How to Prepare a Communications Plan
All communications, whether print, electronic or otherwise benefit from initial planning and the development of a communications strategy and management plan.
Developing your communications strategy
- Define the purpose. Write down the goals that you wish to achieve in producing this communication.
- Define who your audience is. Consider primary and secondary audiences.
- Determine your medium. Do you want this as a print based publication only or a web-based publication?
- How does your communication fit in to the overall strategic direction of the university (refer to University Strategic Plan and departmental plans).
- What milestones are involved? Key dates? Consider University key dates.
- What are the compliance issues? (Trade Practices, Copyright, EEO, OHS, Intellectual Property, CRICOS, Privacy).
- Budget and resources available.
- Evaluation mechanisms. Consider usability testing including focus group research to evaluate effectiveness of choice of medium, content, layout, information architecture.
Managing the publications process
- Resources - who will manage it? Are you going to produce it in-house or outsource?
- Responsibility - who has authority for managing and authorising? Who else is involved and in what capacity?
- Workflow - how are you going to manage the workflow, ensuring that changes/alterations are made, drafts correctly ascribed and authorisation obtained?
- Versions - how are you going to organise the versioning aspects of your production? For instance keeping the latest version of your manuscript so that you do not inadvertently supply an old version to a designer or printer.
- Progress reporting - what method of progress reporting will you implement?
Checklist
Have you:
- defined your purpose for producing this publication?
- established who the intended readers are?
- selected the appropriate medium?
- linked your publication with strategic direction?
- established publication timelines and milestones?
- met all compliance requirements?
- established a budget?
- gathered and committed resources?
- planned for evaluation of publication?
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