Freelance PR Part 4

In my never-ending quest to find out what I really want to do with my life, I came across a new avenue of public relations-- Freelancing.

After interning at an agency this past semester, I realized that perhaps agency work isn't quite the route I want to take upon graduating from college next year. I realized that I love to write, and often prefer working solo. I reached out through our Twitter to find other PR practitioners out there who have done some freelance work. Luckily, many people responded!

This is the fourth post in what is a series of posts featuring different PR freelancers.

This week, I interviewed Ed Donovan, a PR freelancer beginning his 5th year of self-employment.

Mr. Donovan would describe Freelance PR as, "providing communication services on a contracted basis for multiple clients or projects on a short-term or as needed basis."

A graduate of La Salle University, Mr. Donovan studied English and Communications. He began his career working in the non-profit sector for the Police Athletic League (PAL) of Philadelphia handling PR, special events, and fundraising. After working for PAL, he moved on to work for Comcast in corporate public affairs.

Mr. Donovan mentions that he always desired to work on his own, and after meeting a few people who needed his PR services, he realized that he could truly make a living doing freelance work.

When asked how Donovan obtains clients, he exclaims, "100% networking! I think it's important to build a strong network before going out on your own." He notes that every person you meet could be a future client down the line.

Mr. Donovan's favorite aspect of freelancing is getting to work on a variety of different projects and being the person who gets to choose which projects to undertake.

"Right now I do a lot of work in endurance sports and also work with Dunkin' Donuts...How is that for diversity?" he asks.

His least favorite aspect is anything that has to do with accounting and billing. He also says that he misses having others around to collaborate and brainstorm with.

Mr. Donovan views his freelance business as operating a one person firm.

He says, "I just have to handle every aspect of the firm: business development, account management, writing, pitching, measurement, etc..."

To stay active in the business, Mr. Donovan relies on social networking sites like Twitter and industry groups and organizations.