It’s Monday, you have two sales calls before lunch, and the marketing report in your inbox is twenty charts with no commentary. When founders ask me how to write a weekly report that actually gets read, my answer barely changes: one page, a handful of numbers, and a few sentences on what changed.
Below is the format I use with post-seed B2B SaaS teams: the one-page structure, a template table to copy, how to pick five to seven metrics, a formula for the commentary, and a monthly one-pager for your board or investors.
There’s also a bit on weekly versus monthly reports, on automating the data pull from GA4, Search Console and your CRM, and on what a sensible MQL to SQL conversion rate looks like (spoiler: the published numbers disagree wildly).
If you only read one bit
- Keep it to one page, in the same order every time: what moved, pipeline numbers, experiments, blockers, next week.
- Track five to seven metrics against last week and target; if a number wouldn’t change a decision, let it go.
- Write each commentary line as what changed, why we think it changed, and what we’ll do.
- Once a month, send the board a one-pager: the same metrics every time, pipeline in euros, and one decision you need.
- Published MQL to SQL benchmarks range from 13% (Klipfolio) to 51% for SEO (First Page Sage), so your own rate by channel is the one to watch.
How to write a weekly report founders actually read
Assume the reader has two minutes. Open with what changed and why, then five to seven numbers against last week and target, then any decision or help you need. If a number doesn’t change a decision, it doesn’t belong in the weekly.
Founders at seed and Series A read on their phone between calls, usually with one eye on the next meeting. That shapes everything:
- It fits in one scroll. If it needs a table of contents, it’s a monthly report.
- Every number sits next to last week and the target. On its own, it’s trivia.
- Words come before charts. Three sentences of commentary beat six charts nobody has time to interpret.
- The format never changes. That’s boring on purpose, because a fixed layout is what makes a change jump out.
One page, five blocks, same order every week
Five blocks in a fixed order: what moved, pipeline numbers, experiments, blockers, and next week. None of them is long, and the whole thing fits on one phone screen.
1. What moved (the summary)
Two to four bullets on the most important changes of the week, good or bad. This is the only part some readers will see, so write it last.
2. Pipeline numbers
The five to seven metrics you agreed on, each with this week, last week, target and a short trend note. Pipeline first, traffic last.
3. Experiments
What you launched, what you stopped and what you learned. One line each is plenty: hypothesis, status, early read. If you run a structured demand generation programme, this block is where its tests show up week to week.
4. Blockers
Anything slowing marketing down that the reader can help unblock: a missing approval, a sales handover issue, a budget question. Name the owner and the ask, kindly but clearly.
5. Next week
Three priorities at most. If there are ten, there are really no priorities.
Marketing weekly report format: the template table
This is the marketing weekly report format I start from with a new team. Every value in it is a made-up placeholder, there only to show the shape.
| Section | Metric | Source | This week (example) | Last week (example) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pipeline | New SQLs | CRM | 12 | 9 |
| Pipeline | Pipeline created (€) | CRM | 40,000 | 32,000 |
| Pipeline | MQL to SQL rate | CRM | 30% | 26% |
| Demand | Demo requests | CRM or forms | 18 | 15 |
| Demand | Organic clicks to priority pages | Search Console | 1,200 | 1,150 |
| Demand | Paid spend per SQL (€) | Ad platforms and CRM | 350 | 410 |
| Experiments | Tests live | Experiment log | 2 | 3 |
Once you have targets
Add a “Target” column once you’ve agreed targets for the quarter. Until then, the week-on-week comparison is plenty to start a useful conversation.
How to pick 5 to 7 metrics (and let the rest go)
Pick metrics close to revenue that marketing can move within weeks and that you can pull every Monday without a fight. In practice that’s one or two pipeline metrics, two or three demand metrics and one efficiency metric.
The filter I run each candidate through:
- Would a change in this number change what we do next week? If not, it can happily live in the monthly.
- Can we pull it the same way every week? If the definition keeps shifting, the trend doesn’t mean much.
- Does the founder care about it? If the CEO only talks about pipeline, lead with pipeline.
- Is it a leading indicator? Weekly reports are for early signals, monthly reports for outcomes like closed revenue and CAC payback.
If a number does not change a decision, it does not belong in the weekly.
If you’d like a fuller list of candidates and how they connect, my post on B2B SaaS marketing metrics and KPIs goes deeper. The budget side, CAC payback included, is in the marketing budget guide.
How to write the commentary: what changed, why, so what
Each line of commentary answers what changed, why we think it changed, and what we’ll do about it. Most weekly reports I see stop after the first part.
Before and after
Weak: “Demo requests: 18 (last week 15).”
Better: “Demo requests up to 18 from 15, mostly from the new comparison page. We will add it to the nurture email next week and watch whether SQLs follow.”
The better version takes ten more seconds to write and saves you a whole Slack thread. A few habits that keep commentary honest:
- Say “we think” when the cause is a hypothesis, not a fact.
- Report bad weeks in the same format as good ones, with the awkward numbers in their usual place rather than tucked away at the bottom.
- Flag data problems openly, for example a broken form or a tracking gap.
One example that stuck with me: a weekly report kept showing recurring traffic spikes, and when we dug in, they were coming from the email campaigns. The team had been about to stop those campaigns because they took time to produce, but the report showed they were one of the main traffic drivers, so we kept them.
Weekly progress report example
A short weekly progress report example in this format. The company and every number in it are invented.
What moved: SQLs up to 12 from 9, driven by two demo requests from the new integration page. Paid spend per SQL down as we paused the broad LinkedIn audience. Organic clicks flat.
Experiments: New demo form with four fields instead of seven is live since Tuesday, too early to read. Webinar invite email sent, registrations below plan.
Blockers: Two SQLs from last week have no follow-up logged. Ask: sales to confirm status by Wednesday.
