Is Now the Time to Consider Fractional PR?

Episode Summary Fractional roles seem to be growing in scope, including in Public Relations. Over the years, we have seen our fair share of creative titles, but does the Fractional title in Communication roles have longevity? In today’s episode, we take an honest look at the fractional title, extract what's actually useful, and give solo PR practitioners a real framework for deciding whether fractional positioning is a fit for them, or whether it's a fashionable label with a new set of obligations attached. The hosts discuss the rate data for fractional roles and adoption projections for midsize companies.   Episode Highlights [00:18] Should I adopt the Fractional Title?: Michelle opens before the music: if she put fractional communications director on her website tomorrow, would she be sounding as senior as she actually is — or cosplaying a Silicon Valley CMO? Karen loves the question. It names exactly the tension the episode is built around: the fractional label is real and valuable in the right context, and it is also getting slapped on LinkedIn profiles by people who have changed nothing about how they actually work. Karen and Michelle are committed to examining both sides honestly. [02:52] The Rate Data: What Go Fractional's 2026 Benchmarks Actually Show: Go Fractional, a marketplace that publishes its own rate benchmarks by role, shows the fractional director of public relations averaging $203 an hour in 2026, with typical engagements running around 32 hours a week. Karen and Michelle both flag what 32 hours means in solo practice terms: that is essentially all of your billable time for one client. There would be no room for additional work. For broader fractional CMO engagements, monthly retainers commonly run $8,000 to $22,000, with day rates in the $1,500 to $3,500 range and hourly rates around $200 to $350. Karen's bottom line: most solo PR pros are already undercharging. The gap between what solos currently charge and what the fractional rate range represents is a real income conversation, not just a semantic one. [06:43] The Adoption Reality: Who Is Actually Buying This: Gartner projected that more than 30% of midsize enterprises will keep at least one fractional executive on retainer by 2027. Karen's honest read: 30% is a meaningful number, but it requires understanding which markets and industries you actually serve. She cautions against chasing the label without first asking whether your specific clients in your specific verticals are operating in the kinds of environments where fractional executive models are being adopted. She also notes an important structural difference: fractional engagements are typically time-bound, one to two years, sometimes as short as six months, while many solo PR practitioners maintain client relationships of five, ten, fifteen years or more. That shift in tenure expectations is not a footnote. It changes the business model. [09:44] Objection 1: This Is Just a Trendy Label for Freelancer: Karen names the objection directly: fractional is real. There are fractional CEOs, fractional CFOs, fractional CMOs and it emerged from a genuine market need. Companies wanted senior executive function without a permanent hire, particularly high-growth startups scaling toward a defined goal. The problem is that the label has been diluted by people applying it to what they were already doing. Karen's line: it has to be more than a label. It has to be a real change in how you scope work, structure your time, and price your value. If it's just a rebrand of what you're already doing, it will not hold up to a client's scrutiny. [11:08] Objection 2: I Don't Have C-Suite Adjacent Experience: Michelle raises the credibility question: what if you don't have 15-plus years or a director-level background? Can you credibly claim a fractional director title? Karen's answer is yes, with honesty about what you bring. She draws on the Dolly Parton example from a recent piece she'd read: when Barbara Walters made a condescending comment, Dolly didn't get defensive. She owned the narrative and redirected it. Karen's parallel for practitioners: if a client challenges your seniority, you don't deny the gap,  you own what you do bring and redirect toward the specific value that makes you the right person for this engagement. Karen also flags what the Solo PR Pro community data shows, many solos left corporate America holding director-level titles. The experience is often already there; the confidence to claim it is the gap. [13:28] Objection 3: Clients Will Expect Fixed Weekly Hours I Can't Sustain: This is the structural objection, and Karen says it's the most valid one. Fractional positioning is not a marketing decision; it's an organizational one. It assumes fewer clients getting more defined hours each, not the same scattered client load with a prettier name on top. That is a genuine shift in how you run your business. Karen's reframe: for practitioners who want built-in natural breaks, the project-based nature of fractional work is actually an opportunity. You do