Press lists can seem daunting. In the ever evolving and widespread world of journalistic beats, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to pinpoint reporters’ editorial focus. This leads to the unintended inundation of email inboxes with unwanted content and failure to establish relationships. One master press list is not a sufficient one-size-fits-all approach. But don’t lose hope – there are things you can do in advance of establishing a press list that will set you up for success in your proactive pitching efforts.
1. Utilize Search Engines and Media Databases
One or the other is not the end-all, be-all. Exploring publications and reporters within search engines like Google and media databases like Cision both contribute to a healthy press list. Many times, the two work in unison, as Google or the publication’s site may provide the reporter’s name and editorial focus while Cision may provide emails and phone numbers.
2. Determine Reporter’s Beats
This doesn’t merely mean taking a look at the reporter’s general editorial focus. This means diving into their written work to determine their specific beat. A tech reporter does not necessarily cover both software and AI. To help diversify different topics within a subject in a press list, please see the following pointer.
3. Clearly Define Tabs and the Reporters’ Editorial Focus
For example, when creating a press list that will include both tech and business reporters, create tabs for each, and within those tabs create a column for “Editorial Focus” to be able to indicate exactly what that reporter covers.
4. Make a “Notes” Section
This allows you to keep track of how reporters respond to your pitches, specific content they like to receive, when you last sent a pitch to them, etc. The latter is important to consider when sending multiple pitches per month.
5. Create Specific Alerts
Use alert systems like Google Alerts or TalkWalker to be notified about specific topics by indicating topics and keywords. These are valuable resources when trying to identify what reporters are currently talking about. Topics and keywords can be broad or specific – “technology” would glean substantially different results compared to a type of technology such as “MacBook Pro.”
6. Keep Your List Current
As soon as you receive non-deliverable emails, check to see if the email is correct – if it is, proceed to see if the reporter is still with the publication. As time goes along, continue to search proactively for new media contacts to add to your press list.
As newsrooms decrease in size and the cadence of developing news ceases to slow, it’s increasingly important to keep tabs on journalistic beats. Just as one master press list is not a one-size-fits-all approach, the same goes for how you choose to manage lists. Overall, do your research, take good notes, and keep your list updated.