Creating a media list, or a contact sheet of those with a large audience is a crucial step in knowing how to get media coverage. You have decided to construct a media contact list for your business, for each separate target audience. Yay! Before you begin, a few words of wisdom: You should be a whiz at building these lists on Excel spreadsheets or with your company’s favorite database software. If you aren’t well-versed in either of these tools, it’s time to learn how to use ‘em! They will be your lifeline to the outside world, going forward… and they will be in constant need of being updated, so the information contained in your contact list is accurate!
Aside from that, it’s really easy to jump into the media relations pool your target journalists, media outlets, bloggers, podcasters, and whoever else can act as your company’s very own “influencer.” There are lots of things to know before you create your actual list of key media contacts, but we will cover those for you.
The good news is, because media list creation is a simple and straightforward process, you shouldn’t need a lifeguard! Just know that without an organized public relations plan that doesn’t include a contact list, your communications efforts are likely to sink to the bottom of the pool.
Ready to start? Let’s swim!
The Purpose Of Your Media Contact List
Think of your list as a list of go-to friends with whom you enjoy talking… you have a good relationship with these people – you rely on them for advice and help when you have a problem, and you provide the same to them.
In business, that’s exactly the kind of relationship you should develop with your relevant media contacts. Your homework, prior to putting your list into motion, should include a handful of contacts with whom you have developed a good rapport, and can rely on when you have a really great story to share. We can call them your “inner circle” of media contacts. These are relationships you will need to nourish and feed along the way. Chances are, you might already have an inner circle created.
Just as you wouldn’t want to wake up your inner circle of friends in the middle of the night to chit-chat, you should never consider calling your close journalist contacts at a time when they would not appreciate hearing from you; while they are on deadline would be one of those times. Other times would be after their normal office hours, on the weekends, or during holidays.
Find out when your inner circle of key media contacts work and when they are on deadline. They will let you know when it is a good time to hear from you if you plan to call to pitch a story for media coverage. If you’re wondering, “why is media coverage important,” make sure to read up on the topic to familiarize yourself with a whole new way to gain brand awareness and exposure..
How To Create Your Media Contact List
If you are new to public relations, there is a fact that’s worth remembering: There is MUCH more to media relations than press release distribution. Much like a newspaper reporter needs to prepare with a fair amount of research and fact-finding before sitting down to draft a story, you will need to do some reconnaissance of your own before you construct a great list.
There is a tried-and-true method for getting started – one that involves firing up the Google machine and doing simple searches that will provide valuable information that will keep you in the right lane. Here we go...
Important: Perform Your Own Due Diligence!
While you are searching/selecting the journalists or bloggers with whom you want to add to your contact list, MAKE SURE:
Categories Of Your Media Contact List
1st row:
Media Outlet/Blog/Podcast Name (Here’s where separate Excel spreadsheet tabs, or segmented databases that are divided into these three categories, come into play…you can also add the outlet’s/blogger’s/podcaster’s website URL to your entry if you don’t already have it bookmarked in your browser.)
2nd row:
Journalist/Blogger/Podcaster Name (Again, if you choose to create separate Excel spreadsheet tabs for Media Outlet, Blog, or Podcast, “Contact Name” will suffice)
3rd row:
Title (This column is probably not necessary for a blogger or a podcaster, though.)
4th row:
Phone Number
(Desk and cell, depending on how familiar you are with your contact.)
5th row:
Email Addresses
6th row:
When To Contact (This is after you’ve made initial contact, and know when he or she is on deadline, or not at work.)
7th row:
Contact’s Beat (i.e., what he or she covers; again, probably not necessary for blogger or podcaster entries.)
8th row:
Notes (Here is where you put any information you can think of about your contact – how he/she prefers to be contacted, when or if he has ever written about your company, the social network(s) they use, and whatever other helpful info you can add that will assist you prior to contacting your journalist.)
Below is an example of an Excel spreadsheet with the three kinds of contacts separated by tabs at the bottom.
You can add however many more columns you want to your spreadsheet or database, if it helps you keep your list more detailed…but as long as you include the above information in your contact list, you will be in good shape.
When You Are Ready To Reach Out…
Remember what fabulous press release distribution provider helped you build your contact list! ACCESSWIRE provides an easy-to-use platform with which you can send your news to your media contacts, and outstanding customer service 24/7/365! We offer demos of our distribution platform, as well as our newsroom product. To schedule a demo, or to learn more about the ACCESSWIRE network and the media outlets we send to, click here!
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