Journalist relevance research

An MVP, or minimum viable product, is the smallest version that your users can actually work with. It is not a cheap version of the full solution. It is a test, built to answer the questions that decide whether the rest is worth building.

1. Pick the riskiest assumption. Here: will small PR agencies planning specialist announcements use it to solve "media lists contain reporters with little topical relevance"?
2. Build only what tests it. One team, one use case, a few core modules. People do the rest by hand for now.
3. Run a paid pilot. Produce a small shortlist and ask the buyer to verify fit independently.
4. Measure, then decide. Track verified relevance and useful pitch conversations. Then expand, change course or stop, with evidence instead of opinions.

MVP scope for this solution. Begin with small PR agencies planning specialist announcements and one recurring use case. Build the first two modules: define announcement themes; review published coverage. Provide operator assistance for the third module: explain relevance. Deliver evidence-backed media research list through a manual review queue. Perform other necessary full-scope functions manually during the pilot. Include all applicable access, accuracy and professional-review controls from the start.

After the MVP. After paid pilots establish value, automate the remaining modules: record publication dates; flag weak matches; draft contextual pitch angles. Add one validated source integration, reusable customer configuration and recurring delivery. Expand to additional teams, document formats or languages only after testing the new scope.

What the build depends on. Current source information, explicit eligibility rules, entity identity checks and inspectable fit reasoning. Sparse evidence limits match quality.

Pricing to test

Test USD 150-600 monthly for one narrow opportunity feed, or USD 750-2,500 for a bespoke researched shortlist. Price manual verification and custom research explicitly. These are pricing hypotheses.

Message to test

Journalist relevance research for small PR agencies planning specialist announcements. Recent article evidence supports every proposed media match. Demonstrate the claim through a small journalist shortlist with article-level justification.

Where to find buyers

PR practitioner communities

Lead magnet

A small journalist shortlist with article-level justification

The first 30 days

1. Week 1: interview five prospective buyers in this segment: small PR agencies planning specialist announcements. Ask to see a recent example of the problem and their current process.
2. Week 2: prepare this demonstration using authorized or synthetic material: a small journalist shortlist with article-level justification.
3. Week 3: present it through PR practitioner communities and seek one narrowly scoped paid pilot.
4. Week 4: review verified relevance, useful pitch conversations, total delivery effort and a concrete renewal decision before increasing scope.

Paid pilot

Produce a small shortlist and ask the buyer to verify fit independently. Record why each option is accepted or rejected and whether it leads to a useful next step. Review missed eligible options too. For this solution, use recent published work and client announcement brief and evaluate evidence-backed media research list. Agree success thresholds with the buyer before starting; collect a baseline for verified relevance, useful pitch conversations. A positive signal is payment and repeat use with acceptable quality and delivery cost, not a favorable demo reaction alone.

Success metrics

Verified relevance, useful pitch conversations

Retention and expansion

Refresh opportunity profiles, improve criteria from accepted and rejected matches, and offer deeper verification for shortlisted options.

Why clients would pick it

A maintained niche opportunity dataset and documented relevance feedback, supported by relationships with the intended buyer community. For this solution, build around recent article evidence supports every proposed media match. This advantage requires execution and accumulated customer trust; the base model alone is not a defensible asset.

Alternatives and positioning

Manual research, directories, generic databases, referrals and existing opportunity marketplaces. Differentiate on this specific proposed advantage: recent article evidence supports every proposed media match. Test it against the buyer's current method on the same task. Competitor coverage and uniqueness have not been established.

Main delivery costs

Source collection, profile updates, entity resolution, eligibility verification, analyst research and customer feedback review.