You're desperate to contact a reporter via e-mail but don't know their e-mail address. Joan Stewart recently interviewed Marcia Yudkin, who knows all the tricks of how to track down media people. Here are 5 tips that she passed along:
- Visit the media outlet's website and look for a directory of staff members. This is often the most accurate listing you'll find anywhere.
- If there's a search function at the website, do a search for the reporter's name. You just might find one of their articles, along with an e-mail address at the end.
- Check the Bacon's Directory, which can found at most major public libraries. Even though the directory might be out of date, the big advantage to Bacon's is that it tells you how a particular reporter or media outlet prefers to be contacted--by phone, fax, snail-mail or e-mail.
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- Call the media outlet and ask the operator for the e-mail address of the person you need to contact. If the operator won't provide it, a sneaky way around that problem is to call one of the other departments such as the advertising or circulation department. Tell whoever answers that you misplaced the e-mail address of so-and-so, you just tried calling that person, their line was busy, and you're wondering if they can help you. This, by the way, is an old trick used by reporters looking for information within a certain company.
- Do a search online for the reporter's name. He or she might write for another publication and have an article and e-mail address posted at another website.
These are just a few of the many tips that Marcia shared during a recent telephone seminar "Getting Through to the Media Online." If you missed it, you're in luck because we taped it. Here's what else you'll pick up from this powerful interview:
- How to reach hundreds and thousands of people without media gatekeepers
- How to reach your target audience without using the media or sp*amming
- How to post your news release on industry portals - for free
- The benefit of using discussion groups where media people often lurk
- How to reach "e-fluential" people who aren't in the media but can help you
- The do’s and don'ts of posting news releases at your web site
- How to write news releases so they're picked up by the search engines
- Where to find a service that will tell you which words are searched for more often
- Why unfamiliar product names in news releases are more important than generic names
- Where to find industry portals
- Tips for getting the best placement on search engines
- What to look for when hiring a company that will help give you good search engine placement
- How to use a news wire to get your news releases to the media
- Marcia’s 4 favorite news release distribution services
- The danger of buying a database of media e-mail addresses
- How to compile your own media database list
- 4 ways to find e-mail addresses for the media
- The best media directory for finding the media’s e-mail addresses
- Where to find the directory - for free
- How to find out the best way to send a news release: by phone, mail, e-mail or fax
- What you can find by nosing around at media web sites
- What to look for in printed magazines
- How to find a reporter’s e-mail address if it isn't at the media outlet’s web site.
- 3 sneaky ways to track down a media person’s e-mail addresses
- How to find e-mail addresses of freelance writers
- How to get links to your web site
- How to promote yourself in your signature file
- The value of the "one line zinger" in your signature file
- The advantage of a pitch letter over a news release
- Marcia’s best tip for writing subject lines in e-mail pitches
- What you must NEVER e-mail to the media unless you have permission
- When to send a news release and when to send a pitch letter
- How to customize your pitch letters
You can pick up your copy of the audio CD for $29.95 + $3.47 postage and handling by clicking the above link.
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