a high-value six-month engagement, step back, take time, then pick up the next one. But you have to be genuinely ready to operate that way, not just willing to say you will. [16:00] Objection 4: What If a Client Asks What Makes Me Different: The quiet objection: if a prospective client pushes back and asks what actually distinguishes you from any other consultant and you don't have a real answer beyond the title, you have a problem. Karen and Michelle are both direct: if you're going to name it, you have to be ready to back it up. Fractional is not a word that does the positioning work for you. You still have to know what you specifically bring, who specifically you serve, and what result you specifically deliver. The label focuses the conversation. You still have to win it. [17:09] The Three-Question Filter for Self-Assessment: Karen's three questions for any solo practitioner genuinely weighing this decision. One: can you honestly commit a defined chunk of weekly hours — ten, twenty, or even thirty-two — to a small number of clients rather than juggling many smaller ones? This is a capacity question, not an aspiration question. Two: have you operated at a senior strategic level where you own the outcomes rather than execute tasks someone else scoped? Be honest about what senior strategic responsibility has actually looked like in your experience. Three: does the pricing range work for the size of client you're actually targeting? The $8,000 to $22,000 monthly range requires clients with budgets to match. If you primarily serve small local businesses or early-stage startups on tighter budgets, fractional may be aspirational for a future client base rather than a realistic current pivot. [19:10] The Live Drill: Six Years of Healthcare Comms, Eighteen Months Solo: Michelle walks a hypothetical: a practitioner with six years running healthcare comms in-house, now eighteen months into solo practice, currently juggling five smaller retained clients at different rates. Karen runs the filter. On capacity: consolidating from five scattered clients to two or three larger, more defined engagements is a real structural shift, and the right question is whether the listener can genuinely commit to that model. On experience: six years running healthcare comms in-house is exactly the kind of background that supports a director-level fractional claim credibly. On pricing: if even two or three of those five current clients are midsize or larger organizations, there may be a direct pathway to repricing existing relationships at fractional rates. If the current client base skews toward small local clients on tight budgets, the fractional pivot is a longer play toward a different client type. [22:21] Why This Is a Positioning Decision, Not Just a Label Decision: Karen closes on the point the whole episode has been building toward: how you describe your own work shapes what you are allowed to charge for it. Most solo PR pros are already undercharging, not because the market won't bear higher rates, but out of habit and out of fear. The fractional conversation, done honestly, forces a real examination of capacity, value, and pricing that most solos avoid. Even for practitioners who ultimately decide the fractional model isn't the right fit, that conversation has value. Karen is transparent about herself: the corporateness of fractional work, the reporting structures, the Slack pings, the internal politics is not where she wants to be. That's also a real answer, and it's the kind of honest self-assessment the episode is asking every listener to do. Resources & Additional Information Go Fractional:  Rate benchmarks by role (2026 data referenced in episode)  Fractional C-Suite: The Future of Work: Why Fractional Executives are Booming in the AI Era (Gartner Future of Work data) Over50Pros: Fractional Work State of the Market Intelligence Report That Solo Life, Episode 349: What Solo PR Pros Need to Know Now About the Specialization Economy That Solo Life, Episode 355: Why Solo PR Pros Should Plan for Micro Retirement Now Solo PR Pro membership community: soloprpro.com That Solo Life podcast website: thatsololife.com Note on sourcing: Karen and Michelle flag on air that some of the broader fractional adoption statistics are difficult to verify precisely — treat aggregate figures as directional rather than definitive. Host & Show Info That Solo Life is a podcast created for public relations, communication, and marketing professionals who work as independent and small practitioners. Hosted by Karen Swim, APR, President of Solo PR Pro, and Michelle Kane, Principal of Voice Matters, the show delivers expert insights, encouragement, and practical advice for solo PR pros navigating today's dynamic professional landscape. Listen to all episodes and catch up on previous conversations at thatsololife.com. Did this episode inspire you? If you found value in this conversation, please take a moment to leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback helps us reach more solo pros just like you! Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.