How to Build a Solid Media Outreach List
Building a media outreach list is a smart first step to any outreach campaign. However, the more strategic and thorough you are with this first step, the better your results will be. If you want to get good media coverage for your business, it’s important to take time to build a solid media outreach list.
- Create a Rough Draft – Start the media outreach list-building process by doing some broad research. Hit your industry publications and write down the names of the people that cover your industry or niche. Review blogs and podcasts for the names of people who cover your industry. Look on social media as well. Who talks about your topic?
- Gather Contact Information – Your initial list of media representatives should include every detail of their contact information. We’re talking about their email, their snail mail address, their social media URL, and their phone number.
- Dig Deep and Refine – The next step is to start digging into each name on your list and refining your list. You want to prioritize them. Read what they write on social media, on their blog, and in publications. How long have they been covering your industry? What types of stories do they prefer? Who is their audience, specifically?
Start starring the folks that you know would give you good exposure. Keep in mind that some folks may be on your “dream list,” while others may be more realistic. It’s okay to have one dream person on your list, for example Oprah, but make sure that the majority of your media outreach list is realistic, meaning that you can connect with them online or pitch to them and reasonably expect some type of relationship or results.
- Prioritize – Prioritize every name on that list. You may find that some people get eliminated from the list entirely. That’s okay. Your goal is to get 5-10 good potential people to start reaching out to. Eventually, as you work through your media outreach strategy, some people will fall off your list and be replaced by others. It’s a process.
- Verify – Once you have a focused group of 5-10 media representatives to start reaching out to, verify the information that you have. Call the publications that they work for, get their most up-to-date contact information. Visit their blog, social media page, and/or website. Make sure it’s active.
Finally, start the reaching out and engagement process. Create a media outreach strategy that includes goals and systematic steps to achieve those goals. Media outreach is about creating relationships with the media so you can earn the coverage you want for your business and brand. It’s a two-way street, meaning you have to provide value to the media rep to get coverage. Keep that in mind as you build your list and your outreach strategy.
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