I’ve been in the marketing and PR business for a long time and am now fortunate enough to enjoy a variety of PR and marketing assignments through my friends at Pipeline Media Relations, Marj Halperin Consulting and my own firm, Michelle Damico Communications. Through my many years in communications, my colleagues and friends have commented on my success in reaching out to the media to place stories on behalf of clients. So I thought it might be helpful to develop a series of blog posts that offer tips on what’s worked for me over the years.
Today I’m starting with the humble media list. It’s a task often relegated to the most junior staffers within a PR agency. If that’s you, take your time and do it right. If you’re lucky enough to work for a firm that pays for a media contact data base, take the time to dig deep within the list of provided reporters and their beats. Don’t take anything from a media database at face value.
If you don’t have a media database like Cision or Vocus at your disposal, you can still find the right media through the popular search engines. The same advice applies — take time and learn about them.
Why? During one of my first meetings with clients or prospects, I usually ask how they connect with the media. I learn about their extensive list of contacts, how frequently it’s updated and the source of their media data.
And then I ask about outreach: “How do reporters learn about your news?” They invariably respond that they send out emails en masse to all the reporters on their list. They know blasting emails is not the best way to establish media relations, but they lack the time to create customized, one-on-one emails to their long list of trade and general business media. I don’t even venture to ask whether the look up their favorite media on Facebook or Twitter; I already know their answer: “No time for that either.”
Rather than rush to judgment and criticize the practice of email blasting press releases to the media, I put myself in their shoes and express gratitude that they’ve come to me for help. Establishing media relationships is labor-intensive, requires the use of many tools, and has a very low initial rate of success, especially during your first three months of outreach. It’s no wonder that harried PR people juggling many tasks don’t invest the time needed for effective media outreach.
List-building is a case in point. Just this month, I launched media outreach on behalf of a client. The preliminary research alone to develop a solid media list took at a full-day’s work – and that’s while using an efficient online media contacts database.
Here’s what’s involved, just in list-building:
- Identifying the key topics, news and trends your client wants to talk about
- Identifying the appropriate media outlets, and the reporters and the beats
- Viewing media sites to see recent coverage and assessing the chances that the reporter might be interested in your client (you’ll often find that their identified beat, and what you perceive as their specific interest, don’t often match your PR goals, so dig deeper).
- Checking out others within the same outlet who seem to cover similar beats – but don’t – you can only know by reading their stuff.
- Identifying other ways to reach them besides email – are they active on Twitter or Facebook? Do they write a blog or have a personal web site? Are you following them? Why not?
- Finding mutual interests – whether it’s personal or professional – so you have something in common to get conversations started with the media via social networks
The eventual media list I built included lots of notes, to help me find genuine (not phony) connections with the media, either professionally or personally. Relating to them is one way to show you care, and to also show that you GET IT. GETTING IT is the key. What I mean here is walking in their shoes, understanding their needs and empathizing with their daily juggle of stories, deadlines and fears of their newspaper/magazine folding in the not-too-distant future. So you’ve spent a day or two and have a solid list built. Then what? I’ll have more on that later.
Wow, I had no idea. This is why I hire a PR professional to do the job!
Barry, and that’s just during the initial ramp-up phase of a PR initiative. After that, it’s on to writing customized emails to reporters and bloggers, and finding ways to get their attention. That’s probably the hardest part, which requires patience and perseverance by the PR pro and the client. I’ll get to those details in another post. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment.
Great advice Michelle. Now if I just had time to follow it…or the $$ to hire someone to do it for me:-)
Good points, Michelle. And remember to be strategic and focused. Often a single well-placed story – that meets that media outlet’s needs as well as your client’s – can be a success. Not every pitch will go viral or land multiple hits in traditional media. A good media relations pro will know if it stands a chance of broad pick up, and if not, targeting is the way to go.
Neil, you are so right about being strategic, knowing what you’re trying to achieve and developing the right pathway and tactics to get you there. It’s also important to have an idea of what your desired MEASURABLE results will be. And I know you’ve seen time and again the value of one well-placed story. Over a year ago, I secured a client interview with USA Today, from a reporter who writes for the Money section. That one story created a domino-effect: reporters from many other outlets called requesting interviews, including a producer from the Today Show. The stream of traffic to my client’s web site multiplied and stayed that way for months.
Val, many entrepreneurs are in the same boat. The beauty of the Internet and social networking is that there are so many great resources out there to help. The greatest challenge is how you can find the time to run your business, serve your customers, balance your personal life and family needs AND be your own marketer. Unfortunately, the thing I often sacrifice is sleep!
I would recommend following advice from the woman who first opened my eyes to the fact that “in the wake of” is a waste of words and time. As she sagely advised me, more than 20 years ago, a simple “after” does the trick. Ignore her wisdom at your peril.
I especially love your point about READING the reporter’s work to see what’s a good fit. Nearly a year after I signed off from my political blog, I still get pitches regularly from PR folks with a lead-in that says they “love my blog” or otherwise suggest they are familiar enough to know their client is a perfect fit for my space. The space I don’t write on any more. Michelle would NEVER make that mistake!
The clarity and importance of these basic steps is often neglected due to the overwhelming complexity of the final PR goal. This obviously experienced and effective pro gives great advice here. And to Neil’s point, a strategic and proactive approach when followed is not only effective but allows a prioritized focus on what really matters. These are words to live by!
Good points, Michelle. And remember to be strategic and focused. Often a single well-placed story – that meets that media outlet’s needs as well as your client’s – can be a success. Not every pitch will go viral or land multiple hits in traditional media. A good media relations pro will know if it stands a chance of broad pick up, and if not, targeting is the way to go.