How to create a PR questionnaire (free template included)

Every PR client is unique — some want you to create a product launch campaign, some are interested in crisis communication, while others require a whole range of public relations services. This is why PR agencies create intake forms as a simple way to onboard new clients.  

In this post, we’ll show you how to make a perfect PR questionnaire. More importantly, we give you a free template to kickstart your questionnaire creation process.

Let’s take a look!

What do you get from a public relations questionnaire?

No one likes adding yet another task to the to-do list, but there are quite a few reasons to design a PR client intake form. Here are some of the key benefits:

• Faster onboarding: A standardized PR questionnaire makes it easier to onboard new clients because it makes the process organized and more efficient.

• Client understanding: You’ll gain a deep understanding of your client’s communication objectives by asking the right questions.

• Identification of PR opportunities: Intake forms also focus on previous PR activities, so you can develop strategies that build upon past successes.

• Customization of services: Another benefit is that a PR intake form gives you insights on how to tailor your services to meet the specific requirements of each client. 

• Setting expectations: The questionnaire includes budget and timeline-related questions. These enable you to clearly define expectations and deliverables — a simple solution to prevent misunderstandings.

• Demonstration of commitment: The very process of developing a PR intake form proves your expertise and commitment to delivering results. 

These are the most obvious advantages of creating a good questionnaire, but we’re sure you’ll discover other benefits on the go. 

40 questions to add to your PR intake form template

We created a comprehensive list of questions aimed at different aspects of your PR work. You can send these questions to your prospective clients, but we strongly recommend tailoring them to streamline your workflow and match the expectations of a given client.

Client information

1. What is the name of your company?

2. Email

3. Phone number

4. Website URL

5. Who is our primary contact point?

Please provide name, email, and phone number.

Business overview

6. Kindly provide a brief overview of your company’s history and core values.

7. What is your industry?

8. What kind of products or services do you offer?

9. What are the primary challenges your customers face that your products/services address?

10. What geographic regions does your business serve?

11. Are there any specific markets you’re looking to expand into?

If yes, please provide details about these markets.

12. Are there any industry trends or developments that are particularly relevant to your business?

If yes, please provide details about these trends.

Target audience

13. How would you define your ideal customer?

14. What demographics (age, gender, income, education) do they belong to?

15. What are the primary interests, hobbies, and lifestyle preferences of your target audience?

16. How does your target audience typically consume information and media? 

This can include channels like online platforms, traditional media, and social media.

17. What are the key factors that influence your target audience’s purchasing decisions?

18. Have you recently noticed any notable trends or changes in your target audience's behavior?

If yes, please provide details about these changes.

Previous PR experience

19. Have you previously engaged in any PR activities or campaigns? 

If yes, provide a brief overview of those experiences.

20. Have you worked with any PR agencies or professionals in the past? 

If yes, what was your experience like?

21. What were the primary objectives of your previous PR efforts?

22. Did you encounter any challenges or obstacles during previous PR activities?

If yes, please provide details about these obstacles.

23. Do you have any existing PR assets (content, imagery, files) that could inform or support our upcoming collaboration?

If yes, please upload these assets. 

Public relations services

24. What specific PR services are you interested in? 

E.g. media relations, content creation, social media management, influencer outreach, etc.

25. Name at least one particular goal you hope to achieve through PR activities.

26. What key messages or themes do you want to prioritize in your PR efforts?

27. Are there any specific media outlets, journalists, or influencers that you would like to target?

If yes, please specify their names and contact details (if available).

28. Are there any industry events or speaking opportunities that you would like to focus on?

If yes, please provide details about these events.

Key messages

29. What are the core messages or themes that you want to communicate to the target audience?

30. How would you describe your brand’s personality and tone of voice? 

This can be formal, playful, authoritative, casual, professional, etc.

31. Are there any examples of messaging or branding elements that you feel represent your brand accurately?

If yes, please provide details about these elements.

32. Do you have any specific storytelling angles or narratives that you’d like to follow? 

If yes, please provide details about these narratives.

Budget and timeline

33. What is your estimated budget for PR services?

Feel free to provide a range.

34. How do you prefer to allocate your PR budget across different activities or initiatives?

Feel free to divide your budget into specific segments.

35. Are there any specific budget constraints or considerations that we should be aware of?

If yes, please provide details about these constraints.

36. What is the desired timeline for launching PR activities and achieving key milestones?

37. How often would you like to receive PR updates or progress reports?

E.g. weekly, biweekly, monthly. 

Success metrics

38. How would you define success for the planned PR campaigns?

39. What metrics would you like to use to measure the effectiveness of our PR activities?

40. What benchmarks or targets would you consider indicative of a successful PR campaign?

Practical tips to improve your questionnaire

Having a ready-made questionnaire template is the best way to prepare for onboarding new clients, but there are ways to make it even more effective. We’ll give you a few practical tips here.

A template is just a starting point — customize it

Though it’s possible to collect a lot of information using a questionnaire template, we urge you to adjust it to the client’s PR objectives. For instance, don’t ask questions about media buying if you know that your client is only interested in influencer outreach. This kind of customization has two purposes:

• It leads to extra efficiency because you’ll focus on what truly matters
• It makes clients satisfied because there are no unnecessary distractions

Analyze the client

This tip goes hand in hand with the first one. We encourage you to research and understand your client’s business before designing the final version of the questionnaire.

For example, you might notice news about the company’s future expansion into new markets. In this case, you should add questions about their target demographics, regional competitors, unique challenges, and so on. This approach will make your questionnaire better suited to the expectations of that particular client.

Prioritize clarity

Clear communication is one of the most important factors in building successful client relationships. This applies to all communication channels, including the PR questionnaire, so remember to keep your questions as straightforward as possible to avoid confusion and misinterpretation.

Use a professional form builder

The last tip is to use a professional tool to build your PR intake form. You’ll quickly find lots of interesting options online, but our recommendation is to try Content Snare.

It’s a superior online form builder with a ready-made PR questionnaire template:

Content Snare lets you customize the questionnaire template by adding questions and deleting/editing fields that don’t fit the purpose of your project. It’s also easy to rearrange fields, sections, and pages with a drag-and-drop tool. 

Related: How this digital marketing agency saves 50 hours each month using Content Snare

But the thing that makes our platform truly unique is the system of automated notifications that remind clients to fill out the form based on a predefined schedule. You can choose the default schedule or create a new one to better suit your demands.

You can add instructions to any given field, while respondents can pose questions in case they require additional explanations. 

Content Snare will surprise you with tons of extra features, so why don’t you give it a try right now? Take advantage of a 14-day free trial to create a perfect PR intake form.