Building a media list that reporters do not hate
Most media lists fail for the same reason: they are built for volume instead of fit. A short, beat-matched, well-maintained list outperforms a large scraped one on every metric that matters — replies, placements and reputation.
Short answer
Outlets do not have opinions; reporters do. A tier-one outlet with no reporter on your beat is worth less than a trade publication with one who covers exactly what you do. Search recent coverage for your category keywords and record who wrote each piece.
Start from the beat, not the outlet
Outlets do not have opinions; reporters do. A tier-one outlet with no reporter on your beat is worth less than a trade publication with one who covers exactly what you do. Search recent coverage for your category keywords and record who wrote each piece.
Tier by fit, not by prestige
Tier one is the reporters who have already written about your category in the last ninety days. Tier two is adjacent beats who could plausibly care. Tier three is the long tail. Pitch tier one first, and treat tier three as a place to test subjects, not to place stories.
Record the hygiene fields from day one
Every contact record needs the fields that stop you from making a mistake later. Adding them after the fact is how accidental repeat pitching happens.
- Beat and outlet, so matching is mechanical rather than remembered.
- Last contacted date, so frequency caps are enforceable.
- Do-not-pitch flag, honoured permanently and without appeal.
- Opt-out flag, applied the moment a reply says stop.
- Bounce flag, set automatically and suppressed on the next attempt.
Set a frequency cap and respect it
A thirty-day cap per contact is a reasonable default. It keeps you from being the person who emails every launch. When you have more news than the cap allows, rotate to a different segment of the list rather than breaking the cap.
Compliance is part of the list
Under CAN-SPAM and CASL you need a working unsubscribe path, accurate sender identity, and a record of consent or a documented lawful basis. Under GDPR you need to be able to show why you hold the data and to delete it on request. Build those fields into the list, not into a process document nobody reads.
Frequently asked
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