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Media Lists vs. PR Databases: Which Is Right for You?

Media Lists vs. PR Databases: Which Is Right for You?

Unsure whether to choose a media list or PR database for your media outreach? Discover the differences, pros, and cons of each, and find out which one suits your needs best in this comprehensive guide.

Are you stuck choosing between a media list or a PR database for your next PR campaign?

If you’re already familiar with media outreach, then you know how important a targeted media list is. But choosing between buying a media list or using a PR database is no easy task, and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. 

Ultimately, the right choice depends on your specific goals, timeline, budget, and a variety of other factors related to how you’ll use the tool.

To help you decide, we’ve written this comprehensive guide to show you the key differences, when to use each tool (with examples), and how they each affect your budget to help you find which tool fits your PR strategy best.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

  • What media lists and PR databases are
  • How they differ and affect your PR workflow
  • When each is most useful (with examples)
  • The pros and cons of each
  • The cost comparison between media lists and PR databases
  • Tips for making an informed decision for your PR outreach

To start, let’s take a closer look at these two PR tools and how they work.

If you’re looking for a quick, affordable solution to get quality media contacts for your PR outreach, you can shop our selection of expertly curated, 100% verified media lists here.

Media Lists and PR Databases - Understanding the Basics

Before we dive into the nuances of media lists and PR databases, let’s make sure we’ve clearly defined what these PR tools are and how they work.

A definition of Media Lists

A media list is a database of media contacts from various media outlets along with their contact information. PR pros and do-it-yourselfers can build their own media lists (here’s a template if you need one). However, in this article, we’re specifically talking about media lists you can purchase online to expedite your media outreach.
With a media list, you instantly get access to a group of media contacts targeted around a specific location, industry, or publication type. Now, the quality of these lists can vary drastically—and we’ll discuss this in more detail later.
The top media list providers like Media List Market put a lot of effort into manually researching and verifying each contact on their lists. This ensures high data accuracy and email deliverability for your PR pitches.

A definition of PR Databases

In contrast, a PR database is a paid web-based software that provides access to a large collection of media contacts. On these platforms, you can build your own media list, sourcing your contacts from their database.
These databases might also be referred to as media monitoring or pr software for their additional functionality beyond providing a database of media contacts like tracking media mentions and sentiment, managing press releases and media outreach, or generating PR reports.
Some of the most popular PR databases used today include:
Once you have access to the PR database, you can then browse through the contacts and publications to compile your own custom media lists.

In summary, both media lists and PR databases provide media contacts for your media outreach—they just have different ways of doing that.

So let's break down the differences between these tools to help you choose what’s best for your PR outreach.

The Differences Between Media Lists and PR Databases

Now that we have a clear understanding of what media lists and PR databases are, let’s examine the key differences between the two

1 - Sourcing Contact Data

One of the biggest factors influencing your decision is the accuracy and quality of the media contact data. This impacts the overall deliverability and effectiveness of your media pitches—not to mention, your brand’s reputation.

How Media Lists Source Their Data

The source of contact data in pre-made media lists can vary significantly between media list providers. With less reputable companies, the lists may be hastily compiled using outdated methods like:
  • Basic data mining/scraping
  • Reselling third-party data
  • Low-quality crowdsourcing
This often results in lists that are filled with old, incorrect, or jumbled contact information—limiting your potential media pickups.
Conversely, premium media list providers put meticulous effort into manually researching and verifying each contact. This ensures consistently high data accuracy you can rely on.
For example, at Media List Market, we have a multi-step process our PR pros follow:
  1. Contacts are initially found through manual searches of industry publications, blogs, databases, major media sites, etc.
  2. That contact data is then cross-checked against secondary sources to verify details like that contact’s title/role, active employment status, and email address.
  3. Only then is the contact added to our lists—then monthly maintained to ensure accuracy.
This meticulous approach takes more time upfront. But it dramatically improves your chances of delivering pitches straight to the correct editor’s inbox—rather than getting caught by spam filters.
Additionally, we put real effort into compiling insightful data beyond just names and emails, such as:
  • Editor bios
  • Publication overviews and audience notes
  • Social media accounts
  • Pitching notes based on past coverage
  • Domain authority metrics for backlink strategizing
  • And more supportive context to personalize your PR pitches
This elevates our media lists from just being a basic contact provider like most other media list providers.

