If you have more than one blog/job, you may wind up being added to an online media database more than once. I'm the beneficiary of this occurence thanks to the Bad Pitch blog and my other blog.
It is sad how often I get the same pitch twice as a result...usually to the same email address.
Human vs. Machine
We've talked about how awesome online media databases are in the past, but they can't do all of the work. The best lists have more human time than machine time behind them. Even the online media databases will tell you that the more you use them like a customer relationship management (CRM) platform, the more you'll get from their service.
Scrub the List
File this under: "stuff so obvious, we didn't think we'd have to post about it. But you need to de-dupe your lists. And while a quick visual scan can usually do the job, sometimes you have to put some thought into it.
Even if I were at two different emails, my name is the same regardless. And on top of that, even if my name and email aren't the same on a list? You should have spent enough time with the list to realize you're pitching me twice.
Time Spent vs. Results
All of the above takes some time. And usually this is time that eats into the profitability of a project. But if you're ultimate goal is to get coverage for your client, it'll pay off. Fight the math. Fight the machines. Go for better results and scrub that list.
:: By Kevin Dugan, @prblog
When I landed my first internship while still a student, these tips were the first my boss taught me! I think media databases can be incredibly helpful if you use them correctly. However, you can't expect the database to do all the work. Not everyone is even on these databases to start with, so using it as the be-all and end-all in outreach will result in leaving many people out. In relation to "scrubbing the list", I can only imagine how annoying receiving the same pitch twice must be. Unless you're offering a trip to space, it is unlikely anybody will respond to your pitch if they receive it two, three, four times. Though creating a list is a daunting and time consuming task, it is time well spent.
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