10 Free Paid Media Templates to Plan Faster

Most paid media campaigns fail before the first ad even runs, not because of bad creative or targeting, but because the planning process is a mess of scattered spreadsheets, forgotten approvals, and budget numbers no one can find.

Marketing teams are being pushed to do more with less. Gartner reports budgets are down to 7.7% of company revenue, and 73% of marketers say the pressure is rising.

This guide walks you through 10 free paid media strategy templates that turn chaotic campaign planning into a repeatable system, plus a step-by-step framework for building a plan that actually gets executed.

10 Free Paid Media Strategy Templates

Paid Media Strategy Templates at a Glance

Template	Download Link	Ideal For	Best Features	Visual Format
ClickUp Campaign & Promotion Management Template	Get free template	Marketing teams planning and managing multi-channel campaigns	Campaign calendar, Custom Fields for budget and channel, dependencies, approval workflows	End-to-end campaign workspace
ClickUp Campaign Brief Template	Get free template	Teams aligning on objectives, messaging, and targeting before execution	Structured brief sections, collaborative Docs, approvals, linked tasks and assets	Campaign brief
ClickUp Marketing Campaign Management Template	Get free template	Teams managing multi-phase campaigns from planning to reporting	Multiple views (List, Board, Calendar, Gantt), automations, dashboard reporting, attachment storage	Multi-phase campaign workflow
ClickUp Advertisement Template	Get free template	Creative teams producing, tracking, and approving high volumes of ad variations	Custom Fields for ad formats and versions, proofing tools, version tracking, attachment storage	Ad production + approval system
ClickUp Campaign Outline Template	Get free template	Strategists mapping high-level campaign structure before execution	Hierarchy mapping (Campaign → Phases → Tactics), Timeline view, Notes sections	Campaign outline blueprint
ClickUp Social Media Campaign Template	Get free template	Social teams coordinating paid + organic social campaigns	Calendar view scheduling, Custom Fields for ad objectives, integrations with scheduling tools, unified paid-organic view	Social campaign planner
ClickUp Ads Schedule Template	Get free template	Media planners scheduling ad flights and mapping cross-channel timing	Gantt + Calendar views, Custom Fields for channel and budget, dependencies for creative approval, single source of truth	Ad scheduling system
ClickUp PPC Campaign Report Template	Get free template	PPC managers and agencies producing clear, actionable campaign reports	Pre-built reporting sections, dashboard widgets, insights documentation, action item tracking	PPC reporting template
ClickUp Media List Template	Get free template	Media buyers tracking contacts, placements, and partnership opportunities	Custom Fields for contact details and rates, List/Table views, follow-up tracking, direct-buy management	Media contact database
Paid Media Template by HubSpot	Download this template	Teams needing a simple spreadsheet to plan channels, budgets, and KPIs	Pre-formatted columns, customizable fields, offline access, easy setup	Spreadsheet planning template

What Is a Paid Media Strategy Template?

A paid media strategy template is a pre-built plan you can reuse across campaigns. It helps you document objectives, targeting, channel mix, budgets, creative requirements, timelines, and KPIs in a consistent format.

Spreadsheets can work for simple one-person campaigns. Once you add multiple owners, approvals, asset versions, and deadlines, you need a workflow that connects planning to execution.

📘 Read More: Best Media Planning Tools

Why Use a Paid Media Plan Template?

Your campaign information is probably scattered everywhere—budgets in one spreadsheet, creative assets in Dropbox, approvals happening in Slack, and the actual strategy in a Google Doc spread across too many tools.

This kind of tool sprawl forces people to hunt for budgets, links, approvals, and “final” creative across Slack, email, docs, and drives. The result is slower launches, more rework, and constant status pings.

Using a paid media plan template solves this by creating a single source of truth. It brings order to the chaos and gives you a scalable framework for every campaign. Here’s what that really means for your team:

Faster campaign launches: Stop the blank-page paralysis. A template gives you a proven structure so you can get straight to planning
Complete budget visibility: See exactly where your ad spend is allocated across channels and campaigns before you commit a single dollar
Effortless cross-team alignment: Keep your creative team, media buyers, and stakeholders on the same page without needing endless status meetings
Consistent, meaningful reporting: Build in the metrics that matter from the start, so you’re not scrambling to pull data at the end of the month
A scalable process: Run one campaign or 20 with the same organized framework, ensuring nothing gets missed as you grow

Most teams don’t need better ads. They need a better system for managing the ads they already have. A template provides that system.

