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Before Muck Rack: Relying on a whole lot of luck to reach journalists

In 2020, I launched my own businesses, which I rebranded to Rosarium in August 2022. I was familiar with Muck Rack due to my previous PR roles, though I’d never fully used the product.

I found the most difficult part about working at various PR agencies was trying to create media lists for my clients with up-to-date contact information. I’d spend a lot of time manually searching for journalists.

My main tactic was to find them on Twitter or LinkedIn, but response rates were minimal. I found the best way to get in touch with journalists was through their inbox—but it was difficult to get there without a whole lot of luck.

I’d keep my media lists in a Google Sheet, which I’d often forget to update. It would get outdated really fast.

When I launched my own business, I was eager to use Muck Rack. I created my account in March 2022 and have used it ever since.

With Muck Rack: Saving time and working more wisely

I love how easy Muck Rack is to use. It took very little training for me to get the hang of it, but, at the same time, I knew they had plenty of resources available if I needed them.

Monitoring clients’ coverage and industry news/trends

I set up daily alerts for each of my clients based on their websites and keywords we’re using in their campaigns. So each morning while I’m having my coffee, I can easily see what’s being talked about in the news for each of my clients’ industries.

This feature is also helpful when I bring on a new client that wants to talk about a specific topic. I can see what’s being talked about in the industry, which then helps me come up with fresh ideas. I can also see which journalists are writing about these topics, so I can pitch them.

For example, I had leadership coaches who were interested in joining the conversation around the quiet quitting trend last year. I could see which journalists were covering the topic and build out the most relevant media lists.

Minimize bounce-back emails with up-to-date, accurate media lists

Muck Rack has helped save me a ton of time creating up-to-date, accurate media lists. Before, I wasted hours trying to figure out which journalists are still active in the industry or had new jobs.

Muck Rack will actually send me updates on journalists I’ve bookmarked, so I will know if they’ve changed roles, got a promotion—whatever it may be. This helps me stay updated, but it’s also a great opportunity to reach out and say congratulations and send a pitch.

Sending optimized pitches that result in high-quality coverage

I also send pitches within the Muck Rack platform, and I love that it sends directly from my email, so it comes from me personally.

Before I click send, Muck Rack will give me advice on the pitch. For example, it’ll tell me if my subject line is too short or too long or if the pitch itself is too lengthy.

I also love pitching through Muck Rack because I can easily directly introduce myself to a large number of journalists with personalized pitches.

We’ve had a lot of success using this tactic. For example, we used Muck Rack to help one of our clients, a new mortgage technology provider, announce its launch, and we had two articles published on it as a result. One was in Scotsman Guide, a well-respected industry print publication. Our client’s CEO was also invited on the National Mortgage Professional podcast—thanks to that one pitch.

Without Muck Rack helping us get the pitch just right, we wouldn’t have been able to get those opportunities to help our client grow their new business and improve their SEO.

Fast questions with Alexis Quintal

1. How has it been working with Muck Rack’s customer success team?

It’s been great. I especially love how, if you’re really looking for a specific journalist or contact at a media outlet, you can put a request in to the Muck Rack team, and they will do the research for you.

They’re very responsive through chat, and 95% of the time, we’re able to find the contact I’m looking for. That’s been really great.

2. What would your job be like if you didn’t have Muck Rack?

It would be Rosarium Marketing—without the PR.

3. What would you tell other companies considering using Muck Rack?

It’s 100% worth the investment. I think it’s really just looking at what your goals are and whether Muck Rack will help you reach them. It’s an investment to start, but it’s been totally worth the ROI.

4. How would you describe your experience with Muck Rack in three words?

Organized, creative and simple.