How to Build a Media List for PR

Brands looking to gain links from high-domain media platforms to boost SEO should consider how they can build relationships with journalists to give their content the best shot.

One of the most effective ways to do this is by carefully curating targeted media lists. In fact, this is vital to any PR strategy and gaining coverage for your brand. This approach goes beyond simply gathering a list of contacts, it involves taking the time to research and understand the interests and beats of individual journalists. 

According to research, almost half of PR pitches get ignored, primarily due to lack of relevance (73%), so it’s important to take a good look at who you’re sending your pitches to. With journalists bombarded with emails all day, sending releases to targeted publications is extremely important. They usually receive hundreds of pitches a day, so forwarding anything irrelevant to what they cover can damage your relationship with the journalist and tarnish your brand's reputation. 

In this blog post, we explain why brands should invest their time and efforts in list building and describe what media lists should look like. 

What’s in this article:

• What is a media list?
• Why is it important to invest time in building media lists?
• What does a media list include?
• How to build a media list?
• Tips for finding relevant contacts
• Media list examples

What is a media list?

A media list, also known as a press list or media contact list, is a compilation of relevant media contacts who might be interested in your press release or pitch, including journalists, editors, radio or TV presenters, bloggers and podcasters. Creating a comprehensive list of media contacts allows you to send your outreach to a group of contacts all at once, instead of spending time sending out individual emails. 

The purpose of a media list is to ensure that press releases, pitches or other communications reach the right people who are most likely to cover the brand's story, product or service. This list is a crucial tool for maximising the effectiveness of media outreach and gaining quality press coverage. 

Why is it important to invest time in building media lists?

Building media contact lists is not a quick task to check off your to-do list. If you want to achieve high-quality coverage then be prepared that you need to invest time in researching your target publications and identifying relevant journalists. 

Rather than sending out blanket emails to a vast, generic list of contacts, you should focus your efforts on targeting people who have a specific interest in your industry or who cover the type of topics you specialise in. If you’re bombarding journalists with irrelevant emails, don’t be surprised to find they unsubscribe or ask to be taken off of your media lists. This presents an issue because, while they may not be relevant to your current pitch, they could be useful for gaining coverage for future campaigns or press releases.

Sending irrelevant content not only frustrates journalists, but it’s also a waste of your efforts. For example, if you send a press release about motoring to a fashion editor, your chances of getting any coverage are close to zero. Taking the time to create comprehensive press lists that include your target outlets saves you valuable time in the long run. Instead of scrambling to find the right PR contacts every time you have a press release to share, you can rely on a pre-existing list that’s ready to go - it’s just important to keep it up-to-date. 

Consistently sending relevant, high-quality content can strengthen your relationship with journalists, positioning you and your clients as reliable sources of information. This may result in journalists proactively seeking your input for comments or industry-specific data.

What does a media list include?

A media list should be a well-organised and comprehensive database that contains all the relevant information needed to effectively target and communicate with media contacts. 

This might vary depending on your industry but these are the five essential bits of information that should be included in a media contact list: 

• Contact’s first and last name
• Job title
• The name of the media outlet they work for
• Contact information (email address, phone number or social media handles)
• Their speciality or beat

Additional information you may want to include:

• Location
• Preferred method of contact
• Recent articles
• Type of content they produce
• Writing style
• Interests
• Last emailed
• Additional notes

How to build a media list?

Step 1: Identify your target audience

Before starting media outreach, it's crucial to understand your target audience. This involves analysing your ideal customer profile and the type of media they engage with. The more specific you are about your audience, the easier it will be to target the right news outlets and journalists to reach them effectively.

Step 2: Research relevant media outlets

Once you’ve got your target audience in mind, you then need to identify the media outlets that cater to them. This involves researching publications, websites, blogs, podcasts, TV channels and radio stations that align with your audience’s interests. Look for both mainstream and niche outlets that have the right audience demographic. 

Step 3: Find the right journalists

After coming up with a list of media outlets you want to target, pinpoint the specific journalists, editors, or bloggers who cover topics related to your industry or the news you want to share. This step is crucial because journalists often specialise in particular beats, and reaching out to the right person can significantly increase your chances of getting coverage. You can use tools like media databases, social media, and direct searches to find journalists who are likely to be interested in your story. 

