Building the Perfect Media List: What’s Your Number?

When pitching a story to the media, getting your narrative in front of as many eyes as possible seems like the best approach. Right? Not so fast. A new study from Agility PR Solutions shows that most public relations professionals find the most success when pitching to 100 or fewer journalists.

Seniority level does play a part in a PR professional’s media lists. C-suite level professionals, with decades-worth of media relationships, tend to pitch to larger audiences than entry-level pros. Even with carefully-curated media lists, the real key to finding media relations success is adding value to your pitch.

High-value pitches typically include:

• Video content, added as an attachment or embedded
• Exclusive access to your expert
• Research data

Don’t forget to follow up on your high-value pitches. Reporters are busy - it’s the nature of the job. Send a quick follow-up in the days after your pitch to ensure your expert is getting in front of the right audience.

If you have any questions about the media relations process, or crafting the perfect pitch or media list, reach out to the University Relations team at unews@umn.edu. We look forward to helping you convey the value the experts at the U of M deliver to our state and world.