How PR Databases Source Their Data

Subscription-based PR databases source their media contacts from a variety of methods, like:
  • Allowing journalists to self-submit their profiles
  • Licensing data from other providers
  • Web scraping/data mining
  • Manual research
The quality of their contact data typically comes down to:
  1. How comprehensive their multi-sourced data collection processes are
  2. How frequently the platform updates and verifies the information to stay current
In general, the major PR database platforms provide a decent baseline level of contact data accuracy through their combining of:
  • Submissions directly from media professionals (self-updating)
  • Data licensed from other providers
  • Internal research teams
  • Pattern-matching algorithms to find and input new contacts online
However, a common pain point PR pros cite with these databases is how quickly information can become outdated. People frequently change roles or publications—so vigilant data updating is essential.
Different providers handle this in their own ways with some being more proactive than others about auditing and refreshing contact info.
Muck Rack, for example, has a large number of media contacts in their database who have profiles but no contact information. To help remedy this, they offer their customers personalized support and the option to use their internal research team to request the contact information of a media contact.

 

2 - Barrier to Entry

One of the biggest advantages of choosing a media list is how quickly you can get started with outreach campaigns compared to PR databases.

The Barrier to Entry for Media Lists

With pre-built media lists, the barrier to entry is extremely low:
  • You can purchase a list and start pitching campaigns within days
  • No long-term subscription commitment required
  • Just a simple, one-time purchase to get started

The Barrier to Entry for PR Databases

In comparison, using a PR database requires more upfront work:
  • Signup: You first need to sign up, often with an annual commitment paid upfront
  • Onboarding: There are frequently lengthy onboarding and training processes involved to understand their dashboard and how to use their software effectively
  • Qualifications: Some PR databases require specific business credentials or qualifications to access—preventing access to some small businesses, solopreneurs, and personal brands.
  • Building Your List: Once these steps are completed, you can then start the process of building your initial media list (which might mean you’re still days or weeks away from sending out a pitch).
  • While this time investment pays off in the long-term, it does present a higher startup hurdle versus media lists in terms of:
      • Getting campaigns up and running immediately
      • The ability to run a quick one-off pitch
      • Easing into media outreach, or doing seasonal outreach, before diving into a full PR database subscription

    Many smaller businesses appreciate having an accessible media list option enabling a gradual, affordable entry into media relations. As they grow and expand their PR efforts, they can then invest in a PR database down the road if it makes sense.

    Over the years, many of our clients have taken a hybrid approach. Even enterprise clients or agency clients with PR teams find our premium media lists useful for quick turnarounds and urgent PR campaigns when there's no time to build a manual list on a database. They then conduct their media outreach and monitor their mentions using PR software.

    3 - Customization and Organization

    So how does each affect your PR workflow and media outreach?

    Media Lists: Customizing and Organizing

    With a media list, you can get started almost immediately on your PR outreach.
    Some organization of your list is recommended to sort and prioritize your contacts, find personalized angles, or plan your strategy based on audience size, domain authority, or some other metric.
    Because the data is already entered for you, you can easily customize and organize your list per the needs of your PR campaign. You can sort and prioritize publications easily based on various data points, or add custom fields.

    PR Databases: Customizing and Organizing

    With a PR database, you gain access to the database of contacts, then get to work building your own media list.
    One benefit of PR databases is their ability to provide several different media lists. This is helpful to organize lists by PR campaign or client and get segmented metrics as well.
    However, the option to add custom fields or organize your list by detailed data points is often limited, which limits the potential of your personalized PR outreach.

    4 - Cost Considerations

    Budget considerations often play a major role in deciding between media lists and PR databases, as there are substantial cost differences between these two PR tools:

    Media List Prices

    There’s a wide range in media list pricing depending on the data quality, number of media contacts, level of detail provided, and other factors.

    On the low end, bulk lists of basic contact info can be found for as cheap as $0.50-$1 per contact from sketchy providers using data mining methods. Unfortunately the price often reflects the quality, and those scraped lists are infamous for being full of invalid/outdated data—ultimately wasting your time and outreach efforts.

    At the other extreme are overpriced, static lists that charge thousands of dollars for the same rehashed generic data that needs a good flush of repeated and low-quality data.

    At Media List Market, our approach is to provide high-quality options at multiple price points. Not every business needs a robust media list with 1000 contacts across every type of media to get their product featured. So we itemize our premium media lists into smaller versions (starting around $150) so that we can still provide a valuable tool for those just getting started in PR, while still offering valuable enterprise solutions that start at $5k.

