If you could get into any publication, what would it be?
Grazia, Red, Good Housekeeping, Stylist?
Do you know how to research those publications in order to maximise the chance of being included?
Well you are in luck as today I am going to talk you through how to do exactly that and show you my exact method of doing research.
We will cover:
- How to look for opportunities
- Where to find the contact details
- How to find the right sections for you
- How to use all this information in a purposeful way
STEP 1:
Grab your publication and a stack of post it notes (who doesn’t love a post it note!). If your target media is online just make sure you have somewhere to write or type your findings as you go.
STEP 2:
Look through your publication and look for opportunities related to your business.
- In the front of the magazine, there is usually a contact section that details the people that work within the publication. So scan through and see if there are any job titles that would match any products or services that you may offer. Take note of the contact details of the key people you have picked out.
- Now scan through the rest of the publication and look for key features or articles that are related to your niche. Take note of the themes, how it works and who wrote or edited the final article (HINT: look below the title, in the margin or at the end of the article for the names). A good thing to do here is to look at who wrote the article and cross check it to the front of the publication that details their job title.
STEP 3:
Login to Twitter and look up those journalists that you have just found. Equally check Instagram, many of the journalists on the consumer titles are active on there too.
- Follow the journalist
- Take note of any extra information from their bio and twitter feed that may be useful
- On Twitter, check out the “Who to follow” section which will highlight other key people in a similar demographic – follow if relevant and take note of their details!
STEP 4:
Collect all the information you have just found from your research post it notes and add it to your media list (or create one if you don’t have it). I use excel and log the contact details, details of the article they’ve written / section they write for in separate columns.
- Add in the publication details
- Key features and opportunity areas
- Key information required for the article
- Contact names, email address, phone numbers, social media handles
- Any actions taken
Wash, rinse and repeat for every title that is relevant.
This then becomes my PR bible in terms of contacting people, tracking my progress and key responses.
So work out where your target audience hang out, grab a copy and literally go through this process to look for the opportunities and log them in your media list.
If you would like support to get started on your PR research then sign up for a 2-hour Cheerleader PR Strategy Session with me 📣.
Book now here.
To see my live video talking about how to research your dream publications and watch a live demo, click here.
