A media list is like a secret weapon for PR professionals. It's a list of contacts that you can pitch your ideas to and get your story out there. But, building a media list that works takes time, research, and a lot of patience. Whether you're a media professional or just starting out, your media list is essential.
So, what exactly is a media list? It's basically a list of journalists, editors, bloggers, and other contacts at publications that you want to pitch to. These are the people who can help you get your message out there and make you or your clients very happy. A good media list is valuable because it gives you access to everyone relevant to your industry or target audience.
When building your media list, it's important to focus on valuable contacts like section editors, commissioning editors, freelancers with specialties, and avid bloggers. You want to pitch your story to the right people, not just send it to generic email addresses. For example, if you're promoting a sustainable footwear brand, you'll want to pitch to the climate editor of a newspaper, the freelancer who only covers environmentally friendly businesses or the TV program coordinator of the climate change special reports. By showing your media contacts that you understand their beat and specialties, they will be more likely to respect your pitches.
Before creating your media list, it's important to identify your target audience. Who are you trying to reach? You should consider things like age, gender, location, salary bracket, politics, spending habits, and hobbies/interests. By understanding your target audience, you can determine which publications they are likely to read and build a media list that includes those publications.
A good media list will take all of this into account and include publications that can potentially bring you value or new business. So, do your research, be patient, and build a media list that works for you.
It is an essential tool for any PR professional who wants to get their story in front of the right audience. But what should you include in your media list, and how do you find the right contacts? Here are some tips and tricks to help you create a comprehensive media list that will get your pitch noticed.
Include all relevant contact information
A media list should include more than just a list of target outlets and publications. It should include names, emails, phone numbers, roles, specialties, locations, and media types. You can also categorize your list further by the writing style, social media following, and recent articles. Consider including a prompt for a conversation starter if you don’t want your introduction to be a cold pitch.
Find the right contacts
The more you read relevant articles, the better your knowledge of who the key industry players will be. Whenever you read a news piece, feature, or interview that is related to your sector, service, or business in any way, search for an email address. Sometimes these will be listed on a website author page, or you may have to search Twitter and LinkedIn to find them. You can also find contacts by Googling relevant topics, clicking the news tab, and then checking which journalists have written about a certain subject recently.
Organize your media list
When creating a media list, you can organize it by putting your outlets into various tiers. You might want to focus your outreach on bloggers and local publications before aiming for national TV spots and glossy magazines. This can also help to build a foundation for your press coverage to show top-tier outlets that niche communities are interested in you or your business. You can also place your warm or established contacts in their own section. Your list can be broken down further into categories, language, location, readership, age demographics, and more.
Identify different pitching angles
When you have a story you want to get in the media, think broadly about the types of people this could appeal to. At first, you might think your story would be interesting exclusively to tech publications. But as you start to think about how different people might receive or interpret the story, you might find there is a human rights angle, a scientific one, and a healthy one. It’s crucial to know how to best present your story, and then you can build a media list based on who would be interested in that angle.
Keep track of your media list
The best media lists are the ones constantly updated and reorganized. This means knowing who might be susceptible to a pitch at the right time. News outlets may be on the lookout for a new angle related to a recent story, whereas a journalist that writes mostly features won’t be interested in a story almost identical to the one they have just written. To keep on top of this, you should be a keen reader of your contacts’ work. Not only does this help you better understand their specialist subjects and areas of interest, but it allows you to judge your pitching based on what they have covered most recently. Moreover, dropping a nice line to your contact to say you enjoyed their article will often be well received.
Consider using a media list database
Many PR agencies will use a database, like Cision, that contains thousands of media contacts and allows you to build a media list, or several lists, based on various factors. These can be powerful tools in getting your pitch or press releases out to hundreds of contacts, particularly when it comes to location-based pitches. However, they are not completely extensive and do not contain every media contact. It’s also easy to overlook the importance of building your relationships when using the software. Creating lists on databases has many benefits, but does have its
In recent years, public relations has undergone significant changes, with social media influencers becoming a key focus for outreach and pitching. Collaborating with influencers can provide opportunities for branded content or sponsorship, as well as organic exposure through their social channels. When building a media list, it is crucial to identify micro-influencers who have followings in your area of expertise or interest.
Once you have established a strong media list, it's time to begin outreach. Journalists are more likely to respond positively to relevant press releases and pitches that are not spammy. Following up after a week is generally recommended, but it's important to avoid pitching the same idea multiple times in a week, as this can lead to being marked as spam or even removed from the list. Quality over quantity is the key to making the most of your media list.
It's important to keep your media contacts warm and build relationships with them over time. Personalizing your email shows an understanding of their publication and is more effective than using a generic database. Remember that journalists want to build industry relationships as well, so introducing yourself in a phone call or meeting for coffee can be an effective way to start a long-term working relationship. Ultimately, a successful PR-journalist relationship is one where both parties can help each other out.