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10 Free Paid Media Strategy Templates

Not every team needs the same level of detail. Some templates are built for approvals and alignment, others for production tracking or reporting. Start with the one that matches how your team actually runs campaigns.

1. ClickUp Campaign & Promotion Management Template

Tired of juggling promotional campaigns across multiple tools and documents? The ClickUp Campaign & Promotion Management Template provides a complete workspace to plan and track every promotional activity across paid, organic, and hybrid campaigns. It helps teams keep budgets, assets, approvals, and timelines aligned in one place so campaigns launch smoothly and without missing pieces.

What this template includes:

See your work your way with a ClickUp Campaign Calendar for scheduling, a ClickUp Task List View for a clear to-do list, and a Kanban-style Workflow to visualize progress
Add important context to every campaign by tracking budget, channel assignment, and status with ClickUp Custom Fields tailored to advertising workflows
Stop campaigns from going live with the wrong assets. Connect creative production tasks to media launch dates to ensure everything is ready on time
Keep approvals moving by routing tasks for sign-off directly within ClickUp Approval Workflows, eliminating confusing email chains

Get free template

2. ClickUp Campaign Brief Template

Build every step of your campaign workflow in this templated brief in ClickUp Docs

A clear strategy prevents costly rework. The ClickUp Campaign Brief Template helps teams align on campaign objectives, audience, and messaging before creative or media execution begins. It ensures all stakeholders share the same direction from the start.

What this template includes:

Systematically cover campaign goals, target personas, key messages, and competitive context so no strategic element is missed
Edit briefs collaboratively with real-time cursors and complete ClickUp Version History in ClickUp Docs to see what’s changed
Embed approvals directly in the document with Approval Workflows to keep the brief from getting lost in an endless email thread
Link related tasks, assets, and other resources directly within the brief for 100% context

Get free template

💡 Pro Tip: With ClickUp Enterprise Search, you can pull the latest budget notes, approvals, creative links, and campaign tasks from one search instead of digging through tabs.

Search through your entire Workspace and get access to all your files

3. ClickUp Marketing Campaign Management Template

Is your media plan just a static document that’s outdated the moment you save it? This end-to-end ClickUp Marketing Campaign Management Template connects your strategy to execution, turning your plan into a living workflow. It’s ideal for marketing teams managing multiple concurrent campaigns who need complete visibility across the entire lifecycle, from ideation to post-campaign analysis.

What this template includes:

Get the right perspective for any task with ClickUp Multiple Views. Switch between ClickUp List View, ClickUp Board View, ClickUp Calendar View, and ClickUp Gantt View to plan your work
Eliminate manual work by setting up ClickUp Automations to move tasks through stages. For example, a status change to “Creative Approved” can automatically trigger a new task to “Schedule for Launch”
Get a high-level overview with ClickUp Dashboard Widgets for Real-time Campaign Status and Budget Tracking, so you don’t have to dig through individual tasks for updates
End the hunt for creative files with ClickUp Attachment Storage. Keep all briefs, assets, and final ad creatives connected to their respective campaigns

Get free template

💡 Pro Tip: ClickUp Super Agents can take this further by monitoring pacing, overdue approvals, or missing creative, and automatically nudging owners or escalating blockers before launch dates slip.

Speed up workflows with Super Agents in ClickUp

4. ClickUp Advertisement Template

Avoid starting from scratch while creating your ad copies with the ClickUp Advertisement Template

The number of ads you can test is limited by how quickly you can produce and approve them. When you’re managing dozens of ad variations, it’s easy to lose track of which version is which. This ClickUp Advertisement Template removes that bottleneck by focusing on individual ad creation, tracking every creative asset, copy variation, and approval status for each ad unit.

It’s built for creative teams and media buyers who need to manage a high volume of ad variations across multiple platforms.

What this template includes:

Keep every ad organized with Custom Fields. Create fields for ad format, platform, copy version, and creative status
Streamline feedback with ClickUp Proofing and Annotation Features. Assign comments directly on images, videos, and PDFs to provide clear, contextual feedback
Store all your design files directly on tasks where the work is happening with Attachment Storage, including images and videos
Eliminate “which version did we run?” confusion with Version tracking. Know exactly which ad variation was approved and when it ran

Get free template

5. ClickUp Campaign Outline Template

Before you get lost in the weeds of individual ad sets and keyword lists, you need the 30,000-foot view. This lightweight ClickUp Campaign Outline Template helps you map out your campaign structure before diving into detailed execution. It’s the “napkin sketch” that becomes the real plan, perfect for strategists and planners pitching a campaign internally or to a client.

