Publicity Tip: How To Mine LinkedIn for Journalist Contacts in Your Niche

Posted on 06. Jun, 2012 by Tara Geissinger + in Business Publicity

We are in the business of getting you VISIBILITY. Throughout the month of June, we’ll be highlighting some publicity tips that you can execute in under 10 minutes. Some of these surprisingly simple ideas can make a big difference in getting you and your business noticed!

Apply a Search Filter on LinkedIn To Find Journalists in Your Niche

ETA: 7-10 min

The advanced search feature on LinkedIn is a great way to find writers, reports, journalists and bloggers in specific niches and industries. With just a few clicks, you’ll uncover important people to begin building relationships with. Here’s how:

1. After logging into LinkedIn, click ‘Advanced‘ next to the search box in the upper right-hand corner.

2. Double check that you’re on the ‘Advanced People Search’ tab.

3. In the ‘title’ field, enter terms like “reporter,” “journalist,” “blogger” or “writer.” (This searches the occupation field.)

4. Choose ‘current’ under the title. (This ensures that you are searching for people that are currently reporters, journalists or bloggers, rather than someone who has held this position in the past.)

5. If you are looking for people in a certain geographical area, enter a postal code and select a mileage radius. Otherwise, select ‘anywhere’ for the location.

6. If you are looking for people that write or report only in certain industries, select one or more industries from the ‘industries’ checkboxes.

7. Try multiple searches trying different combinations of words and options.

Targeting Your List

Now that you’ve created a list of journalists and bloggers from LinkedIn, it’s time to pitch them! The key is learning the types of stories they typically write or cover and then tailoring your pitch to match their audience’s needs. Do your homework first and THEN reach out. It will pay off in the long run!

Looking for more tips like these, plus template letters, strategies and more? Our new eBook, Publicity Marketing, is full of information and techniques for landing free publicity. Buy your copy of Publicity Marketing for $4.99 today and be entered to win a $79 press release distribution on July 1st.

Your Turn!

Have you used any social media sites to connect with journalists or bloggers? How did it work out? Share your stories and successes with us in the comments section. We love hearing about them!

14 Responses to “Publicity Tip: How To Mine LinkedIn for Journalist Contacts in Your Niche”

Clara

06. Jun, 2012

Thanks for describing the total process. It will be a real help for me. I was looking for it for a long time. Thanks again.
Clara recently posted..Electric Wheatgrass Juicer VS Manual Wheatgrass Juicer
Liyya

06. Jun, 2012

These are really great tips! I especially love the reminder about doing your homework first and then reaching out. Sometimes we all get a little hyped over getting everything done for the sake of checking it off the list — but it’s always important to slow down and take the necessary steps before reaching out to someone, especially a journalist or blogger for your publicity campaign.
Jackie

06. Jun, 2012

Great tips! I never even looked at the ‘advanced’ button on LinkedIn. What a hidden gem of an opportunity to connect with journalists, bloggers etc. I agree with Liyya, I love crossing things off my ‘to-do’ BUT, it is way more important to research what journalists have written about in the past before pitching to them.
Tara Geissinger

07. Jun, 2012

You’re welcome Clara. Glad we could help!
Myra Kirbi

07. Jun, 2012

Great tips Tara !

Thank you for explaining it in detail. I have been trying to use the search feature of LinkedIn and I always found it interesting.

Can I ask you a little more about Pitching. I mean I have the list of Writers, what should I and how should I pitch them?

I have heard that pitching is indeed one of the fastest ways of generating like minded traffic. I have been suing various aspects of generating traffic but pitching is really something new to me, Kindly help!
Myra Kirbi recently posted..Law Firms Search Engine Optimization – 1st Component “On Page Optimization”
Emily Woodhouse

09. Jun, 2012

Though I used Facebook & Twitter for connecting with fellow bloggers, I didn’t think about Linkedin as way to go. Now, I’m hoping to use it too.

Thanks for the post. I would like to see more important things like this to come.
Emily Woodhouse recently posted..VPS
Tara Geissinger

12. Jun, 2012

Thanks Myra. In our eBook we go into great detail regarding pitching — how to write a letter, sample letters, etc… but overall the best thing that you can do is research ahead of time the types of content these writers usually write. Who is their audience? Once you know those things, you can reach out to them with a detailed idea on an article that you can either write or be a source for. By showing how it will impact THEIR audience, you’re giving yourself an “in” right away!
Tara Geissinger

12. Jun, 2012

Thanks Emily! We’re glad you liked it!
Bonnie @abcacupuncture

15. Jun, 2012

Hi Tara! a friend of mine asked me to join the linkedin. And so far, I enjoy it a lot. This is a cool way to connect with other bloggers. I’m so glad she introduced it to me.
Robert Michelle

16. Jun, 2012

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CY

27. Jun, 2012

Hi Tara

Thanks for this article. Its really helpful.

I have a slightly different scenario.

The above article applies to a professional (say a FOREX expert) who connects with journalists and bloggers on LinkedIn to gain credibility and raise profile in the media.

But what if the same person decides to build his own website and have his own blog or information portal on FOREX given that he is a subject matter expert himself? Should he still make connections with journalists and other bloggers?

How should he do different on LinkedIn in his situation?

Regards
Margit Willems

02. Jul, 2012

Hi Tara, I just came across your article and want to thank you for sharing. I am part of many groups, but never thought about looking up bloggers. Thanks a bunch for the tip.
Tara Geissinger

03. Jul, 2012

That’s great Margit! Hopefully the tip will be helpful for you!
Tara Geissinger

03. Jul, 2012

CY,

I think even with your own website, marketing and networking in social media (like LinkedIn) is a great way to get added exposure. Using myself as an example, I have this website and blog where I am branding myself and my company as experts in press release distribution and online marketing. That being said, I still use the tip above to find journalists in my niche. That way I can reach out to them and let them know when I have news I think their audience will read.

I hope that helps!