If you’re going to distribute press releases, much less be successful at it, you need to have a media list in place. This essentially refers to a list of publications, as well as specific people within them, that can be allies for your business.

Having a media list for PR is important because it essentially means that, at any given point, you can send off your press release to people and publications that are likely to carry it. The press release is one of those important things you build over time, and in this article, we’ll touch on how to create one.

Define Your Niche

The very first thing you want to do when creating a media list for PR is to define what niche you are going to operate in. There are hundreds of thousands of publications around the world, and each has its own unique niche. To avoid wasting your own time and sending out price releases to irrelevant platforms, you have to decide what sector(s) you plan to work with. For example, you might decide that you are a blockchain company primarily or a lifestyle platform.

In this case, you’ll be looking to create a media list of companies that would carry a blockchain or lifestyle press release. Trying to build a media list for PR without a defined niche means that you will randomly list platforms that have nothing to do with your industry or cannot help you in the least. Have a discussion with your team and make sure your niche is properly defined.

Research Publications

Once you have your niche defined, you’ll have to research various publications and begin adding them to the list. Say you’ve decided that you are a blockchain company. In that case, you want to begin looking through the list of blockchain-related publications or non-blockchain ones that are nevertheless open to carrying such press releases. Most of the time, a platform’s niche is apparent from the home page or even the name.

It’s best to create a spreadsheet that has not just the name of the publication but also its website and its contact information. Speaking of contact, you might want to have not just the general email address to send releases to, but also create a connection with a specific individual within the company. This increases your chances of being published and also means that you have an ally within the media, which can certainly come in handy over time.

Develop Connections

It’s not enough to simply have a list of various publications within your niche. After all, a media list for PR with no connections within is simply a list of platforms and people. After compiling this, you want to begin developing a relationship with the platform and people. This means sending out press releases regularly so that the staff become familiar with your company. 

The more you have press releases carried, the easier it will be to pitch specific stories and narratives to the publication. You also want to speak with people within it and get them on your side. This could be through offering exclusive stories, commentary on developments within your industry, offering press passes to events, and so on. Make sure you keep these connections going at all times, as your media list is more valuable the more connections you have within it.

Update Your Media List for PR Regularly

Remember we suggested creating a spreadsheet earlier? This is not just to keep the initial data organized, but also to allow you to update your status with these media platforms in real time. Ideally, you should have a column which explains the status of these platforms, and these can be updated to reflect changing circumstances. If you’ve reached out to a platform but have not gotten any response, this should be noted. If you’re regularly being published on the platform, this should be noted. If you have an especially close relationship with the platform, this should also be updated.

Because your media list for PR will likely be used by several people in your team, they should be able to tell at a glance which publications you’ve had luck with and which have been ignoring you. This means you can prioritize your resources and send your PRs to the ones you’ve had the most luck with.

Segment And Categorize

All media platforms are not created equal, and you do yourself a lot of good by classifying them within your media list. For example, you can create separate entries for news publications versus magazines versus opinion platforms, and so on. You can also categorize based on size, with a list for larger multinational platforms versus smaller ones. Depending on your preferences, you can even get specific by categorizing the ones with the fast turnaround time versus the slower ones, the ones that generate the most engagement, and so on. The point of segmentation and categorization is to make things easier for you, especially when you have limited resources to send out press releases.

Get Professional Help

Here at XpressWire, we specialize in helping businesses get their press releases published on the most reputable sites to generate the best results. If you have any concerns about a media list or would like one done for you, you can always reach out to us for help. This means saving yourself quite a bit of time and effort and getting to the Business of publishing your PRs in peace.

Conclusion

A media list can be one of the most important tools for PR distribution and should certainly not be neglected. In this article, we’ve broken down the process of creating your own media list, and these should have you well on your way. From deciding on your niche to developing relationships with journalists, these will help you create not just any media list, for the most effective one possible. Of course, you can always hire a professional service like us here at XpressWire to create a custom media list for you that will meet your needs and suit your tastes.