    Offering tiers of pre-built media lists tailored to different budgets and needs makes our lists accessible for businesses of all sizes. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.

    Additionally, we offer an Annual Evergreen Subscription Service to maintain and update your media list for you so that it retains its value.

    PR Database Pricing

    PR database subscriptions represent a much larger investment—frequently costing around $5,000 per year for basic plan access for one user. Adding another user can cost an additional $1,500 per year.

    While many PR software companies keep their pricing behind a curtain until you’ve entered the sales process, some modern platforms like Prowly offer transparent pricing and monthly subscription plans.

    At the time of this writing, subscribing to Prowly annually costs just over $3,000 per year for the basic plan (500 saved media contacts, 2 user seats, 1,000 emails per month, and 10 personalized emails), or just under $5,000 for the Pro plan (2,000 media contacts, 10 users, 5,000 emails per month, 100 personalized emails).

    In summary, subscribing to a PR database costs thousands of dollars a year, compared to buying high-quality media lists that start in the low hundreds.

    Still, this doesn’t mean one approach is better than the other, and as we’ve mentioned before, many of our clients use a hybrid approach between the two.

    5 - Media List Maintenance

    Regardless of purchasing a media list or using a PR database, your list needs to be regularly maintained for effective PR outreach.

    This means removing any contacts who are not interested, updating new roles and email addresses, and adding new publications and media contacts for your topic/beat.

    Maintaining a Purchased Media List

    If you purchase a media list, you’re getting a snapshot of a dynamic and changing media list. And after your purchase, you’re responsible for its maintenance.

    At Media List Market, we know you’re busy, so we offer an Evergreen Annual Subscription Service that makes sure your media list is always maintained and updated by giving you monthly updates on any changes and sending you the latest version of your purchased media list.

    However, without this service, or with another media list provider, you need to make sure that your list is maintained. Otherwise, your investment will not hold its value over time.

    PR Database Contact Maintenance

    Once you’ve build your media list on a PR platform, any updates to journalists and contacts will automatically update on your list.

    So if you built a media list for PR campaign for last year’s Spring fundraising drive and you’d like to send a press release to the same contacts this year, you can easily do so without updating any contacts yourself.

    The PR database updates individual contacts which is automatically synced to your saved media list.

    In short, media lists provide quick access to curated contacts, ideal for immediate PR campaigns without commitments. They’re also cost-effective and straightforward, perfect for small businesses and entrepreneurs starting in PR.

    PR databases offer extensive databases for building your own media list with additional features like media monitoring and campaign management. They often require an upfront investment and ongoing maintenance, but offer scalability and advanced functionalities.

    Which PR tool is better for you: Media Lists or a PR Database? (With Examples)

    The right choice between media lists or a database subscription will depend on your unique situation and media outreach goals, but these factors might help you determine which path makes the most sense:

    • How frequently you’ll conduct outreach campaigns
    • Your available budget
    • How much time you can invest now and in the future
    • How quickly you need to get news/pitches to the press
    • Size and goals of your PR/marketing team
    • Level of targeting and personalization you need in your outreach
    • Need for additional PR tools (like media monitoring and online press rooms)

    Knowing what to prioritize from this list will help steer you towards the ideal tool for your circumstances. To illustrate, let’s look at a few example scenarios:

    Example 1: The Solopreneur

    Meet Sarah, a boutique jewelry maker and solo business owner. She recently had a necklace featured in a regional magazine, leading to a huge spike in online orders. Realizing the power of media exposure, Sarah now wants to be more intentional about her publicity efforts and multiply her success.

    However, she has limited time outside of actually making her products, shipping orders, managing her website and storefront, handling customer service, and everything else a solopreneur juggles.

    For Sarah’s situation, using a pre-built, affordable media list could be the perfect solution. It gets her access to vetted media contacts instantly without significant upfront work and allows her to conduct her outreach at her own pace without feeling the pressure of a monthly or annual commitment.

    Instead of spending hours manually compiling her own list of fashion writers, bloggers, and journalists, she can simply purchase a targeted media list and start pitching in a matter of hours.

    The key advantages for solopreneurs like Sarah are the agility and affordability a one-time media list purchase provides. She gets the tools to amplify her brand through the media without an excessive time commitment or heavy costs.

