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Topic: Budget-conscious contact lists

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Foreigner Posted – 6/12/2007 10:02:07 AM | show profile
I'm new to PR and doing some work for a small company and need a contact list to get started, but I know the company can't afford to pay for the list and neither can I. So I'm shopping around for an affordable contact list for food/drink/women's mags (trade and consumer) - can anyone give me their thoughts on which media company provides the best bang for buck and whether I could get some kind of list for under $200 (probably completely naive!)?

I have reason to believe I'll be going on retainer for a larger company within a couple of months, at which point I'll expense a contact list and be up and running, but I need something to tide me over. I've started creating my own, but it's obviously very time-consuming.
marianna Posted – 6/12/2007 1:55:15 PM | show profile
hello foreigner,
for $150 I can make you lists via my Bacon's account. I've done it for other MB people and they seemed pleased with the result. (You can pay me thru paypal.) If you're interested in hearing more, please email me at MariannaDupont@aol.com Bye!
M
Foreigner Posted – 6/12/2007 4:05:36 PM | show profile
Hi Marianna - won't that get us in trouble...?
marianna Posted – 6/12/2007 5:01:16 PM | show profile
Nah. I pay for this information (a lot) so it's mine to use as I see fit. Just email for more details!
Quintessential. Posted – 6/13/2007 1:08:54 AM | show profile | email poster
cornerbarpr.com is inexpensive and has great customer service!
maphop Posted – 6/13/2007 9:44:41 AM | show profile
Marianna: I think if you look at your contract with Bacons you'll see that you're potentially in violation of your contract and subject to cancellation without refund. You might want to have a chat with your account representative to determine if that's the case. There have been multiple threads on this in the past and I know what my account rep for both Bacons and MediaAtlas have told me about this kind of posting in the past.

Foreigner, while it will absolutely not be current, one method for you to pull together at least the bare bones of contacts will be to call your local public library, see if the carry the print version of Bacons or Gale's Directory and use those. You'll still need to call each outlet to determine if the actual editor names/email addresses are current but it's a start and at least you'll get comprehensive lists of potential outlets. The print versions are put out annually, I believe, and while they're going to be obsolete in some listings right off the bat due to turnover, it's the best free option I can think of for you. Otherwise, you're looking at $4500 to $7500 for Bacons (depending on what modules you buy) and $3000 for MediaAtlas.
Foreigner Posted – 6/13/2007 12:24:14 PM | show profile
Thanks everyone. I think it's safer to err on the side of caution and not breach the intellectual copyright on the lists. Apparently Cision offers custom one-time lists for a minimum of $200 at the rate of $1 per contact so that may be an option. Otherwise, I'll check out a print version.
Chief Curmudgeon Posted – 6/13/2007 3:14:50 PM | show profile | email poster
Take a Free Trial of Contacts On Tap on-line media directory
Foreigner, you asked for inexpensive media lists. You can take a completely free 15-day trial of Contacts On Tap, which has information on roughly 60,000 U.S. media contacts. You don't even have to supply a credit card number, although we do ask for a bit of identifying information, and you can't register with a "free" email account.

If you choose to subscribe, our prices are way, way below those of the better-known, big-name services. And yes, they WILL come after you (or Marianna ) if you violate their agreed Terms of Service, as would we.

Another option: eWorldWire (which we re-sell), BusinessWire, and PRNewswire all do distributions to a large variety of media categories. eWorldWire is the least expensive and technologically superior, but all three offer good service. Depending on your target audience, eWorldWire rates begin at less than $100; patrons who order through us get an additional 10 percent discount.

Okay, enough sales pitch. We'd be happy to answer your questions, or those of any other list member. Email us or call 866-272-2777.

Our thanks to Quintessential who said, "cornerbarpr.com is inexpensive and has great customer service!"

We certainly appreciate unsolicited testimonials -- and I assure you, we didn't know about this one before someone pointed it out to us.

Happy pitching!
Foreigner Posted – 6/13/2007 10:17:38 PM | show profile
Thanks Chief, I'll check out those options and probably call you. I actually chuckled my way through your company's release form last night (great company name, by the way) and meant to look at it again today but was waylaid by a pressing deadline. If I call, should I ask for Big Chief Curmudgeon - he who punishes wayward writers?
LoDo Posted – 6/13/2007 10:54:28 PM | show profile
I just checked out Contacts on Tap, and it looks great! I'm striking out on my own, and while I've come to enjoy Bacon's/Cision, I also enjoy the fact that my soon-to-be-ex boss pays for it. They quoted me nearly $3K, with no sliding scale for independent practitioners.

I was looking at their print directories/Quick Search Web combo, but that's $995/year. Print directories also go out of style really quickly.

At least ProfNet from PR Newswire has a sliding scale based on income.
Chief Curmudgeon Posted – 6/14/2007 12:20:33 PM | show profile | email poster
Foreigner, I like your sense of humour. Although many have called me "big," you're the first to simply address me as "Chief."

We try to use the CornerBar theme on everything we do (Contacts On Tap, PREMIUM & LITE, Spiked Articles, "Overheard at the Bar," News Munchies, etc.) -- if there's a bar reference we've missed, it was unintentional.

LoDo, thanks for your kind words. If we can help you -- or anybody -- give us a call, toll-free, at 866-272-2777. We, too, have a sliding scale based on income, but it isn't like ProfNet's. In our case, if you order our less-expensive product, WE make less income. :-(

But Contacts On Tap already is dirt cheap, so that's not too tough a hill for most practitioners to climb.

I challenge any of you to actually read The Insomniac's Version of our our dreadful License Agreement.

Cheers!
hawkmail Posted – 6/15/2007 4:02:22 PM | show profile
mastheads.org
This is a great resource and dirt cheap. I highly recommend it.
Quintessential. Posted – 6/18/2007 9:09:01 PM | show profile
Also Gift List Media is great. It has really grown over the years.
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