What is a Media List?

I’m often asked: what is a media list?

So picture the scene. You’ve spent hours perfecting your pitch and polishing up your media kit. After one final scan for erroneous typos, you fire off it off and wait for the influx of calls from curious journalists.

But nothing. You don’t even get a ‘no thanks’, let alone ‘we want to run your story on the front page’.

What are you doing wrong? Before I address that conundrum, take comfort in this. You’re not alone. According to PR Daily, just 3% of pitches get a response of any kind. And the rest are rejected for various reasons.

Some are too long. Others are too short. Many lack newsworthiness. And loads are littered with typos. But consider this. It may not be the quality of your content that’s turning journalists off: it could be who you’re sending it to.

Spray and pray explained

Have you heard of ‘spray and pray’ pitching? In short, it’s the process of emailing ‘as many reporters and editors as possible‘ in the hope that someone will bite. By taking a scattergun approach, your pitches are guaranteed to fall flat.

Think about it. Reporters are inundated with pitches but just 25% are relevant to their beat. And as you and I know, journalists work under immense pressure. So wading through inapt emails is a waste of their precious time. No wonder irrelevant pitches are their ‘number one pitching pet peeve.’

Relevance is key

Spray and pray may be a quick way to circulate your story. But it’s guaranteed to keep your brand out of the press. So I suggest you ditch the eblasts and hone in on the people that matter.

After all, ‘effective media coverage begins with thoughtful, well researched targeting’. And there’s a trusty tool in the media outreach kit to help you do it. Enter the PR media list. 

So what is a media list in PR terms?

Put simply, a media list is a directory of all the media bods that cover your niche. I’m talking journalists, bloggers, editors, podcasters and influencers.

But it’s more than a little black book of names and numbers. ‘It’s the result of deep research into who a journalist is, and how they operate,’ according to PR tech company Cision. And if you put in the hours, it’s a surefire way to level up your media outreach. Not only will you reach the right journos at the right outlets, it’ll help you deliver what they want: ‘personalised pitches tailored specifically to their beat’.

And that’s your ticket to earned media coverage.

How to build an effective media press list

So, I’ve told you what a media list is and why it’s an essential tool of the PR trade. Now I’m going to give you the lowdown on how to build one that gets results. Let’s get stuck in.

Build or buy?

There are two ways to build a media list. You can buy a media list database. Or build your own in a spreadsheet.

I’ve carefully built my media list up over years and years, and there are some journalists I’ve known for decades. This organic, relationship-based approach is what I’d always recommend.

Here’s why. Third-party media lists can be:

• Expensive: You’re looking at £209 a month for a media list database from Prowly.
• Irrelevant to your campaign: You’ll need to target different media bods for different PR campaigns (more on that later). So paying through the nose for a single-use list is a waste of your time and precious PR budget.
• Unreliable: To quote software database company MuckRack, ‘a digital directory is only as powerful as it is accurate, and not all media databases are created equal.’ Right. And it goes without saying, bad data can lead to missed opportunities for valuable column inches.

Find your media contacts

You need to find media contacts, but not any old contacts. You need to connect with those journalists who can get your name in lights.

So here are a few ways to pin them down.

Google News

As always, Google is your friend. A few targeted keywords will bring up a ton of stories that are relevant to your organisation or industry. So get scrolling. Look for any that relate to your business or sector and grab the names from the article bylines.

It’s worth noting that just because a journalist covers your niche, it doesn’t mean they’re fair game for your media list. For example, if you’re launching a broadcast PR campaign, there’s no point pitching magazine journalists, as they’re not going to get you where you want to be. So, unless your contacts are relevant to your niche and can help you smash your campaign goals, keep them off the list.

You’ll need to build separate media lists for all your campaigns. But I recommend you create a master media list to store the lot. It’ll save you valuable time if you need to find a name and email address quickly.

Competitor analysis

If your competitors are landing coverage in key publications, chances are those journalists will be interested in your story. So why not track their wins with Google Alerts? It’s easy to do. Just set up an alert for your competitor’s name, then monitor your inbox for notifications of coverage. If they’re constantly getting coverage, take a look at the journalists’ names behind the articles. Add a solid contact to your media list.

It’s worth keeping an eye on your competitors’ blogs and social media accounts too. Trust me, if one of them scores a feature in The Sunday Times, they’re going to be shouting about it.

Author pages

Chances are you’ve got a wish list of outlets you want to feature in. So make a beeline for the ‘authors’ page.

If in doubt, it’ll look a little something like this from The Times. And it’s a great place to source names for your media contacts list.

But names aren’t all you’ll get. You’ll find job titles, social media handles, and their beats to boot. Of course, journalists aren’t the only media folk who can share your story. Podcasters and influencers hold a ton of sway in the digital media world. So hunt down the key players in your niche.