Step 4: Combine PR contacts into a list

Now it’s time to compile all your findings into a structured PR media list. Your list could be formatted in an Excel sheet, or for easier and more effective organisation, opt for a media database such as Vuelio or Roxhill.  This list should include each journalist’s name, contact information (email, phone number, social media handles), the media outlet they work for and details about what topics they cover. 

Step 5: Update the list regularly

The media industry is always changing, with journalists coming and going, and often switching beats, positions, or media outlets. To maintain an effective PR media list, it's important to update it regularly. Schedule regular reviews to ensure that all contact information is up to date and that the list still matches your target audience.

Tips for finding relevant contacts

Utilise Twitter/X

If you're looking for media contacts to pitch your press releases to, social media is a valuable resource, especially X (formerly Twitter). Many journalists are active on this platform, making it the perfect place to find helpful information. 

A few tactics can be used, such as harnessing the search bar to type in, for example, ‘fashion journalist’, which will bring up lists of people who cover the subject. Most journalists will specify the topic they cover and the publication they write for in their bio, streamlining the search quickly. 

Other options include posting a callout to Twitter and inviting journalists to share their emails if they want to be added to a specific mailing list for your business's niche. This is an easy way to create conversations with journalists, giving you an easy way to form a relationship. 

A useful hashtag to search for is #journorequest. Journalists use this hashtag when they’re looking for tips or comments to include in articles they’re working on, or when they’re looking for specific products to review or feature in roundup articles. 

Scan the latest news coverage

Scanning the news to see what's happening worldwide is a big part of PR. If you are looking to get coverage for a motoring brand and see that a new road law is set to be introduced, use it to your advantage and get newsjacking.

Jot down the names of journalists covering the topics in the press, as this shows they will be interested in similar information, and share your expert comments. Some platforms publish the contact details of their journalists although others can make finding this information more tricky.  

‍Consider investing in a media database

Harvesting contact details from social media and Google searches can be time-consuming. The good news is there are a number of media databases available to which brands can subscribe to. These databases make it possible to obtain the contact details of journalists working on your target media platforms. 

Subscriptions can be expensive though so this won't be the right option for everyone. Many brands will look at the cost and realise it probably isn't that much more expensive to work in partnership with a PR agency that will already have a subscription of their own.

Media list examples – what should your media list look like? 

The easiest and cheapest way to create a media contact list is to gather all your contacts into a Google or Excel spreadsheet.

This is a simple way to compile all your contacts into one place and keep track of who you’ve contacted and when. 

This approach works for smaller, extremely targeted press lists, as it involves sending one-to-one emails to all the contacts on the list. 

Below you can find an example of a spreadsheet PR media list for a brand that operates in the home and garden industry:

The most effective approach however includes utilising media databases. Media databases allow you to discover new journalists and find their contact details, while also providing a well-organised platform for storing your lists and sending out mass emails. 

Databases allow you to carry out tailored searches with filters that narrow down your pool of journalists’ contacts to the relevant names. 

This approach is effective for building bigger press lists and reaching a large number of media contacts simultaneously with your outreach.

Here’s what the home and garden PR media list looks like on a media database:

‍Key takeaways

• Identifying your target audience is the first step in building a successful media list. Knowing who you want to reach helps you select the most relevant media outlets and journalists.
• Carefully researching media outlets and journalists ensures that your pitches reach the right people, increasing the likelihood of gaining coverage.
• Relevance matters - sending irrelevant pitches can damage your relationship with the media and harm your brand's reputation.
• Essential information you should have in a media list includes the contact’s first and last name, job title, name of the media outlet, how to contact them and their speciality or beat. 
• The best ways to find relevant contacts include searching on Twitter, scanning the latest news coverage and utilising media databases. 
• By investing time in building and maintaining targeted media lists, brands can enhance their PR efforts, secure good quality media coverage and build valuable relationships with the media. 

If you wish to make the most of your PR activities and want to learn more about building media lists, get in touch with us for a no-obligation chat. 

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