Freelancers: an underestimated lever in PR campaigns

“Freelancers are not my target.” “No need to send them my press release.” These phrases, often heard from many communicators, highlight how these journalists remain an underused lever in many PR strategies. And for good reason, certain misconceptions persist. “People always say the freelancer is the one who failed, the one who wasn’t hired,” laments Thierry Butzbach, an independent journalist for 30 years after a decade spent in editorial teams. But for the initiator of the “48h de la pige” organized by the association Profession: pigiste, “one can become a freelancer by choice.” According to him, these career choices, combined with the rigidity of the labor market, partly explain the high proportion of independent journalists in France.
In 2022, 13% of journalists holding a press card are freelancers (CCIJP, 2023). There are 4,389 in total. These figures do not include journalists on fixed-term contracts. For Elodie Cally, author of Réussir ses relations Médias (“Successful Media Relations”), the word “relations” in “press relations” is key. Still, one must know how to effectively reach out to them to integrate them into a PR campaign.

PR: target before reaching out

Before contacting a freelance journalist, the first step is to properly research their specialties. “Generally, they have preferred topics and a very good knowledge of those given sectors,” emphasizes Elodie Cally. “We are no different from other journalists. The information we receive must be targeted,” reminds Thierry Butzbach. Hence the importance of building an effective press file that is truly adapted. But in practice, this targeting is a problem for some communicators. “Many complain about the difficulty of updating their press databases. It is not always easy to find good information on freelancers,” laments Elodie Cally. To make up for shortcomings in databases, she recommends freelancer directories, journalist associations grouped by activity sectors (AJT, AJIS, etc.), trade shows, competitiveness clusters, but also LinkedIn. For her, “there are more and more calls for witnesses on the social network. So you can identify freelancers through these calls, their testimonies, or keyword searches.” Once the right freelancer is identified, the rules are the same as for a staff journalist, according to the communicator: send them press releases, invite them to press conferences, press trips... Essential reflexes, provided their working methods are well understood.

Like tailors made to measure

“90% of my articles deal with topics I proposed to editorial teams,” calculates Thierry Butzbach. “The role of the freelancer is to be out there, snooping around and looking for somewhat different topics. For example, we rarely handle hot news topics covered by editorial teams.” In a context where journalists attend fewer press events, contacting freelancers, who are often more available, can increase the chances of coverage. “Our presence does not guarantee publication like that of an editor-in-chief,” nuances the one who has been a freelancer for 30 years. “But even if we can’t do everything... sometimes we can do a little! Today, if we show up, it’s still because we planned to do something with it.” Moreover, he calls on press officers not to focus on the immediate effects of their PR campaign but to think long term. “I use the information I receive as documentation. I set it aside, and when I need it, I pull it out and consult it.”

In her book Réussir ses relations médias, Elodie Cally quotes freelancer Sophy Caulier, who compares her job to that of a tailor made to measure. Drawers full of ideas, info, leads to reactivate when the time comes, to answer very different requests. “Information is not necessarily relevant when the journalist receives it,” adds the PR specialist. “Nevertheless, they will remember you at the right moment. You have to be patient.”
Ultimately, freelancers’ expectations towards communicators are similar to those of full-time journalists. Thierry Butzbach sums it up this way: “A good article proposal for a freelancer is a good topic with a very good angle. For example, the topic is the death of the pope. The freelancer will propose an offbeat angle, such as how the city of Rome manages parking spaces during the ceremony’s crowds, or how stocks of mini popemobiles are managed in Vatican shops.” The art of finding the right story will always make the difference.