How to fill out your media contact list

Once you’ve nailed down your contacts, it’s time to build out your media contact list. As Motive PR rightly says, your media list must have ‘all the information needed to effectively target and communicate with your media contacts.’

Right. So here’s the lowdown on what to include, why to include it, and how you can use it to pitch your way into scoring great coverage.

1. Name

To quote journalist Jason Hidalgo, ‘if you don’t care enough to know the reporter’s name, then the reporter likely won’t care enough to read your pitch.’ You heard the man. Names are a must for your media and communications list. And make sure you nail the spelling. Start your pitch with a sloppy typo and your email will hit the recycle bin pronto.

2. Outlet

You may have found a great contact at The Guardian, but if your target audience reads The Sun, you’re on a hiding to nothing. So, whether you’re angling for a feature in a trade magazine, a guest spot on a podcast, or an interview on national TV, make sure your outlets are fit for purpose.

Okay. But how do you do it? Simple. Visit the profile page on the publication’s website and study the numbers. If the audience demographics align with yours, you’re good to go. So add the publication to the list.

Don’t limit yourself to national publications either. Considering 74% of people in the UK trust local news over national news, local media coverage is just as valuable.

3. Role

According to PRNewsOnline, ‘targeting the right people in a newsroom is the key to landing press.’ I absolutely agree. And it raises a key point. Not all journalists are created equal. There are feature writers, news editors, and data journalists, to name a few. And they’re all responsible for different things.

So rather than email the first person you find, scan the staff page of your media outlets and nail down the right person to hit with your pitch. Don’t know your columnists from your foreign correspondents? Read this article by Teal for the lowdown on who’s who in the newsroom.

4. Email address

The easiest way to get your hands on this prized piece of contact information is via a paid media database like Cision. But it’s not the only way.

If you’re willing to dig around, chances are you’ll find it on a reporter’s X (formerly Twitter) profile, website, or personal blog. If you’re still coming up short, try calling up the outlet and asking.

5. Social media handles

Talking of X. If you want the scoop on a reporter, X is the place to look. After all, it’s known as the journalist’s ‘platform of choice’. With a few scrolls, you’ll get a feel for how they communicate, their topics of interest, and the nuances of their beat. That’s the stuff you need to personalise your pitch. So include their media handles on your PR media list, along with a link to the account.

Don’t forget to follow your contacts on social media, like their posts, and comment on their articles (if you’ve got something valuable to add). It’s a great way to get on their radar. And it goes without saying, the more familiar a reporter is with your name, the more likely they are to read your pitch.

6. Beat

As I wrote in a previous blog post about pitching to journalists, a sports writer doesn’t want to write about an interior design company, any more than an investigative journalist wants to write about a new restaurant. So this is one piece of research you can’t afford to skip. If you get it wrong, your story isn’t the only thing that’ll get rejected. Considering 77% of journos block PR bods who spam them with irrelevant content, you’ll blow your chances of making friends in high places.

7. Location/local time

This is a nice-to-have if you’re building a UK media list. But it’s essential if you’re going global. According to MuckRack, 61%of journos like to receive pitches before noon.

But noon in the UK isn’t noon everywhere else. So noting down time zones and scheduling your outreach is key to ensuring your pitches land at the right time.

8. Relevant articles

Referencing a relevant article at the start of your pitch is a sure-fire way to grab a journo by the eyeballs.

So dive into the back catalogue, and add a link to the piece.

Let me give you an example.

‘I read and enjoyed your ‘How to train for a 5K’ article in October and thought your readers would be interested in our new gel protein pack.’

It’s complimentary, refers to the article by name, and shows the journo you’ve researched their audience. If you want a comprehensive list of every article a journalist has ever written, put their name into Google News and get reading.

9. Writing style

Want to level up your media relations? You need to incorporate mirroring into your pitch.

As per Harvard Business Review, it’s the act of ‘adjusting your communication style to match that of your audience’. And it’s a sure-fire way to build rapport. So get busy reading content, grab your media list, and jot down anything you can parrot in your pitch. Tone of voice, language, pace, and phrasing all make for great mirroring fodder.

10. Notes

While researching, look out for things that’ll help you win over your media contacts. For example, have they changed jobs? Bagged a promotion? Or won an award? Whatever it is, stick it on your list and acknowledge it in your pitch. A little flattery goes a long way, after all.

Remember to update your media list

Things change quickly in the media world. Journalists and editors move around and new ones enter the game all the time. It goes without saying, a static media list won’t keep pace. So you need to update it as often as you can. Ideally, you’ll do it every couple of months but at the very least, revisit it twice a year. You can track the ‘movers and shakers’ by subscribing to Cision’s Media Moves newsletter.

Time to get building

Does all the above seem like hard work? It is! It takes years to build a media list and form trusting relationships with journalists and editors. That’s why businesses choose to work with a PR pro. But if you opt to go it alone, a quality media list is a potent way to level up your media relations and pitch your way into the press.