Where to Find Relevant Reporters or Media to Pitch Your Story
Writing a pitch or story idea is one thing, finding the right reporter to read your pitch is another. Ideally, you’ll have a nice contact list of reporters and a media outreach program in place before you write that pitch. So let’s address the very first step, how and where to find relevant reporters or media to pitch your story to.
Start Local:
Before we dive into the big tools and services, there is one place that you should start: your local media.
Take a look at local industry newsletters. Learn the names of certain reporters and flag the ones that can potentially be added to your media list. Hometown reporters are a great way to get word-of-mouth out locally. They relate to the people in your area, have a great following, and are a great source for a lot of people. When locals are looking for new places to discover, they often look at what’s being talked about in the media. Having a local journalist highlight your business would increase your exposure significantly.
Online Research:
A simple Google search can help you determine who to reach out to. Simply search “journalists who cover X-industry” and thousands, if not, millions, of suggestions will appear.
To get a broader search going, type in “x-industry publications” to get a list of niche-specific publications who write/talk about your industry. From there, look up media contacts in each of those publications, who you believe is worth reaching out to. Whether they be from big or small publications, any media contact you find relevant can impact your outreach.
Media Database:
Using a Media Database is a great way to find the right journalists–quickly.
Media Databases allow you to filter through millions of contacts. You are able to geotarget specific regions you are trying to reach out to, filter by position, beats, publication, etc. It’s less time-consuming and more efficient than doing extensive searches on Google. The best part? Databases have all the information you need on the media contacts you find: position, publication, phone, email, and social media links. Plus, any media contacts you want to reach out to can easily be saved in a list, straight on the database.
Databases are a bit pricy. Ranging anywhere from monthly to yearly subscriptions that can cost up to $7k. Depending on your company’s size and outreach needs, using a media database might be helpful for you. Otherwise, a Google search should do just fine.
Finding media contacts is a task. Utilizing these three points will significantly help your media search efforts. Start with local media, to get the word out about your business. This helps boost your company’s visibility, and gain local traction. An online Google search can also help you find the right contacts. Simply search industry-nice specific publications or journalists. But, if you have the financial means, the use of a media database is a great way to build a great media contact list. Helps you save time and keep organized. Depending on your business’s needs, utilize one of these three ways to search for your contacts and start building media relationships today!
