Getting Heard in the Media - Part 1D

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>This is part 1D of the blog series - Getting Heard in the Media! Now that you know the secrets to building a quality media list on your own, how should you organize this list?

For your list, it’s best to create an excel spreadsheet and add as much information as you can about each contact you find: Name, Media Outlet, Email, Phone # (put the general phone number and when you get the journalist’s direct line at a later date, update their info), and even create a notes section. In the notes section I insert links to past articles written by the contact that I particularly liked, link to their online bio or Linkedin profile, etc. It’s important to know some info about your media contact and have “quick links” handy in case they call you in response to one of your media pitches. This way you will be able to easily open your spreadsheet and review your notes section. It’s good to have a conversation point you want to say to make you more personable (example: “I really enjoyed ready your article, __________, because….” OR “I see that you are new to Bloomberg news – that’s great!”).

As you build you media contacts list, star the contacts that you notice often or contacts that you are most fond of their work. These contacts will be built into a “short list” taught to me by Miranda Tan, founder of PRGenie and PR expert. Your short list is a list of media contacts that you pay special attention to. A list of 15 – 20 is a good count. Once you have your “short list” draft a “meet and greet email” introducing yourself. Keep it simple and professional.

I recommend the following: EXAMPLE tailored to what I do:

Catchy Headline: The LTC Paradigm Shift

Dear _______, I see that you often write about x, y and z and I’m in the ________________ field/industry. I’d like to introduce myself and company to you.

I am an expert on _____________ and write articles on the following topics: _______________.

Here is a list of past media publications: ___________________. (If you don’t have any yet, don’t worry, you will soon be able to add this!)

Below is my bio along with an article I recently wrote: “LTCI is a waste of money!”

Bio: (insert short bio) (attach article as a PDF or provide a link) (attach your company press kit if you have one – upcoming blog post, “The Digital Press Kit. Why Every Company Should have one!”)

This type of meet and greet email gives the journalist a taste of what you have to offer and when you send your media pitch they will have already heard from you once. You can even offer to take a journalist out to lunch or meet for cocktails if it’s a contact that is really important to you.

Find out Step 2: “Drafting the Pitch” in my next blog post! Stay tuned and start on your media contacts list today! Remember to search for daily news about a topic related to what you do every day and make it part of your routine. Additionally, search online publications or newspapers and lastly, use join Linkedin Groups and seek out journalists via the search engine.

If you have questions, I’m here to help – email me! [email protected].

Godspeed.