pr plan template.pdf

PR Plan

The Digital Marketing Templates Library

Step 1: Choose Your Goals and Objectives

The first step in any PR plan is to choose your goals: The high-level focus for your campaign. For example, improving your brand’s image among prospective customers. Getting a major media mention. Or getting coverage for a new product launch.

Objectives are related to your goals. But they’re more concrete and measurable. For example, getting placement in 3 industry blogs this quarter.

Goals	Objectives
E.g. Improve our brand image among tech executives	E.g. Get placement in 3 industry blogs this quarter

See also: Goals & Objectives in PR Campaigns.

Step 2: Define Your Target Audience

Add more details about the end audience you want to reach.

For example:

● Job roles and/or interests
● Motivations
● Demographics like age, gender, income level, and location

You may also want to list any negative persona traits that disqualify someone from being part of your ideal target audience.

Job Roles / Interests	Motivations	Demographics
E.g. CIOs, CTOs, and VPs of Technology at Fortune 500 companies, custom solutions	E.g. Maximizing enterprise value, increasing productivity, security	E.g. All genders, ages 34 - 59, US-based
E.g. NEGATIVE: Startup founders, entrepreneurs, middle managers, out-of-box software	E.g. NEGATIVE: Maximizing cashflow, stretching small budgets	E.g. NEGATIVE: Under the age of 34, non-US

See also: Buyer Persona: What Is It And How To Create One For PR Purposes.

Step 3: List Your Media Targets

Choose which media outlets to try to get placement in.

Publication
E.g. Harvard Business Review

Step 4: Add Specific Journalists To The List

PR always comes back to one thing: Writers.

To succeed, you have to pitch the right journalists, bloggers or editors.

Not sure who to pitch?

Use BuzzSumo to uncover the right people.

Publication	Journalist	Contact Info
E.g. Harvard Business Review	E.g. John Doe	E.g. john.doe@hbr.org

Tip: Hunter.io is a great tool for finding email addresses.

Step 5: Pick Your Angles

Make journalists’ jobs easy by supplying your own “angle” for a story. (They’ll be more likely to work with you if you do.)

Try to:

● Tie it into current events
● Make it fit what the journalist usually writes about
● Show how it’s part of a larger trend

Publication	Journalist	Angle
E.g. Harvard Business Review	E.g. John Doe	E.g. How IBM Watson is helping model and fight against the spread of new viruses
E.g. Harvard Business Review
E.g. Harvard Business Review
E.g. Harvard Business Review

See also: our free Press Release Template.

Step 6: Make Your Pitch

This might be the single most important thing to get right.

Here are 3 key things you can do to make a convincing pitch:

● Spend a lot of time on your subject line. Journalists have crowded inboxes. You need to give them a reason to open your email. Here are some data-driven tips on creating a great subject line.

● Use short paragraphs, bullet points and bolding to make it easy to skim.

● Conclude your email with a specific “ask”, along with what comes next. For example: “Is this something your readers might like? Let me know and I’ll send you the high-res images.”

Tip: To make this step easier, use our free Journalist Pitch Template.

Step 7: Keep Track Of Your Pitches (And Follow Up)

You don’t want to accidentally email the same person twice. (Or to forget to follow up with them.)

Use the table below to keep track of your outreach. And to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.

Publication	Journalist	Angle	Contact Info	Date and Status
E.g. Harvard Business Review	E.g. John Doe	E.g. How IBM Watson is helping model and fight against the spread of new viruses	E.g. john.doe@hbr.org	E.g. Emailed June 2; no response yet

Tip: You can track your open rates and automate follow-ups with tools like BuzzStream.

Conclusion

And that’s our PR plan template. I hope you enjoyed it! Remember, you can find 20+ other marketing templates here.

Brian Dean
Founder, Backlinko.com