Next week: Publish the pricing FAQ, launch the retargeting campaign, review the webinar plan.
That’s the whole report. Anyone who wants more detail can click through to the dashboard.
Weekly vs monthly marketing reports
Weekly is for early signals and unblocking work; monthly is for outcomes, spend and strategy. Mixing them up is, in my experience, how a one-page weekly slowly turns into a monster.
| Question | Weekly report | Monthly report |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Spot changes early, unblock work | Judge results, adjust strategy |
| Length | One page | Three to six pages |
| Metrics | 5 to 7 leading indicators | Pipeline, revenue, CAC, channel mix |
| Audience | Founder, sales lead | Founder, leadership, sometimes the board |
| Commentary | What changed and next steps | Trends, learnings, budget decisions |
The monthly board or investor one-pager
Once a month, turn the weeklies into one page for your board or investors: pipeline in euros, where it came from, what it cost, what you learned and one decision you need. Think of it as an extra page on top of the weeklies, written once a month.
| Line | What to show | Example (illustrative) |
|---|---|---|
| Pipeline created | This month vs target and last month, in euros | €150,000 vs €180,000 target |
| Pipeline by source | Top three sources, self-reported and CRM side by side | Referrals, founder LinkedIn, search |
| Won from marketing-sourced deals | Closed revenue this month, in euros | €24,000 |
| Spend and efficiency | Marketing spend and spend per opportunity | €9,000; €600 per opportunity |
| What we learned | Two lines: what worked, what didn’t | Comparison page converts; webinar didn’t |
| Next month | Three priorities at most | Retargeting, pricing page, one partner |
| The decision we need | One ask for the board or investors | Approve a second paid channel test |
Three rules keep it useful:
- Same metrics, same order, every month. The value is in the trend, and a new layout each month hides it.
- Pipeline in euros, not MQLs. Boards and investors think in money; lead counts invite the wrong debate.
- One decision you need. End with a single, specific ask, so the meeting spends its time on the thing only they can help with.
Automating the data pull from GA4, Search Console and your CRM
Let the tools fetch the numbers. Connect GA4, Search Console and your CRM to one dashboard or sheet that refreshes before Monday morning, and spend the time you save on the commentary.
Roughly, the setup goes like this:
- Define every metric once. Write down what counts as an MQL, an SQL and pipeline created, and which system is the source of truth.
- Connect the sources. Native connectors in tools like Looker Studio, or your CRM’s reporting, can pull GA4, Search Console and CRM data into one view.
- Schedule delivery. Google’s documentation on scheduled report delivery explains how to email a report on a custom schedule, for example every Monday.
- Keep a manual layer. The summary, experiments and blockers always need a human.
And if your Search Console numbers ever look a bit odd, my guide to running a B2B SEO audit in Search Console covers the reports worth checking. Setting up this kind of pipeline reporting is also most of what our growth and reporting work involves.
What is a good MQL to SQL conversion rate?
There is no single good MQL to SQL conversion rate, because every company defines an MQL differently. Published benchmarks range from the low teens to around half of MQLs, depending on the channel and how strict the MQL definition is.
Two reference points I opened while writing this, which show just how wide the range is:
- First Page Sage’s B2B SaaS funnel benchmarks, based on their client data, report MQL to SQL rates of 51% for SEO, 46% for email, 39% for webinars, 30% for LinkedIn and 26% for PPC.
- Klipfolio’s KPI guide mentions a widely cited industry average of 13%, without naming a primary source.
The gap between those numbers is the lesson, and honestly I’m not sure either figure is much use to a small team with a short history. Track your own rate by channel, keep the definition stable, and compare yourself with last quarter rather than with a blog post.
Sudden drop?
If the rate suddenly drops, check the definition and the sales follow-up before blaming the channel. The channel is usually innocent.
Frequently asked questions
How do you write a weekly report?
Start with two to four bullets on what changed and why. Then show five to seven numbers with last week and target, list experiments and their status, name any blockers with an owner and a clear ask, and finish with up to three priorities for next week. Keep it to one page and use the same format every week so change is easy to spot.
What should be included in a weekly marketing report?
A short summary of what moved, pipeline metrics such as new SQLs and pipeline created, a few demand metrics such as demo requests and organic clicks, one efficiency metric such as spend per SQL, experiments in progress, blockers and next week’s priorities. Leave detailed channel analysis, budget reviews and strategy discussion for the monthly report.
How many metrics should a weekly report have?
Five to seven metrics is usually enough for a post-seed B2B SaaS team. Choose one or two pipeline metrics, two or three demand metrics and one efficiency metric. Every metric should be something marketing can influence within weeks and pull the same way every Monday. Anything that would not change next week’s plan belongs in the monthly report.
What is a good MQL to SQL conversion rate?
It depends on your MQL definition and channel mix. First Page Sage’s B2B SaaS benchmarks report MQL to SQL rates from 26% for PPC to 51% for SEO, while Klipfolio mentions a widely cited average of 13%. Track your own rate by channel with a stable definition and compare it with previous quarters rather than one industry figure.
What is the difference between a weekly and a monthly marketing report?
A weekly report is a one-page view of leading indicators, experiments and blockers, used to spot changes early and unblock work. A monthly report looks at outcomes such as pipeline, revenue, CAC and channel mix, and supports budget and strategy decisions. Keeping the two separate stops the weekly report from growing into a document nobody reads.
One thing to do this week
Take your current weekly report and delete every metric that wouldn’t change next week’s plan. Then add three sentences at the top: what changed, why you think it changed, and what you’ll do about it. That’s most of how to write a weekly report people read.
If the report shows you need a different team or budget to hit next quarter’s pipeline, the free B2B Growth Planner helps you map team, budget and roadmap in one place.