If you consider modern media relations from a scientific perspective, then the equation for an effective media pitch comprises the following elements:
- A thoughtful and relevant pitch
- Several media contacts
- A newsworthy story
While your life may revolve around your company, in the real world, journalists may not recognize your brand because of various variables. Their inboxes might be stuffed with new messages, or they might simply be having a bad day. Add to that the fact that they are often also drowning under tons of work, and you’ll understand why your brand might not stand out to them immediately.
In reality, media relations is actually far less complex than science. However, in order to make it work for your brand, you need a media database of journalists in your industry. These journalists are likely to already be on the lookout for the kind of news you will be sharing. As such, you’ll have an easier time capturing their attention.
Our focus today is helping you to build a database of journalists that covers your market, industry, and the type of themes you prefer.
We’ve put together a step-by-step guide to help you build a complete database of journalists. With this guide, it will take you a fraction of the time that you would normally take to build a complete database. The best part? You don’t need to spend a fortune to get the journalist contacts you need.
Should you pay for a media database or a media list of contacts?
Well, probably not. Here’s why:
Firstly, buying a list or database with contacts raises ethical and legal concerns. In many countries, there are strict regulations governing the use and distribution of personal data. For instance, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States. Acquiring contact information without obtaining proper consent could result in legal consequences.
Secondly, even if you acquire a list of contacts legally, there is no guarantee that the contacts on the list are interested in your product or service. Furthermore, this list may be outdated or incomplete. Unless you acquire this list from a media agency that is committed to building updated custom media lists, the people on this list may have no interest in your business. This will ultimately result in a low response rate.
Finally, relying solely on purchased lists can damage your brand’s reputation. Cold-calling or cold-emailing individuals who have not expressed any interest in your business can be perceived as intrusive and spammy if you don’t do it right. And few brands take the time to learn how to send a winning cold pitch.
Thoughtless pitching can lead to a negative perception of your brand. This is why building your opt-in list of contacts who have expressed interest in news from your industry is more effective.
NOTE: There’s more to creating media lists than just harvesting information from an established database. Remember, most generic databases will only contain basic information about each media contact, such as the name and contact details. Thus, it’s up to you to find out more about each contact so that you can leverage this information to create unique and engaging pitches.
Remember, before drafting and distributing your pitch, you need to ensure that it’s relevant to your contact. You can’t do that if all you have is the contact’s name and email address. You need to know what topics they’re interested in writing about in order to write a pitch that truly captures their attention.
Furthermore, journalists tend to change beats, outlets, or contact details pretty often. Therefore, you need to ensure that your database is up to date. Luckily, you can avoid all these frustrations of having to chase breadcrumbs of information online and keep this information updated by accessing an existing and up-to-date media database like the one at Pressfarm. This database is comprehensive and will grant you access to media contacts across different industries and different countries.
The importance of building relationships with journalists
Building a journalist database is not just about filling your spreadsheet with contacts. You need to establish a relationship with the people in this database, otherwise any outreach efforts will fall flat. In full, to establish a meaningful network of contacts, you should consider:
- Surveilling your industry
- Finding contacts relevant to your field
- Updating your media list
- Researching contacts before pitching
- Developing a relationship with your contacts
If you have a budget for public relations, you can invest in an existing database of contacts that have already been vetted by media outreach experts like the ones at Pressfarm. Thanks to this database, you won’t have to work on steps one, two, and three. You can simply search for journalists ideal to your brand and reach out. What’s even better is the fact that the Pressfarm team is dedicated to making sure their media list is always up to date.
How to build a comprehensive database of journalists
Building a list of journalists and media contacts can be an effective way to get your message or story in front of a wider audience. Here are some steps to consider when building a list of journalists and media contacts:
1. Identify your target audience
Determine which journalists and media outlets are most relevant to your industry or niche. Consider the type of content they typically cover, as well as their audience and their editorial guidelines.
2. Monitor changes in the industry
Monitoring can be extremely beneficial when building a journalist database. It allows you to stay up-to-date with the latest news and trends in the field. It also ensures that your database is comprehensive and accurate. Beyond that, there are other potential benefits of monitoring when building your database. These include:
- Identifying new journalists
By monitoring media outlets, social media platforms, and other relevant sources, you can discover new journalists. These are more likely to be those who are breaking stories, sharing insights, or covering topics of interest to you. This can help you expand your database and keep it current.
- Ensuring accuracy
Monitoring can also help you ensure the accuracy of your database by flagging any outdated or incorrect information. This can help you avoid embarrassing mistakes, such as reaching out to a journalist who no longer covers the topic you’re interested in pitching to them.
3. Leverage information from Feedly
Feedly is a virtual news aggregator solution for mobile devices running iOS and Android, and web browsers. It compiles news feeds from a variety of online sources for the user to customize and share with others. It is designed to help you monitor and stay up to date with your favorite websites. Thanks to Feedly, you can discover new sources of content and create a feed with a relevant outlet.
Feedly is a great tool for monitoring news and other content across the web in your industry. It is easy to use and allows you to customize the news feeds to fit your interests. Additionally, it offers a variety of features such as keyword tracking, advanced search options, and social media integration.
