Muck Rack

Great for personalized pitches

Comments: Muck Rack is great for PR outreach and finding contacts outside of our usual pitching list. I've fostered relationships with media contacts using Muck Rack by referencing specific works or commenting on a subject that the contact cares about, which has resulted in more effective pitching than cold email blasts to an extensive list.

Pros:

Muckrack makes it easy to create specific, tailored pitches to appropriate media contacts. It's so helpful that it's not just name, title, and contact info - it provides examples of recent journalism that writer has done, and specific beats that they focus on. This makes it easy to figure out how to pitch them from an angle that will resonate, and connect with media contacts on a personal level.

Cons:

The UA could be simplified a little bit - looking at campaign searches can be a bit overwhelming when a bunch of less specific results show up.

Possibly a viable all-in-one alternative for media lists and coverage reporting

Comments: The process of evaluating and deploying Muck Rack is relatively easy. The problem arises when you realize that results and information output are maddeningly inconsistent.

Pros:

The user interface is superb and very intuitive. Results are displayed in an aesthetically pleasing format. Eager, but friendly salespeople, unlike some of the competition. No hard sell; they really demonstrated that they wanted to earn our business.

Cons:

First and foremost, it's an all or nothing proposition. You can't buy access on an a la carte basis. You either get everything or nothing. That's a huge turnoff. Muck Rack is inconsistent with its contact’s emails and especially phone numbers in comparison to the competition. There have been many instances where MR only provides the outlet’s news desk phone number while the main competitor's software is able to provide the contact’s direct number. MR also does not have very many hyperlocal media outlets while the competition does.

One of the most highly recommended media-monitoring platforms that was a no-brainer decision!

Pros:

The best feature outside of the main selling points of Muck Rack is the quick updates they make to the contacts in a media list if there were bouncebacks or missing information. This is a big plus!

Cons:

The only update I feel could be improved so far is ensuring that there is at least one contact found in every outlet that can be searched in the search criteria. I've come across a few podcasts located in the outlet's search criteria with no contact available.

Seriously inaccurate information on Muck Rack, and unresponsive 'customer service'

Comments: No one answers the phone :(

Pros:

Nothing. The information it conveys is inaccurate

Cons:

I publish a popular hyperlocal news website called WEHOville.com. When one does a Google search, MuckRack pops up with stories from WEHOville that lists those who post comments on the stories as their authors. I have complained about this before and it still happens. DO NOT TRUST MUCK RACK!

Great way to find relevant media outlets

Comments: Muck Rack has made it much easier for me to find journalists that cover topics relevant to the products my business offers. I now spend less time searching for the right press contacts and I upset less people because I'm not pitching them stories they have no interest in.

Pros:

Muck Rack makes it much easier to find journalists based off what they cover and what their interests are. It's an easy way to save time and make sure your pitches are reaching the right people.

Cons:

There is nothing I dislike about Much Rack. It is a great software tool for marketing and PR professionals.