    Example 2: The Growing Marketing Team

    Now let’s look at a different scenario: an e-commerce brand called Caliverse that sells eco-friendly outdoor apparel. They’ve consistently grown over the last few years and have decided to bring on a dedicated PR manager, Meghan, to amplify their marketing efforts through media outreach and influencer campaigns.

    Caliverse’s approach here is different than Sarah’s solo business. While pre-built media lists could still provide value initially for building experience, they’ll likely want to transition to using a PR database before too long.

    With Meghan focused specifically on launching PR campaigns month-over-month, having a centralized database platform saves significant time. She can easily build, customize, update, and manage media lists all in one place, instead of having to navigate and maintain multiple media list files.

    Yes, the annual subscription cost for the database is higher upfront at around $5,000 to start. But it quickly becomes worthwhile as their PR efforts grow and expand across new product lines, audience segments, and regions. The integrated monitoring, analytics, and workflow management tools are an added perk that multiplies Meghan’s efforts.

    For growing marketing teams and dedicated PR roles, a PR database helps streamline their processes as their media mentions grow.

    Example 3: The PR Agency

    Our final example looks at Bright Media, a boutique PR firm representing clients of all sizes across different industries.

    For agencies like them, they utilize both media lists and PR databases through a hybrid approach:

    Having access to a top PR database is a basic requirement for managing all their clients’ campaigns, tracking metrics, and building several media lists a week for pitching. It provides a centralized hub for all their PR efforts.

    However, that doesn’t mean pre-built media lists get ignored completely.

    Bright Media still finds tremendous value in leveraging curated media lists from trusted providers, just strategically.

    For example, when they take on brand new clients or major PR opportunities with tight turnaround times, there’s no room for delay. They need to get pitches out immediately to capture potential opportunities (and impress their new clients!).

    Using pre-built, targeted media lists provides a shortcut to access verified contacts quickly for these rapid-response scenarios. It helps them execute when simply building lists in-house would slow them down too much.

    For boutique PR agencies just starting out as well, affordable pre-built media lists are a great way to get campaigns executed effectively without heavy database subscription costs right away.

    So, in short, even seasoned PR pros and major agencies appreciate how the right media list can complement their database when the timing, efficiency, or niche demands it.

    The Pros and Cons of Media Lists and PR Databases

    Both media lists and PR databases provide pathways to execute PR campaigns and media outreach effectively. However, each tool has its own unique set of advantages and drawbacks to consider.

    The Advantages of Pre-Built Media Lists

  • Affordable, One-Time Cost: With professional media lists starting at $150-$1,000 on average, they represent an accessible, lower-risk investment compared to annual PR database subscriptions that frequently start at $5,000+.
  • Get Pitching Right Away: Having organized, curated media contacts and pitching notes pre-compiled means you can start executing your PR campaign pretty much instantly once you’ve purchased the list.
  • Easy to Supplement and Maintain: Media lists are designed to hit the ground running as a standalone tool. But you can also easily combine them with your own list or proprietary contacts.
  •  

    The Disadvantages of Media Lists:

  • Static Data Requires Maintenance: Since media contacts are a constantly moving target, any static media list will gradually become outdated without consistent refreshing and updated versions pushed out. (That’s why we offer our Evergreen Subscription Service)
  • Less Flexibility and Segmentation: Pre-built media lists are designed around a certain target focus like a specific industry, region, or type of publication. With the data being set, there are only so many ways you can organize and segment the list once it’s compiled.
  • No Advanced PR Tools: Media lists are focused on delivering contacts rather than building PR software. So, additional PR tools like monitoring, analytics, and other advanced database features are nonexistent. However, our media lists easily integrate into CRMs and other cloud-based software to easily fit into your existing PR workflow.
  •  

    The Advantages of PR Databases:

  • Automatically Refreshed Contact Data: With top PR database providers, your media contacts are continuously updated and refreshed without any maintenance on your part.
  • Flexible List Building: By putting the media list building directly into your hands, PR databases allow you to create hyper-targeted, customized lists for each campaign based on endless combinations of criteria.
  • Integrated Suite of PR Tools: PR databases provide complementary functionality to your contact management by monitoring media mentions, tracking pitch engagement metrics, building analytic dashboards, and more.
  •  

    The Disadvantages of PR Databases:

  • Significant Upfront and Ongoing Costs: Those advanced features, automatic updates, and integrations get baked into pricey subscription fees for PR databases - often between $5,000-$10,000+ annually.
  • Requires Training and Onboarding: With many functions and tools come training and onboarding to get past the learning curve before getting ramped up.
  • Long-Term Contractual Commitments: Most database subscriptions require annual contracts paid upfront, sometimes with strict terms around things like user seat licenses, adding an additional obligation.
  •  

    As you can see, both media list and PR database approaches bring distinct advantages and tradeoffs. Up next, we’ll explore the cost considerations between these two tools in more depth to further clarify which investment makes the most sense for you.

