Press contacts are the rolodex — every journalist, editor, or analyst you might send a release to. Build it up over time. A good contact book is the single biggest factor in whether press work actually lands.
Fields on a contact
- Name — required. The journalist's name.
- Email — required. Where the release goes.
- Company — the outlet or publication. Optional but recommended.
- Phone — optional. For follow-up when email doesn't cut it.
- Beat / Topic Area — what the journalist covers ("fintech", "AI infrastructure", "climate tech"). Used to decide which list they belong on.
- Social Media Links — optional. X, LinkedIn, Mastodon handles.
- Preferred Language — a language code (e.g.
en,ja). Use this when a contact should only receive releases in their language. - Notes — freeform. Context about the relationship, previous coverage, what they care about, embargo preferences.
Adding a contact
- From the channel's dashboard, click Press → Contacts.
- Click New Contact.
- Fill in at minimum Name and Email.
- Add Company, Beat, Notes — the more you fill in, the easier list-building becomes later.
- Save.
Editing and deleting
Click any contact in the list to edit. Delete is on the same screen. Deleting a contact also removes them from every distribution list they were on; historical distributions still show them as a past recipient, so you don't lose delivery history.
Tips for a useful contact book
- Be specific on Beat. "Tech" is useless; "Developer tools for enterprise" lets you build targeted lists.
- Use Notes aggressively. "Prefers embargo 48 hours ahead, writes long features, last coverage March 2026 on pricing launch" saves you 10 minutes every time you consider pitching them.
- Clean it up quarterly. Journalists move outlets constantly. Bounce rates on the Distribution History page are a good signal that a contact needs updating.
- Set Preferred Language honestly. If a contact only covers the English market, don't send them Japanese releases.
Where contacts show up
- In the Contacts list under Press.
- As options when you add people to a distribution list.
- As recipients in distribution history, each with their own delivery status per release sent.