Create a PR List That Gets Your Nonprofit Seen

One of the easiest steps towards gaining good press coverage for a nonprofit is the prep-work, and it's often overlooked. Nonprofit organizations can leverage public relations (PR) publicity and marketing efforts for a variety of reasons outside of fundraising, whether it’s raising awareness about your mission, sharing a story, or promoting a community event or human interest piece. However if you don't have the right tools to pitch your story to the media, you won't get much attention.

research

If you don't already have a PR list or a list of media contacts, it can seem very daunting to start. Take this time to do your research, and spend your time learning about local journalists to feel out their content preferences. Here are some great questions to ask yourself when doing your research:

• What category does my story fall into?

• Are there relevant reporters to my topic?

• What are their handles and e-mail info?

segment

Once you've gathered up quite a few contacts, it's time to segment, segment, segment! Maximize your chances that your story will get picked up by segmenting your contacts in several different ways. You could break contacts up by gender, age, interests, or industry. Find out more information like:

• Where did they work in the past?

• What school did they attend?

• What are some of their hobbies?

Let me provide you with a great example. Your nonprofit is hosting a 5k Run (in-person or virtual) to help raise funds for your mission. You find a local news reporter who tends to pick up stories on social goods and recent events. You also find out that one of their hobbies is running, and that they participate in a 5K every year. BINGO!

update regularly

News anchors and reporters tend to have high turnover rates. Because of this, it's important to not only develop a media list and but to keep it up-to-date. A good tip is to follow your reporters on social media. Use it as a tool to not only keep up with their interests but to keep on on where the reporter is currently working.

By putting in the appropriate effort, these tools will help you gain access to reporters, bloggers and influencers who could raise your public profile and get the attention your mission deserves.

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Author Shannon Fernandez