How Much Time Should You Spend on Pitching for Clients?

As a PR pro, you have a LOT on your plate. There’s so much to focus on as you grow in PR, from finding new leads to pitching for clients. 

You already know that one of the most important parts of public relations is pitching. But you probably wish you knew exactly how much time you should be spending pitching for clients each week! 

So, how much time should you actually spend each week pitching for clients? And how do you find the right balance between pitching and ALL the other things you need to work on? 

How Many Hours Per Day Should You (Or Your Team) Spend Pitching For Clients?

The first (and one of the most important) thing to note is that you’ll spend different amounts of time pitching depending on what’s going on with a client. Where are you at with this client in the moment? 

In the middle of a launch or other big shifts, you’ll need to be proactive and spend more time pitching. But other times, there will be fewer things to do and you’ll spend less time on pitches. 

That’s right—the amount of time you should spend pitching for clients really depends on the situation.

When you’re getting started with a new client, onboarding them, and developing a media strategy, you’re not spending time pitching. But you are doing work that’s so important to generating results later on! 

PR changes all the time. And every single client’s needs and goals shift month-to-month. That’s why sometimes, you’ll spend more time pitching for clients than you do in other stages. 

What To Do During Slow Seasons of Pitching

So what should you do if you don’t feel like you’re doing “enough” for a client? What if you’re not in a “busy season” with a particular client?

First, know that it’s totally okay. In PR (and in any client-focused business), it’s normal for things to naturally ebb and flow. It’s kind of cheesy, but remember—PR is a marathon, not a sprint. 

But when you are experiencing a period with less pitching for clients, sometimes it doesn’t feel so good. 

There are certain times we really want to see pitches and results, especially towards the end of the month when it’s getting close to when you need to deliver a report. At those times, if you don’t have a lot going on, you know it’s time to generate more interest. Then, start being more proactive and spend a bit more time pitching for clients! 

Remember: your time truly is a finite resource, so you have to spend it wisely. Delegating pitching to your team is a great move. But whether it’s you or your team doing the pitching, you won’t always spend hours and hours pitching for clients! 

There’s a natural rhythm to time you spend doing other tasks for clients, building your own business, and pitching for clients. And that’s okay! 

Changing Your Mindset About Pitching For Clients

Try to avoid having a black-and-white perspective on the amount of time you spend pitching for clients. 

So many PR pros get held up in trying to figure out a specific number of hours to spend pitching for clients. But when you’re focused on hours, you’re really missing out on opportunities to scale your business! 

Think about it. Scaling a successful business and growing your agency is all about leveraging your results. If you’re spending time building those key relationships with media professionals, you’re going to be able to pitch specific outlets with quicker, more predictable results.

And when you niche down, you can leverage pitches for multiple clients in similar niches! That’s one of the many reasons why it’s so important to hone in on a specific niche. 

As a PR professional, you’re in charge of your time. If you want to earn more money, you can’t base your business on a model of hours per day or hours per client! Those types of mindsets lessen the value of your services. 

We never want to feel like we’re trading dollars for hours as PR professionals. Instead, we’re looking for deep, meaningful results—not mass quantities of pitches or specific hours spent pitching for clients. 

The better quality your pitches, the more likely you are to achieve those results and land press features. 

Remember: Your clients don’t care how much time you put in. They care about the results you generate! 

When you’re working with clients as a public relations professional, your number one goal should be to generate incredible results. But you also need to realize that PR is so amazing because it allows you to build the type of lifestyle you want! 

Leveraging your time means recognizing that you aren’t trading dollars for hours. Instead, you’re building a comprehensive strategy. 

So really, the amount of time you spend pitching for clients doesn’t matter—as long as you’re strategically crafting those pitches, they’ll generate results. And that is what matters to your clients.