When generating earned media attention, you need a couple of tools. We can group these tools into platforms for finding earned media opportunities, publication pitching tools, platforms that distribute company news and tools for monitoring earned coverage. Let’s look at the PR tools currently available in each category.  

Coverage Opportunity Tools 

The first step to gaining earned coverage is finding media outlets and podcasts that produce content your target audience consumes. While determining followership, especially for podcasts, can be tricky, you can make an educated guess based on their content. The following tools will give you insight into what topics these podcasters and reporters are currently covering and want experts to comment on, interview for or write about.

Qwoted 

Qwoted is a platform that allows the media and those looking to work with the media to create free profiles and communicate with each other. With the free basic plan, you get five pitches a month, a 2-hour delay before pitching opportunities, real-time alerts, a daily opportunities email and the ability to search their database. Those who want to send more pitches or respond faster to reporter-posted opportunities can upgrade to a paid plan.  

Source of Sources  

Source of Sources (SOS) is a free newsletter that informs recipients of media opportunities. Journalists fill out a free form with their query, which is added to the next newsletter. 

Podcast Guests 

Podcast Guests is a platform for podcast guests and hosts to connect. It has a large guest directory that podcasters can look through and a free newsletter, informing guests and podcasters of podcast opportunities.   

ProfNet

ProfNet is a PRNewswire service and a Cision company that connects experts and journalists. Journalists can create a free account and post queries. Experts need to pay for a membership to access the queries. 

Just Reach Out 

Just Reach Out is a fee-based AI-enhanced media outreach platform. It aggregates journalist pitch requests from six sources and provides AI tools that allow subscribers to find and pitch journalists, podcasts, guest posts and broken link replacements. 

PodPitch

PodPitch is a fee-based AI-enhanced podcast outreach database. Subscribers have access to thousands of podcasts the platform matches them to and then automates email pitches and follow-up emails to the podcasters.  

Contributed Content Connection 

Contributed Content Connection (CCC) is a database filled with constantly updated contributed content opportunities. You can sign up for the free weekly newsletter or if you want to search their database and have real-time access to these media requests, you can start a paid expert source subscription.  

Pitching Tools 

After determining which coverage opportunities will best match your company goals, products or vertices you need to pitch your spokesperson, article or topic. If you want to do this efficiently and with the best possible results, there are a couple of tools to consider. 

Meltwater 

Meltwater is a media monitoring company. They have tools to help HR professionals find and contact the media and track coverage afterward. They also have tools for monitoring brands, social listening and analytics, consumer intelligence, sales intelligence, social media management and influencer marketing. 

Muck Rack

Muck Rack is another media monitoring company. They have tools that allow subscribers to find relevant journalists and content creators and then target, personalize and monitor pitches and follow-up emails.

CISION

Cision covers the entire PR and Comms workflow. It has everything from a database for searching, pitching and monitoring the media to press release distribution. Subscribers have access to CisionOne’s media monitoring, media insights and reporting, social listening and management, press release and analytics and outreach and CRM tools. 

Prowly

Prowly is a PR software that streamlines your communication workflow with AI. Subscribers can access media contacts, create and send press releases, track mentions and build reports. If you want to try it without committing to anything, they offer a free seven-day trial.  

OnePitch

OnePitch offers subscribers streamlined research, pitching, managed relationships, and tracked results. It builds media lists for you, so you can skip the research and jump to connecting with journalists. 

Grammarly or Hemmingway Editor

Both Grammarly and Hemmingway Editor are AI editors that help quickly take your writing to the next level. They have free options that catch common grammar errors and paid versions with more advanced grammar suggestions to help elevate your writing even further. 

Press Release Distribution Tools 

Press Releases allow companies to give the media insight into their company news, making them more likely to cover it. However, reports don’t usually request company news, which means you need to utilize one or more of the following tools, so you can put your press releases in front of the reporters who cover your niche. 

PR Newswire 

PR Newswire is a press release distribution network. Subscribers can distribute their press releases to 82k+ media and press release syndication outlets and 300k+ journalists and influencers across 170+ countries. 

Business Wire 

Business Wire, another press release distribution network, gives its subscribers access to a worldwide media database. It reaches over 100,000 media outlets in 160+ countries. 

PR Web

PR Web is Cision’s press release distribution network. The network has access to 30,000 journalists and bloggers. Its premium subscribers can increase search visibility with keyword tagging, increase online viability with syndication across PR Web’s network of 1200+ websites, go on an email to an industry-specific journalist list and share their message with bloggers. 

Globe Newswire

Globe Newswire is a press release distribution network with access to 158 countries. While registering is free, press release distribution is a paid service. 

Issue Wire

Issue Wire lets you post your first press release for free. The network gives access to 150+ media outlets, magazines and major news outlets. 

ACCESS Newswire and Newswire

Newswire is now part of ACCESS Newswire. This press release network distributes budget press releases to major news outlets, TV Stations, newsrooms and online publications. The national press releases also include broker terminal and trading platforms and AP. The US premium press releases include everything in national press releases with additional targeted outlets, Business Insider coverage, AP mobile and specialty circuit coverage.  

EIN Presswire

EIN Presswire publishes press releases on Google News, AP News, Benzinga and 100+ affiliate sites. Its packages allow for country and industry targeting. 

Coverage Monitoring and Reporting Tools

After sending your pitches, you need to monitor for earned coverage. There is a mix of free and fee-based tools that will help you monitor and report on the coverage your efforts have produced.  

Google Alerts 

Google Alerts is a free feature on Google that allows you to track keywords related to a client or specific campaign you are tracking. It will send you an email with all the coverage related to the keywords you want to track. 

Talkwalker Alerts 

Talkwalker Alerts is another free tool. It allows you to track coverage for specific keywords or clients. It scrapes search engines for blogs and articles with matching keywords and emails the list to you. 

Coverage Book

Coverage Book gathers all your coverage and presents the metrics behind it. It is a great tool for showcasing how well a campaign performed. 

Excel or Google Sheets

Excel or Google Sheets can help organize workflow, track coverage and generate reports. These programs can be powerful tools, however, setting them up takes some extra work and know-how. 

SEO performance Tools 

SEO tools, like Google Analytics, Semrush, Moz, Ahrefs and Serpstat, can key you in on website performance, compare competitors and show site keyword ranking. These metrics can inform future campaigns and showcase the current trajectory.  

Social Media Tools 

Social media has significantly impacted the public relations industry. These platforms have social media metrics that provide impressive and incredibly valuable insights. Whether companies interact directly through the social media platform or social media posting and listening tools, like Hubspot, Buffer and Octopost, these metrics can help determine your client’s social coverage sentiment, alert the team to issues and determine the success of a campaign or a piece of coverage. 

If you want to skip sifting through media opportunities and jump to the thrill of media coverage that produces results, Avista PR has you covered. Contact us today, with our vast contacts, experience and tool expertise, we will do all the media screening and pitching for you.

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