liaison valuable

A strong media liaison doesn't just send press releases into the void. They understand which journalists cover your sector, what angle each one favours, whether your story fits their beat, and how to time contact so it lands when they're receptive. They manage the back-and-forth: clarifying your message with you, answering a journalist's follow-up questions before publication, and steering coverage away from the obvious pitfalls. They also nurture relationships between editorial cycles—so when news breaks or an opportunity emerges, you're top of mind. That groundwork doesn't show on an invoice, but it's what separates placement from silence.

The hidden layers in quoted fees

PR pricing varies wildly because the scope does. A quote may or may not include all of the following, so it's worth asking what's covered:

• Relationship capital. A practitioner with established ties to key journalists in your industry can place a story faster and with less friction. Someone building those relationships from scratch may take longer to secure certain publication tiers, which is worth factoring into your expectations.
• Strategic research. Good liaison work starts with mapping your media landscape: who writes about companies like yours, what their recent pieces focus on, where gaps exist in coverage. That research takes hours and costs time.
• Ongoing availability. A retainer pays for responsiveness—same-day turnarounds on interview prep, quick rewrites if a journalist requests changes, availability when an opportunity appears. An hourly or project-based quote for the same work doesn't budget for unpredictable timing.
• Message development. If your story isn't clear yet, a liaison helps you distill it into something journalists will recognise as newsworthy. That's work before the first pitch goes out.
• Multiple rounds and revisions. A cheap quote often assumes one or two pitches. Reality usually involves rejection, refinement, and a second or third attempt at different outlets.
• Monitoring and reporting. Tracking where your story lands, clipping coverage, measuring media impressions, and feeding back what worked—these all add cost.

If a quote doesn't specify which of these are included, it's worth asking directly rather than assuming.

What "coverage" means and why it matters to your cost

"Coverage" isn't a homogeneous outcome. A mention in a hyper-local community blog, a feature in a niche trade publication, and a quote in a national daily newspaper all count as coverage, but their value to your business varies enormously. A liaison's fee often reflects the difficulty of the coverage tier you're chasing.

Placing a story with mid-tier or local media is faster and cheaper than securing national or international outlets. Tier affects both the effort required and the results you should realistically expect. Whatever you're paying, if the fee structure doesn't match the coverage tier you're expecting—for instance, a scope built for local media versus a goal of front-page national features—the mismatch is worth clarifying upfront. Whatever the rate, ask the liaison directly how they plan to approach exclusive publications, and watch for specific, verifiable warning signs—no written scope for the work, no examples of relevant placements, or a refusal to name target outlets—since these signal risk at any price point, not the price itself.

Also clarify what happens after placement. Some liaisons count their job as done once a story runs; others monitor comment threads, track shares, and coordinate follow-up interviews. The latter costs more but often generates better outcomes.

Getting the pricing right for what you need

When comparing quotes, ask each practitioner to explain exactly what their fee covers: how many pitches per month, what media tier they're targeting, how they handle revisions, whether they include reporting, and how available they are for urgent needs. Ask for examples of placements they've secured in outlets you actually care about. A quote bundled with vague scope, no written deliverables, or no recent portfolio—regardless of its price—makes it hard to know what you're actually paying for, so ask for specifics before deciding.

Verified media liaisons on Strove list their expertise by sector and publication level, so you can match your brief to realistic pricing and outcomes from the start.