Get more media placements with this free PR plan template (available in Word, Google Docs and as a PDF). This template will help you pick the right goals and objectives, figure out your target audience, find journalists and media targets, and make pitches that actually result in press coverage.

Why Use a Public Relations Plan Template?

Some consider it old school, but public relations still works great.

Why?

Press coverage can bring in loads of traffic and customers. That’s obvious. But its value doesn’t stop there. Getting placements in the right publications can also lead to:

• A “halo” effect for your brand (or name). This shows you’re an expert or leader in your field. Which leads to more trust… And more business.
• Media placements create a cascading effect: Coverage in one place often leads to coverage elsewhere.
• And when you get coverage online, most of the time you’ll get a backlink. Which is great for your SEO. (The number of linking domains is highly correlated to better rankings in Google.)

This PR plan template will help you get more press coverage. Step-by-step.

What’s Included

Here’s what’s covered in this PR plan template:

1. Tips to help you find receptive journalists: In other words, columnists and bloggers that are super likely to feature your story
2. The difference between goals and objectives: How to outline your key success metrics
3. How to hone in on your target audience: Both positive persona traits (to go after) and negative traits (to avoid)
4. Strategies for the perfect pitch: How to make your idea resonate with the journalist and their readers

How to Use This Template

1. Download the free PR Plan Template on this page
2. Follow the steps in the template to create your plan
3. Begin pitching journalists your idea
4. Follow up, but only once per journalist. (It doesn’t pay to be annoying)

How to Supercharge Your PR Efforts

Here’s the truth: public relations ain’t easy. This template will help you shortcut the planning process. But it’s not going to take your PR from “zero” to “hero” by itself. Here are a few more things you can do to make your public relations plan a success.

• Do it yourself. Sometimes the lowest barrier to entry is to write your own coverage. Lots of publications are starving for decent content. They would be happy to publish your articles about your industry. That’s true anywhere from trade publications to local newspapers to giant sites like Forbes. So look for publications with frequent outside contributors. Then reach out to the editor in charge of that section with a few ideas for articles you could contribute. (Whether as a recurring column or a one-time guest contribution.)
• Focus on the story. Journalists need ENGAGING content. They’re not going to write about the new color scheme on your website. Because their readers don’t care about that. So give your pitch a narrative. This will automatically make your idea more interesting.
• When done right, press releases can help quite a bit. Create an awesome one with our free Press Release Template.
• Increase your success rate even more with our free Journalist Pitch Template.