Use it to quickly sketch out your campaign architecture, including channels, phases, and key milestones.

What this template includes:

Organize your plan logically with a simple hierarchy structure for Campaign → Phases → Tactics
Visualize the entire campaign flow and see how different phases transition over time with ClickUp Timeline View
Document high-level audience parameters, budget constraints, and success criteria in one place with ClickUp Notes sections
Move from a rough idea to a structured plan in minutes with Quick Start, laying the foundation for a more detailed build-out

Get free template

Organic and paid social shouldn’t live in separate universes. This ClickUp Social Media Campaign Template is tailored for running coordinated social media campaigns and keeping your boosted posts, sponsored content, and paid ads in a single unified view. It’s designed for social media managers and paid social specialists running campaigns across Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, and X.

Paid social moves fast, and this template helps you keep up by centralizing your entire workflow.

What this template includes:

Plan your content schedule with ClickUp Calendar View, a visual calendar optimized for social media timing
Track platform-specific details like ad objective (awareness, traffic, conversions) and audience segment with Custom Fields
Connect with your favorite Social Scheduling Tools through integrations to create a seamless publishing workflow
Treat your entire social presence as one coordinated effort with a Unified view, aligning paid and organic strategies

Get free template

7. ClickUp Ads Schedule Template

Your ad schedule should be the single source of truth—not a screenshot from Google Ads you Slacked to someone last week. This scheduling-focused ClickUp Ads Schedule Template gives you granular control over ad flight dates and channel timing. It’s built for media planners and buyers who need to know exactly what’s running, where, and when, without digging through multiple ad platform UIs.

Stop asking “what’s running when?” and get a clear answer in one place.

What this template includes:

Visualize your ad flights across your entire media mix with Gantt and Calendar Views to spot gaps or overlaps
Track essential details like channel, placement, budget per flight, and status with Custom Fields
Ensure the creative is approved before the scheduling task can be completed with Dependencies, preventing costly mistakes
Provide your entire team with one place to see the definitive ad schedule as a Single source of truth

Get free template

8. ClickUp PPC Campaign Report Template

Keep an eye on the success of your marketing campaigns through ClickUp’s PPC Campaign Report Plan Template

A good report doesn’t just show numbers—it tells you what to do next. This reporting ClickUp PPC Campaign Report Template helps you document PPC campaign performance with clarity, turning raw platform data into a story that stakeholders can actually understand. It’s perfect for PPC managers and agencies who need to deliver clear, consistent reports to clients or internal teams.

Stop delivering data dumps and start providing actionable insights.

What this template includes:

Systematically cover the campaign summary, key metrics (clicks, conversions, CPA, ROAS), and your recommendations with Pre-built sections
Create real-time, dynamic reports by pulling Live Data Visualizations from your projects into ClickUp Dashboards
Go beyond the numbers with Insight space. Document what worked, what didn’t, and what you plan to test next
Transform performance data into clear, documented next steps that drive future campaign success with Actionable output

Get free template

9. ClickUp Media List Template

Programmatic buying is powerful, but direct relationships still win premium placements. This ClickUp Media List Template helps you manage them. It’s a contact and placement management system for tracking media outlets, ad networks, publishers, and influencer partners. Media buyers and partnership managers can use it to organize outreach and placement opportunities systematically.

Keep your media buying contacts and direct placement options organized instead of buried in a spreadsheet.

What this template includes:

Store essential information like contact details, rate card specifics, audience size, and relationship status with Custom Fields
Easily filter and sort your contacts with List and ClickUp Table Views to find the perfect placement for any campaign
Manage your outreach sequences with Task-based Follow-up Tracking, so you never lose track of a conversation or follow-up
Keep all your premium placement relationships and sponsorship details in one organized place with Direct buy management

Get free template

10. Paid Media Template by HubSpot

Free Paid Media Template by Hubspot — A downloadable paid media planning spreadsheet for tracking channels, budgets, targeting, and performance metrics

For teams who prefer static files or need a quick-start option without adopting new software, this spreadsheet-based Paid Media Template by HubSpot is a solid choice. It’s available as a downloadable Excel or Google Sheets file and provides a basic framework for planning.

