Average monthly contract: $5,458 across all respondents. Most retainers fall under $10K per month, with half priced below $5K. Average cost per link (CPL): $597. Costs vary widely by service type, ranging from $150 for guest posting to $800 for large hero campaigns. 1 in 3 respondents don’t Read more

"Most" and "Best" surveys average 10+ more links due to shareability and passive link-building from search queries. Timely surveys outperform evergreen ones in average links, but evergreen content builds consistent, long-term authority. Emotionally charged topics—especially joy, curiosity, Read more

Over 85% of guest post sites are low-quality, with poor traffic and DR, yet still command premium prices. High-quality guest posts (DR 71+ & 50K+ traffic) make up just 4.6% of the marketplace. Average guest post costs $365—but quality posts range $692–$957 before vendor markup. The Read more

LinkedIn surpassed Twitter/X as the top social platform for journalists, making it a key platform for PR relationship-building in 2025. Email remains the dominant marketing method (96% preference), despite a slight increase in DM-based outreach. Journalists now prefer exclusives over original Read more

Qwoted dominates for volume and quality, offering the most media requests and the highest share of DR 80+ opportunities. Twitter/X and LinkedIn have 82% outlet overlap, making it redundant to monitor both for journalist requests. HARO has the highest cross-platform overlap, underscoring its Read more

Subject lines with 9–13 words and 71+ characters have the highest open rates (up to 40.71%). Phrases like “Study finds” and front-loaded brackets boost open and reply rates significantly. Exclusives and publication mentions drive higher engagement, yet they remain underutilized by most Read more

Use Google News to assess site fit, focusing on original content and DA/DR 70+ for credible media coverage. Confirm article originality by checking syndication status, press release formatting, and whether the author is in-house. Evaluate journalist fit by verifying recent activity, topic relevance, Read more

Freelancer emails have low open rates but the highest reply rates, especially Gmail, at 4.88%. National news outlets dominate outreach but have lower engagement due to inbox saturation. Australian and UK journalists reply more often - local relevance and exclusivity increase success. US Read more

Emails under 300 words get the highest open and reply rates—brevity significantly boosts engagement. Including full press releases or long intros may lower pitch effectiveness; link out to details instead. Focus on journalist relevance—tailor pitches to their beat, not just broad verticals. Read more

Follow-up emails boost reply rates by 85%, especially in Education, Entertainment, and Tech campaigns. First follow-up is most impactful—subsequent replies drop by 66%. Best timing is within 1 day of the original pitch; reply rates peak early. Industry matters—Travel and Fashion see Read more