With the help of these features, you can discover content related to your industry across various sites. Beyond that, you’ll be able to find the outlet that published it. As such, this tool can help you identify potential contacts you can pitch to.
4. Research media outlets and journalists
When you’re just starting out, it makes sense to use social media to research media contacts. However, to access more comprehensive information about the journalists you’re interested in and the work they’ve done, you’ll eventually need to use more focused search engines. The kind of intuitive search engines that you would need to get the job done are accessible via platforms like Pressfarm and different prospecting tools.
Let’s go over all the avenues available for this kind of media research:
Google:
Google can help you find contact details for media professionals in different niches. You can search for media contacts related to specific organizations or topics, and Google will provide a list of relevant contacts. You can also use Google’s advanced search feature to filter your results by location and other criteria. Additionally, Google can provide contact information for media contact databases, which can point you in the direction of accurate databases that you can rely on.
Pressfarm:
Pressfarm is an online platform that can help you find the right journalists to promote your story. This platform helps businesses find targeted journalists in their industry by providing an extensive list of media professionals and media outlets. The database is searchable and curated by industry. The team at Pressfarm can also guide you on the best ways to engage with these contacts. With Pressfarm, you can easily build relationships with journalists and reach the right audience.
That being said, here are ways in which Pressfarm can help you find journalists in your industry:
- Advanced search filters
Pressfarm allows you to search for journalists using advanced search filters, such as name, subject, publication, and more. This can help you find journalists who are most relevant to your industry and target audience.
- Custom media lists
You can categorize your chosen journalists into specific lists, then save and organize these lists. Additionally, you can easily export them for outreach purposes. If sifting through a media database is not your thing, the Pressfarm team can also create custom media lists for you, based on your specific needs and preferences.
- Comprehensive contact information
Pressfarm provides contact information for journalists, including email addresses, phone numbers, and social media profiles. This makes it easier to reach out to journalists on a variety of platforms and build relationships with them.
- Pitching tools
Pressfarm also provides pitching tools, such as customizable pitch templates. This can help you manage your outreach efforts and track your progress.
- Press release distribution
The Pressfarm team specializes in press release distribution services, which can help you get your news in front of relevant journalists and media outlets in your industry.
Social media:
Social media gives you access to a wide range of public information you can use to find contact details for media contacts. You can use social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to search for media contacts.
You can search for media contacts by name, company, or topic. Additionally, you can use social media channels to connect with other professionals in the industry who may be able to provide you with helpful contact information.
Prospecting tools:
Several prospecting tools can help you find contact details for media professionals. These tools typically harvest information from media databases to provide you with contact information for journalists, bloggers, and other media contacts.
They also provide additional information such as the topics the contact covers, the publications they write for, and their social media links. This can be extremely useful in helping you to target the right people and make sure your pitches are tailored effectively.
5. Create a spreadsheet
Create a spreadsheet to organize your list of media contacts. Include columns for the journalist’s name, media outlet, contact information, and any notes or details that may be relevant. Organizing your contacts when building a journalist database for your PR campaigns is important for a few reasons.
First, it will help you quickly access contact information for journalists you need to reach out to. It will also make it easier to target specific journalists with content that is relevant to their beat or area of expertise.
Additionally, a well-organized contacts database will help you keep track of whom you’ve contacted and when, allowing you to build relationships with journalists over time. Finally, having an organized contacts database will make reporting and tracking the success of your PR campaigns easier.
6. Connect with your contacts
Connecting with your contacts is essential when building a journalists database for your PR campaigns. Having a network of contacts gives you access to potential media outlets, and helps you build relationships with key influencers. Furthermore, these contacts can help spread your message and attract more attention to your PR campaigns.
Additionally, connecting with your contacts allows you to keep up with their latest work and developments in the media industry. With this updated information, you can stay ahead of the competition.
Before you can start connecting with your contacts, you will need an A and B list. An A-list is a list of your top-priority media contacts and influencers who will help you reach your goals. These are the contacts you want to keep in close contact with. You should send them your best news and stories, and develop relationships with them.
A B-list is a list of other contacts who can help you reach your goals, but whom you don’t need to stay in regular contact with. You can send them your news and stories but don’t need to invest as much time in building a relationship.
Should you build a database of journalists or pay for one?
Paying for access to an existing journalists database such as the one at Pressfarm is preferable to creating one for your PR campaigns for a few reasons. Firstly, an existing journalist database is likely to be far more comprehensive, with more contacts than a database you could create yourself.
Additionally, the existing database will have to be updated and maintained by a team of experts who know where to look. That means the contacts are likely to be up-to-date and accurate. Finally, an existing database is often a more cost-effective option, since you won’t have to factor in the time and resources it takes to create your own.
Time to build your journalist database
With the above steps, you can now create and maintain a complete journalist database for your business. As mentioned earlier, this is a cost-effective way of doing more successful media outreach.
However, if you don’t have the time and resources to manage this, you can consider working with an existing media contact database. An established database will offer you superior data, save you time, and allow you to work with experts. In addition, it will be up to date. If you reach out to Pressfarm today, you can start using their comprehensive media database in just a few clicks.