What does a good monthly PR report look like?
By Joel Andren · Published by PressFriendly, a PR agency · Reviewed October 13, 2026 · Editorial standards · 4 of 6 in this section
A good report tells you what the agency did, what happened, what it learned, and what should happen next. You should be able to connect the work to your goal without reconstructing the month from a long activity log or a collection of publication logos.
Start with the useful result and the current picture
Ask for a short summary of progress, setbacks, and the next priorities. If there is a decision for you, it should be easy to find.
A fictional update might say: “Two trade publications covered the customer story. General business reporters showed less interest, so next month we recommend developing the original data we discussed. We need your analyst's input before that work can move.”
That gives you a result, a lesson, a recommendation, and a company responsibility.
Show enough work to explain what happened
The report should link to meaningful coverage or other outputs and summarize the work behind them. For a media program, that might include the stories pursued, relevant reporter responses, interviews, and open opportunities.
Look at quality as well as quantity. Was the audience relevant? Did the article explain the business accurately? Was the company central to the story or briefly mentioned? Ask about missing work and quiet periods without treating every month as a placement quota.
Detailed activity records can sit behind the summary for when you need them.
Keep coverage separate from business effects
AMEC's evaluation framework distinguishes communication outputs from audience response and broader impact. A published article is an output. Evidence that relevant people understood, trusted, or acted on it answers a different question.
Use the business signals you can reasonably observe, such as qualified inquiries, relevant website visits, or customer feedback. State what is unknown and what else might have influenced a change. A monthly report does not have to prove a long-term revenue effect every month.
Make important numbers understandable
Agree on definitions that keep reports comparable. Separate original coverage from syndicated copies, and identify paid content or press-release republication. Potential reach is an estimate of possible exposure, not a count of actual readers.
If a number drives a decision, the agency should explain where it came from and its limits. The PR metrics guide covers useful measures and misleading ones.
End with the next work and any help needed
The agency should recommend what to continue, change, or stop. Include unresolved approvals, missing information, and significant scope or spending changes.
Keep past reports available so you can see whether the plan improved and promised work happened. Use the reporting template as a starting point, then remove fields that do not help you understand the engagement.