What this template includes:

Track channel, budget, targeting, and performance metrics with Pre-formatted columns
Adapt to your specific campaign needs with Easy customization and a simple structure
Work without an internet connection with Offline access, fitting into existing workflows

Download this template

How to Create a Paid Media Plan

Having a template is a great start, but it’s useless if you don’t have a solid strategic process to fill it out. Too many marketers jump straight to tactics without a foundation. Follow these steps to build a paid media plan that actually drives results. 🛠️

Define your campaign objectives: Start with what success looks like. Are you aiming for awareness, website traffic, lead generation, or direct sales? Your objectives will determine everything that follows, from your channel mix to your KPIs
Identify your target audience: Get specific about who you’re trying to reach. Demographics are a starting point, but the real power comes from using intent signals and behavioral data to define your audience segments
Select your channels and placements: Match your channels to your objectives. Search ads are great for capturing intent-driven conversions, while social media is better for building awareness and retargeting. Programmatic can offer scale, but requires careful management
Allocate your budget: Distribute your ad spend based on historical channel performance and your current campaign goals. Always leave a portion of your budget for testing new channels or creative—don’t put all your money into “what worked last time”
Map your creative requirements: List every single asset you’ll need, broken down by channel and format. Paid media campaigns often stall because the creative isn’t ready on time
Build your timeline: Work backward from your desired launch date. Make sure to include deadlines for creative production, stakeholder approval windows, and any platform-specific lead times for ad review
Set your KPIs and reporting cadence: Define exactly what you’ll measure and how often you’ll report on it. Weekly check-ins are great for catching problems before they burn through your budget
Set up tracking and naming conventions: Define UTM rules, campaign naming, and how you’ll tag creatives and audiences. Clean structure now prevents messy reporting later
Define your testing plan: Decide what you’re testing (offer, hook, creative, landing page, audience) and set guardrails for when to pause, iterate, or scale. A plan without test logic becomes “launch and hope”
Document everything in one place: Use a template—like the ones above—to keep your strategy, execution details, and reporting connected. A paid media plan is only as good as your ability to execute it, which is why the right template matters

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🎥 As marketing becomes increasingly data-driven and complex, AI tools are transforming how teams plan, execute, and optimize campaigns. Watch this video to learn practical ways AI can enhance your marketing workflows, from campaign planning to performance analysis.

Stop Planning in Silos, Start Winning with a Unified Strategy

A paid media strategy template does more than organize information. It replaces scattered planning with a repeatable system that connects strategy to execution. Budget, creative, scheduling, and reporting stay aligned in one view instead of being spread across disconnected tools.

Whether you’re running a single campaign or managing a full media mix, a template removes the need to rebuild your plan each time and keeps the focus on decision-making. It also helps reduce Work Sprawl by keeping planning and execution connected, rather than fragmented across multiple systems.

The right template brings clarity, consistency, and speed to a process that is often complex. As competition increases, strong execution and process discipline matter as much as media buying itself.

You can start your next paid media campaign in ClickUp and use a unified workspace to keep strategy, execution, and tracking connected.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you use a paid media template for B2B campaigns?

For B2B campaigns, you’ll want to customize your template’s audience fields for account-based targeting, add milestones to accommodate a longer sales cycle, and include lead quality metrics such as MQLs and SQLs. It’s also helpful to have sections for the content offers and nurture sequences that your paid campaigns will support.

What’s the difference between a media plan template and a paid media strategy template?

A media plan template focuses on the “where and when” of your ads—channels, placements, and schedules. A paid media strategy template is broader, covering the “why and who” by including objectives, audience targeting, budget allocation, and creative requirements alongside the media plan.

Spreadsheet vs. project management templates for paid media—which is better?

Spreadsheets are fine for simple, one-off campaigns, but quickly break down when multiple collaborators or ongoing programs are involved. Project management templates connect your planning to execution, automate status updates, and keep your creative, scheduling, and reporting in one central workspace.

What metrics should a paid media plan template track?

At a minimum, you should track impressions, clicks, click-through rate (CTR), conversions, cost per acquisition (CPA), and return on ad spend (ROAS). More advanced templates will also help you track budget pacing, creative performance by variant, and each channel’s contribution to your sales pipeline or revenue.