You’ll seldom find these details in those big, expensive media directories:
1. The names of a reporter’s spouse and children.
2. An editor’s likes and dislikes. For example, the food editor of your local newspaper mentions in her column that she loves crispy, crunchy snacks in mid-afternoon but doesn’t touch the typical bagged snacks found in the supermarket because they have too much salt.
3. Other publications where a freelance writer sells his articles.
Why These Details Are Important
If you can weave into your customized pitch the names of a reporter’s family members, including pets, that will get attention like nothing else. Let’s say you know from reading the local business reporter’s blog that his wife, Sally, is training for a marathon. Your company sells insoles for walkers, runners or anyone who has foot problems. A smart Publicity Hound would weave Sally’s name into the pitch.
If you’re pitching a story about your company’s low-salt rice cakes to the food editor, you’d mention her dislike for salty snacks.
As for the freelancer, if you know the names of other magazines he writes for, you can pitch story ideas that would be a perfect fit for those publications but only after researching the magazines.
It’s difficult to learn things like this about your media contacts, unless you know where to look. I’ll be explaining all my little tricks tomorrow—Thursday, Feb. 16—when I host the webinar “How to Create Your Own Database of Valuable Media Contacts” at 3 p.m. Eastern Time.
Creating your own customized media database of far fewer contacts gives you flexibility to include valuable details that will help you build a relationships with your contacts and craft more powerful pitches. It will also save you thousands of dollars because you won’t have to buy the big, bulky databases that include a gazillion contacts you’ll never use, but are paying for.
8 Fill-in-the-blank Templates for You
So that you don’t have to start from scratch, I’m giving all registrants eight fill-in-the-blanks templates for newspapers, magazines, TV shows, radio shows, freelancers, newsletters, bloggers and websites.
If the time is inconvenient for you, sign up anyway because, within 72 hours after the call, I’ll email you a link where you can download the video replay, the PowerPoint slides I used during the presentation, and other materials. Register here.
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