5 Tips for Building Relationships with Journalists
By Keagan Perlette
Building relationships with journalists is one of the best ways to get media coverage for your organization or latest project. Pitching your story to news outlets and magazines is an important part of your media relations strategy. Before contacting news media or magazines with a story, you’ll need to take steps to build relationships with journalists, such as:
- Reading publications and getting to know journalists in your industry
- Taking the time to understand what type of stories a journalist usually writes
- Engaging with journalists directly via email or social media
- Sharing brand news and updates where journalists will see them
How to find journalists who will feature your organization
You can find journalists on social media or through the publications they write for. Many journalists and editors use Twitter to call for pitches, find experts to interview, and catch breaking news. Following and interacting with journalists on Twitter is a good way to get your foot in the door.
Narrow down a handful of publications that have featured organizations similar to yours or covered topics in your area of expertise. Some great places to start are local news media, industry publications sites, and magazines your ideal audience is reading. Check out who is writing articles about topics that are related to what you want to pitch and get in touch with them.
Where do I find journalists’ email addresses?
Bigger outlets may not list their team’s emails publicly to prevent spam. Some publications have a general email address for all pitches. It never hurts to check if journalists’ emails are included on the masthead page of a publication’s website or their Twitter bios.
Narrow down a handful of publications that have featured organizations similar to yours or covered topics in your area of expertise. Some great places to start are local news media, industry publications sites, and magazines your ideal audience is reading. Check out who is writing articles about topics that are related to what you want to pitch and get in touch with them.
Where do I find journalists’ email addresses?
Bigger outlets may not list their team’s emails publicly to prevent spam. Some publications have a general email address for all pitches. It never hurts to check if journalists’ emails are included on the masthead page of a publication’s website or their Twitter bios.
5 tips for building relationships with journalists
1. Actively engage with journalists who cover your industry
When you find journalists you want to build a relationship with, make a direct, personalized connection. Leave thoughtful comments on their social media posts or email them a positive review of a recent piece you enjoyed.
2. Provide value back to the journalist
Journalists are always looking for new stories and industry experts to quote in their articles. Journalists often head to Twitter or LinkedIn to find candidates for research interviews. Share your knowledge and any other helpful resources you might have with journalists you’re interested in working with.
3. Always create a personalized, relevant pitch
It’s critical that your perfectly-crafted pitch is timely and relevant to the news media or publication you’re contacting. Focus on building relationships with journalists whose beat—or niche—lines up with the story you’re looking to tell. Use their name in your pitch email and include any relevant details that help them see how your idea fits in with their body of work.
4. Make the journalist’s job as easy as possible
Journalists have a lot on their plates. Make sure you reply to their emails promptly and work around their schedule to secure an interview date. Have a media kit prepared so that you can quickly provide photos and boilerplate copy to the journalist to include in the published piece.
5. Express your gratitude and share the published story
Once your story has been published, keep the media coverage momentum going by sharing the piece on social media. You can tag the journalist directly, say thank you, and praise their work. Be sure to send an email expressing your gratitude—and your hope that you’ll work together again in the future!
When you find journalists you want to build a relationship with, make a direct, personalized connection. Leave thoughtful comments on their social media posts or email them a positive review of a recent piece you enjoyed.
2. Provide value back to the journalist
Journalists are always looking for new stories and industry experts to quote in their articles. Journalists often head to Twitter or LinkedIn to find candidates for research interviews. Share your knowledge and any other helpful resources you might have with journalists you’re interested in working with.
3. Always create a personalized, relevant pitch
It’s critical that your perfectly-crafted pitch is timely and relevant to the news media or publication you’re contacting. Focus on building relationships with journalists whose beat—or niche—lines up with the story you’re looking to tell. Use their name in your pitch email and include any relevant details that help them see how your idea fits in with their body of work.
4. Make the journalist’s job as easy as possible
Journalists have a lot on their plates. Make sure you reply to their emails promptly and work around their schedule to secure an interview date. Have a media kit prepared so that you can quickly provide photos and boilerplate copy to the journalist to include in the published piece.
5. Express your gratitude and share the published story
Once your story has been published, keep the media coverage momentum going by sharing the piece on social media. You can tag the journalist directly, say thank you, and praise their work. Be sure to send an email expressing your gratitude—and your hope that you’ll work together again in the future!
Connect with journalists who can get your story out there
Building relationships with journalists who are likely to be interested in your organization takes a lot of time and effort. Contacting news media with a story and reaching out to editors requires pitching skills and persistence.
At Perch Communications, we leverage our wide network of journalists, editors, podcasters, and bloggers and perfect your pitch to earn you features in top media outlets. Contact us to schedule a free 30-minute consultation to find out how you can get started.
At Perch Communications, we leverage our wide network of journalists, editors, podcasters, and bloggers and perfect your pitch to earn you features in top media outlets. Contact us to schedule a free 30-minute consultation to find out how you can get started.