Workflow: Monthly Planning
A monthly planning routine you can repeat
The Monthly PR Planning workflow turns the start of each month into a seven-step routine, from priorities through a week-by-week calendar to the numbers you will check at month-end.
Photo by 2H Media on Unsplash
Who it is for
Account managers and in-house communications leads who plan PR activity one month at a time.
The 7 steps
- 01
Client priorities
This month's priorities ranked by importance, each with a one-line reason it matters right now.
- 02
Upcoming announcements
Your planned announcements with suggested timing (early, mid, or late month), and a flag where two compete for attention.
- 03
Industry events
Awareness days, conferences, earnings dates, seasonal dates, and competitor activity for the coming month, found through current research.
- 04
News opportunities
Specific angles that connect the client to what is already happening, checked against current news.
- 05
Content calendar
A week-by-week table of what goes out or gets pitched, with the reason for each item.
- 06
Media targets
Journalists and outlets currently covering the beat, matched to the stories in the calendar.
- 07
Measurement goal
A short set of measurable goals realistic for this plan, and what to check at month-end.
Example
An example, the steps built from your own input
Harbourline Bikes is a made-up business, and every detail here is invented. This sample shows the steps that work from what you type in. The events, opportunities and media target steps search the live web, so they are left out here.
The brief you type in
Harbourline Bikes is a bike shop with a repair workshop. This month it wants to fill its autumn servicing slots, announce a new trade-in program and tell the story of its new head mechanic. The trade-in program launches in the first week. The head mechanic story can run any time. Success this month means three pieces of local coverage and fifty booked services.
Step 1
Client priorities
- •Fill the autumn servicing slots: the workshop earns most of its income from servicing, and the slots only come once a year
- •Launch the trade-in program: it gives customers a reason to visit this month
- •Tell the head mechanic story: it supports the first two with a person behind the work
Step 2
Upcoming announcements
| Announcement | Timing |
|---|---|
| Trade-in program launch | Early month |
| Servicing slots reminder | Mid month |
| Head mechanic profile | Late month |
The tool flags that the servicing reminder and the trade-in launch both ask customers to act, so they sit two weeks apart.
Step 5
Content calendar
| Week | Activity | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Announce the trade-in program to local media and customers | It is the first priority and has a fixed launch date |
| Week 2 | Share trade-in stories from the first customers | Early examples show how it works |
| Week 3 | Send the servicing slots reminder | The slots are the main business goal this month |
| Week 4 | Pitch the head mechanic profile | A softer story fits once the launch has passed |
Step 7
Measurement goal
- •Three pieces of local coverage by month end
- •Fifty booked services, counted from the booking system
- •At month end, check which announcement brought the most bookings
What you end up with
- Ranked priorities for the month
- A week-by-week content and pitch calendar
- A list of media targets matched to each story
- Measurement goals and a month-end check
Tips for running it
- Run it at the start of each month, because later steps assume you know this month's priorities.
- The industry events and news opportunities steps search the live web, so run it close to when you will act on it.
- Export the finished plan as one document to share with the team.
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