5 ways building a media list will make you smarter than your boss

Media lists aren’t all that bad, though. Here are five ways that building those lists makes you smarter than your peers and builds your PR skill set as a whole.

Strategy. Strategy in a media list? You bet your bottom dollar. Where to start? Where to look? What and whom to include? Where to end? Those are all questions specific to each list, and it’s up to you to figure it out. I’m not talking about jumping into your media database. That’s where you end. You begin where the action is happening. The papers, the blogs, the columns—that’s where the money is. Everything your team secures is built from this foundation. Using strategy in building your lists is prepping you for the years ahead of you.

Industry know-how. Because you are responsible for knowing whom to pitch, you are going to be much more aware of who is writing what for which outlet and what they’re talking about in the industry. Do you think anyone else has time to read relevant magazines or newspapers daily? Not that you do either, but it is part of your job—and if it isn’t, you should make it so. Before you know it, you’ll be spouting out pitch ideas you never thought you’d have and be seen as an expert in your client’s industry.