How to Run a Digital PR Campaign: A Twelve-Week Plan
A digital PR campaign is a twelve-week sequence, not a one-off send. Most of the work happens before a single email goes out, and the campaigns that fail almost always failed in the first fortnight by choosing a subject nobody outside the company cares about.
This is the plan, week by week, with what should exist at the end of each stage.
Weeks 1–2: decide what the campaign is about
So pick one question that people in your market disagree about, and that nobody has measured, and that you happen to be able to answer.
Deliverables by the end of week two:
- First, the question, written in one sentence
- A named audience — a role, in a kind of company, with a problem
- A list of 20–40 journalists who have covered this subject in the last year
- Finally, confirmation that you can actually get the data
If you cannot name six publications your audience reads, the audience is defined too loosely. Go back.
Weeks 3–4: build the evidence
Next, pull the data, clean it, and find the finding. One headline number and three secondary cuts — by region, by company size, over time.
Write down the sample and the limits while you are in the data, not afterwards. “Based on 12,400 records between January and August 2026, all UK” is what makes a journalist trust the number.
Deliverable: a defensible dataset and a written method.
Weeks 5–6: build the page
Then the evidence needs somewhere to live that is worth linking to.
- Findings at the top, not a preamble about the company
- The method stated plainly, including what the data does not cover
- Charts with the underlying numbers visible or downloadable
- A permanent URL without a year in it, if this will be annual
- No gate, no signup
Deliverable: one page a writer could cite without emailing you.
Weeks 7–9: pitch
Individually, in waves of ten, tailored per outlet. The fact in the subject line, one honest sentence proving you read their work, the finding, what is available, one low-friction ask.
One follow-up after three to five working days. Then stop.
If the first ten produce nothing, the pitch is wrong — fix it before burning the other thirty.
Deliverable: replies, questions, and the first coverage.
Weeks 10–11: second angles
This is the stage most campaigns skip, and it produces roughly as much coverage as the first wave.
- Regional cuts of the same data, pitched to regional press
- Sector-specific cuts for trade publications
- Reaction pieces — ask people in the industry to respond to your finding
- A follow-up for anyone who replied but did not publish
Week 12: convert and review
Find every article that mentioned you without linking, and ask — politely, once, with a reason that helps their reader. Conversion runs between one in six and one in three.
Then review honestly:
| Measure | Good quarter |
|---|---|
| Articles written by journalists | 3–5 |
| Referring domains gained | Depends on sector — compare to competitors |
| Unlinked mentions converted | 1 in 6 to 1 in 3 of those asked |
| Journalists who replied at all | 8–20% of the list |
| Pitches that went nowhere | Most of them. This is normal. |
What kills a digital PR campaign
No question, only an announcement. A funding round, a hire, a product update. Real to you, not news.
Data that only flatters you. If every finding points at buying your product, writers stop reading.
A list of 300. Produces nothing and burns contacts you will want next quarter.
Starting with national press. National coverage usually follows trade coverage, because reporters look for sources already on the record.
Stopping at week nine. The second wave is cheap and most people never run it.
Reporting reach. If the headline number in your report is constructed rather than checkable, the campaign will be judged on the wrong thing.
What a digital PR campaign costs
Priced as time rather than per link, because the expensive parts are finding the finding and pitching it. A campaign built on data you already own costs less than one requiring a commissioned survey, which typically runs into the low thousands on its own.
Anyone quoting a digital PR campaign per link is quoting paid placement. That is a legitimate service; it is just a different one.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a digital PR campaign take?
About twelve weeks from question to review. First coverage typically lands in weeks seven to nine.
How much coverage should I expect?
Three to five pieces from a genuinely good dataset. Anyone promising thirty is describing syndication or paid placement.
Can we run campaigns back to back?
Two a year, properly, beats four rushed. The relationships built between campaigns are what make the next one easier.
What if the data does not show anything interesting?
Then say so and pick a different question. Forcing a headline the data does not support works once and costs you every journalist who notices.
Do we need a big brand for this to work?
No. Journalists care whether the finding is interesting, not whether they have heard of you. A small company with unusual data is in a better position than a large one with none.
Digital PR campaign: the short version
Two weeks choosing the question, two weeks getting the data, two weeks building the page, three weeks pitching, two weeks on second angles, one week converting mentions. Three to five pieces of real coverage is a good outcome, and most of your pitches going nowhere is what the work looks like when it is being done properly.
If you want a campaign run end to end on a sector you know, send a brief.
A digital PR campaign is a production schedule, not a burst of emails.
For the numbers behind this, see press release SEO. Google’s guidance on creating helpful content is the standard this work is ultimately judged against.
Run the twelve weeks as written and a digital PR campaign stops depending on one lucky pickup.