How To Develop Media Outreach Lists
You can’t reach out to the media effectively to let them know about your brand, products, and services unless you first have media outreach lists containing contact information.
Here are a few steps to help you start building your own effective lists.
1-Know your niche
Be very focused on who you want to contact in relation to your brand and business. You will be looking for the top “movers and shakers” in your niche.
2-Who do you already know?
If you’ve been working in your niche or industry for any length of time, chances are you have a number of valuable contacts which you can tap into in order to spread the word about your business. Make a list of these, and always ensure that you give a personal touch to your outreach for this list.
3-Who do you love?
We all have our favorite niche related websites and blogs. Check out the ones you follow most often and get the contact information of the owner of the URL. If it is a popular aggregator website like Huffington Post, check out the contact information for the journalists you tend to read most often who cover your niche.
Bloggers are new thought leaders these days, so look up your favorite bloggers to see if you can reach out to them with content, such as guest blogging offers.
On social media, target the people who are considered influencers in your niche, and put them at the top of your list.
4-Consider using a media database
There are a number to choose from, though access can be costly. They will provide name, publication, preferred contact information and so on. Over time, you will be able to weed out those who are most interested in hearing from you.
The Good News is…
Newswire provides access to a media database of over 1.6 million contacts that have been updated by our team. If you would like to browse our database for free, simply register an account and click on Media Database. You will be able to filter and sort based on Beats, Roles, Location and Outlet Name. It’s a powerful tool to help you jumpstart your outreach efforts. Check out the quick video below:
5-Be clear about the role of each media representative
Databases can be very large, with a range of different personnel. A managing editor and a journalist/writer do very different things. You might never be able to get your press release into your publication of choice without going through the managing editor, however. Editorial assistants are usually looking for unique new stories and ideas and will often feed them to busy writers.
6-Take note of multiple people at a particular publication
You might wish to group them together by publication rather than alphabetically by name. This is because some might be a better fit for you than others, even if they all cover the same niche. Take the time to study each person’s most recent articles/pickups and rank them in order by who seems to be the best fit, or publishing the content most relevant to your business and goals.
7-Go for Google
Refine your lists by Googling each person. This might help you weed out. It can also help you find all-new possibilities.
8-Check out LinkedIn
Check out LinkedIn in relation to each person on your list. The people in their circles might be ones you would like to know, as well. Many top thought leaders and influencers will never appear on a media database.
9-Repeat the process on Facebook and Twitter
You should soon find a range of thought leaders worth following and interacting with.
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