A well targeted press release can generate coverage and build essential relationships with journalists. While a badly targeted press release reduces the chance of coverage and could even damage relationships.

We had this very philosophy in mind when building the List making and Distribution tools into the FeaturesExec Media Database. There are thousands of journalists on the database and it can be quite a task discovering who you need to contact, but taking the time to do so will pay off. It is quality over quantity that gets you noticed here.

Here are some tips to help you make the most of the tools.

Search by category. An ideal place to start when building a press list. If you’re unsure of which sector you should be looking at, each category is divided into further sub-categories all of which have a brief description about the type of media included. This will help you to narrow your focus.

Read journalist information. Each journalist in the database has their own profile containing contact details, biographical and patch information. Reading the patch information is key here, it will tell you what topics a journalist or blogger writes about. While there may be several journalists working on a media outlet with whom you are trying to gain coverage, it might be only one or two of them that need to be in your list. We aim to provide as useful information about each journalist to help you.

Use our researchers. Here at DWPub we have a dedicated team of researchers, each with their own sector specialism. Need some more information on a media outlet or which journalist will be most receptive to your press release? They’ll be glad to have a look into it for you and each of them are only a click away.

Get in touch. Sometimes the best way to really find who you need to be targeting is to just pick up the phone to the media outlet or to a specific journalist. That initial contact can be the best way to ensure you’ve got the right person and journalists like it when you are seen to be making an effort to target your communications.

FeaturesExec Media Database customers each have a dedicated account manager who is on hand to help with searching queries and can provide free training to users. We are here to help you get the best out of your subscription.