Ask HN: What is your method for contacting reporters, journalists, and bloggers?

I think a lot of the value one gets from researching the reporters/journalists/bloggers is getting to know their content and getting a sense of the "personality" of each publication, not just finding contact information. That being said, it sounds like your service would allow people to focus on the important stuff and make it simple to contact whichever people you select (while many journalists make their contact information readily available, there are those that are more difficult).

I wonder about the legal issues surrounding this idea. Last time I worked with a service that provided an email database and sent people emails, it required an opt-out link in each message -- which would be easy -- and it required prior opt-in from the person being emailed -- which would make it a bit harder for you. I was working in market research then (a few years ago), however, and the laws and regulations may be different.

Anyway, certainly this is an idea worth looking into, I hope you go for it and have great success!

I'd be interested in your service but only if it was cheaper than me spending an hour to do the same thing with a limited selection of blogs/journalists/sources.

Perhaps you could make money at both ends of the deal by allowing journalists to list themselves and "making a match" for a given story - i.e., reporters say they are covering green technology and someone with a green tech startup would be matched with them.

This maybe considered spam. You need the permission od the bloggers, journalist, and reporters to email them.

I'm an IT journalist but get hit up mostly by PR people and bigger businesses, not startups and lone developers.

My advice is just to keep it brief, eliminate most of the PR crap and make a good presentation of what your product/service provides.

Keep it simple yet provide enough data. Also, use only their work e-mails, nothing private, and avoid phone calls if you can.

Just an aside, but professional PR firms already have detailed internal databases of journalists.

Find the least intrusive way to hit them. Email or voicemail.

Really brief pitch. Story, what's in it for them. Offer to supply relevant contact people and backup data.

Only only only do this after you've read their body of work and you know for a fact that it is up their alley.

Think of it from the reporter's POV and make them able to understand and say yes or no in 5 seconds. Be prepared to give them all the info they need to research your story but don't write it for them. If they turn you down this is a sign you might need some #custdev work in the media field. Or maybe the person had a bad day. You never know.

Don't spam. Research the person first.

That's what I do.

It can be a useful application.

Most startups will be happy to pay like $10 for access, if it can save them a few hours.

Am I naive to think your startup should be that good, that great, that unfailing that reporters should find you?

how does it compare to the Vocus service?