How To Become A Publicist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a publicist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Dr. Joy Daggs

A publicist is a person who manages publicity for a company, an organization, or an individual. For example, a publicist may work to provide press coverage for a client who may be a musical artist, and it is the publicist's job to get the word out to the press about the artist, the artist's work and music, albums, concerts and the like. Publicists are also known as press agents, and they create and develop publicity plans for clients. They write press releases and announcements, pitch stories to the media, and maintain close relationships with the journalists and the press.

Publicists typically work in an office environment during a normal workweek, or they can work remotely as well. Publicists possess excellent written, verbal, and communication skills and should also have strong marketing and people skills. They are responsible for cultivating relationships with members of the media and should also have a good understanding of the world of journalism and various media platforms to spread the word about their clients or a particular brand.

Publicists are sort of like cheerleaders for their clients and do what they can to get the press to write about their clients by issuing press releases and announcements. Many publicists may have a bachelor's degree in marketing, English, journalism, or communications; however, an advanced degree is not essential, provided the individual has comparable experience in skills. Most publicists and public relations specialists make up to $61,000 per year, and the job market is expected to grow 7% by 2029.

What general advice would you give to a Publicist?

Dr. Joy Daggs

Associate Professor of Communication, Website

I think making yourself the most well-rounded candidate you can be is the best way to maximize your salary potential. Try lots of things in your undergraduate experience. What you think you want to do as a freshman may not be as appealing after you try it. Most jobs do not require only one skill, so having a variety of skills where you can plug in several places in an organization is helpful. Even if you want to go into something like event planning, you still need writing skills, design skills, interpersonal skills, etc. to do that job effectively.
Don't be afraid to negotiate your salary. There are workshops from organizations such as AAUW (American Association of University Women) to help you build those skills.

ScorePublicistUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $50,679

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.3

Growth Rate 8%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.59%

Asian 5.31%

Black or African American 10.14%

Hispanic or Latino 12.02%

Unknown 5.10%

White 66.84%

Gender

female 72.57%

male 27.43%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress Level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.8

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

3.8

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a publicist

Explore publicist education requirements

Most common publicist degrees

Bachelor's

82.8 %

Master's

7.0 %

Associate

6.1 %

Start to develop specific publicist skills

Skills	Percentages
Press Releases	29.63%
Press Materials	6.81%
Public Relations Campaigns	5.49%
Instagram	5.08%
Twitter	4.89%

Complete relevant publicist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New publicists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a publicist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real publicist resumes.

Research publicist duties and responsibilities

Manage publicity plans for fiction and non-fiction trade paperback titles.
Manage and write copy for client social media platforms and ECPR's social media deliverable, which involve SEO streamlining.
Book non-fiction author media tours.
Photograph events for the instagram account.

Prepare your publicist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your publicist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a publicist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Publicist Resume templates

Build a professional Publicist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Publicist resume.