    The Real Cost Differences Between Media Lists and PR Databases

    One of the biggest factors to weigh when choosing media lists or PR databases is, of course, the investment required for each path. And the costs can vary drastically.

    Let's dig into the pricing dynamics so you can calculate the best use of your PR outreach budget based on anticipated returns.

    Media List Pricing - Affordable But Varied

    For professional, pre-built media lists the pricing landscape looks something like this:

    On the very low end, you'll find bulk lists of basic contact details for as cheap as $0.50 - per contact from disreputable providers using outdated data mining methods.

    However, these types of economically-scraped lists are infamous for containing copious errors, incorrect info, and straight-up invalid entries. So that bargain-bin pricing is a false economy that will likely just waste your team's outreach efforts.

    More trustworthy agencies that manually research and verify each media contact command premium pricing for their media lists, but still maintain an attractive cost-to-value ratio.

    The typical price ranges from them look like:

    • Niche, location-specific media lists: $100 - $500
    • Industry/market-focused media lists: $150 - $1,000
    • Comprehensive national/global media lists: $500 - $3,000+

    At Media List Market, we believe in providing the highest quality media list option at competitive prices, meeting all price points. This commitment has made us the leading provider of premium media lists online.

    This way, businesses of all sizes can access verified media contacts affordably.

    We also offer cost-effective evergreen media list maintenance services starting at $99/year to maintain your media list's accuracy annually without repeated full re-investments.

    So in summary, media lists represent a very accessible, lower-risk investment.

    PR Database Subscription Costs - Paying for the Suite

    In contrast, PR database subscriptions pricing follows an entirely different model - and level. Their costs are substantially higher given the additional functionality, tools, and ongoing data maintenance involved.

    Let's look at the pricing structures for some of the most popular PR database options:

    Cision: $5,000—$10,000+/year

    Meltwater: $9,000 - $24,000+/year

    Muck Rack: $5,000—$25,000+/year

    Prowly: $3,000—$7,000+/year

    Even at the most basic subscription level, you're looking at $3,000 - $9,000/year as an entry-point for database access from the main industry providers. And that's before factoring in add-ons like expanded user accounts, media monitoring services, advanced PR workflow tools, and more premium feature bundles.

    For small businesses/agencies, keep in mind that those costs are typically due upfront as an annual lump sum payment to activate your subscription.

    Calculating Your PR ROI 

    With such a wide cost gulf between media lists and PR databases, it really comes down to the investment versus anticipated return on investment (ROI) for your specific situation.

    For example, if a single major media placement has the potential to generate $100,000 in new business for you, spending $5,000+ annually on a PR database could easily be worth the investment.

    But if you're an early-stage company just looking to get initial traction and validation through earned media mentions, investing heavily in a PR database subscription might not make sense yet.

    The key is considering the monetary costs, your time, and the potential return.

    So look at the anticipated value of your earned media results, crunch the numbers on your bandwidth and budget realities, and choose the PR tool that maximizes ROI according to your goals.

    Just remember - the right media contacts are the fuel that powers effective PR outreach. Invest accordingly based on how big (and frequently) you want that engine running.

    How to Choose the Right PR Tool for Your Media Outreach

    To make an informed decision for the right PR tool, it’s essential to weight the benefits of media lists versus PR databases.

    Media lists offer quick access to curated contacts, ideal for immediate campaigns without long-term commitments. They’re straightforward and cost-effective, perfect for small businesses and startups.

    On the other hand, PR databases provide extensive databases for building customized lists, offering scalability, and advanced features like media monitoring and campaign management.

    Remember, many industry pros opt for a hybrid approach, leveraging both media lists and PR databases to maximize their PR strategies. So either tool has its place and time.

    At Media List Market, we specialize in premium, verified media lists. Whether you’re looking to explore our ready-made options or need a custom media list for your organization, we’re here to help you succeed in your PR journey and land more media placements.

    Shop our premium media lists or request a customized solution today.

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