Press releases and media contacts

How to build your own media contacts list

[arikgub]

I read many times in related forums how sending your press release directly to the journalist can be much more efficient than using a distribution service like PRweb. You build your own media contacts list, build working relationships with editors/journalists and send PRs directly to them.

I am thinking about writing a PR to promote my site. And let's say I am willing to do more than just use an online distribution service. The problem is I have no idea where to start. How do I build my media contacts list? Is it appropriate to find some journalist who writes on the subject I am interested in, and to e-mail him just like that - "Hey, I am the webmaster of www.mysite.com, would you like to publish my PR"?

Anybody has an experience with this stuff?

[martinibuster]

Is it appropriate to find some journalist who writes on the subject I am interested in, and to e-mail him just like that...

Yes!

- "Hey, I am the webmaster of www.mysite.com, would you like to publish my PR"?

Sort of! :)

I knew and know a few people who do publicity campaigns for arts organizations and the events that they stage. I've known that they built their contact list from calling around asking who is the editor or reviewer of a certain section. Sometimes it's a freelance writer, sometimes it's someone who is dedicated.

I built my own list by utilizing Google News to search out news stories relative to my space and emailing writers who were dedicated to writing about the niche my site was in. One off articles won't work. For real estate you want the resident real estate writer. Sometimes it's syndicated, like the Knight Ridder Real Estate article may appear all across the United States in the regular Real Estate section that is published once a week.

I didn't do it for media links but for mindshare and awareness. The more people hear about your site the more likely you'll get word of mouth referral and that someone else may link to you from their blog or forum or whatever.

The contact should be framed as Hey, I have story idea for you.

I see you write on the topic of blue widgets. I'd like to recommend a story on blue widgets. It's about a seasonal rush on blue widgets that is rapidly depleting supplies and is causing the price to go up. Fortunately there are sites like mine, Blue-WidgetSaver.com that help people purchase Blue Widgets, bla bla bla. Make it as complete as an article as you can, and dash it off.

The other way to do it is to just announce who you are, what your website is about, and that it might be a resource their readers will be interested in because you have just published a series of article dealing with [a timely event/seasonal/whatever topic].

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't (kind of like most things in life, right?). I think it's good to give everything a try.