If you’re around today, Thursday, Aug. 5, join Steve Harrison for a free webinar (or teleseminar) and discover 12 strategies you can use to get more publicity. It’s called “Discover the Secrets of the Publicity Superstars & Get a Lot of Media Coverage.”

The call is at 2 and 7 p.m. Eastern.

Steve will be talking about things you can do right away to score more media coverage including:

• What one Publicity Hound did get on Fox News Channel repeatedly.
• A clever thing Robert Kiyosaki did to catapult sales for his bestselling book “Rich Dad Poor Dad.”
• The two types of stories you need to tell if you want to sell more on radio shows.
• Publicity strategies you can glean from watching Donald Trump, Suze Orman and Dr. Oz.

You’ll learn some great stuff so I hope you can make it.  The call is part of a free series of calls that Steve is offering to promote the National Publicity Summit Oct. 20-23 in New York City, where 100 pre-qualified Publicity Hounds will be able to meet dozens of journalists and broadcasters face-to-face and deliver a pitch.

I’m promoting the summit as an affiliate, because I’ve received great feedback from people whose topics were a perfect fit for the event.  If your topic is better suited to trade publications, or niche publications, you probably won’t be accepted.

Register for today’s call. If the time is inconvenient for you, recruit somebody to listen and take notes.

The free media leads services that connect journalists with sources can be a valuable tool in your publicity campaign, but only if you know the right way to answer a query and  convince the journalist to call you.

Otherwise, these services—PitchRate.com, Help a Reporter (HARO) and Reporter Connection—can be a huge time suck, particularly if you’re subscribing to all three.

When I wrote yesterday about how to find journalists online and wow ‘em with your pitch, I got an interesting comment from Shelley Hunter:

“I finally unsubscribed from one of the media leads services because I found myself taking the easy way out.  Rather than spending a few minutes each day mining for PR gold, I just waited for the leads to come to me.  I combed through the requests and answered those that fit my criteria.  But like you said, competition is stiff and only once did I get a call back.  At last, it occurred to me that I could have spent all those minutes (that added up to hours) establishing actual connections on my own.  It feels like a slower way to go, but one good connection could lead to others.”

I replied and told her that a lot of the return on investment of time depends on your area of expertise, and how many other competitors are within that niche. Broad topics like small business success, for example, can result in hundreds of responses, and you can be sure journalists won’t be reading all of them closely.

So what’s a frustrated, time-strapped  Publicity Hound to do?
     
    
Media leads services or your own research?

The smart ones will do both. They’ll use these free services AND pan for gold, using the tips I provided in the blog post mentioned above.

Here are guidelines to follow when answering a journalist’s query:

• Keep your response short. Absolutely no longer than one screen of type.  One-half screen of type is preferred.
• Briefly expain what makes you an expert on this topic.
• If you can offer the journalist other sources, say so, but don’t name them or provide contact information unless the journalist asks. And make sure those other sources would agree to be interviewed.
• Can you provide an image to accompany the story? Mention if you have a bar chart, pie chart, map, cartoon or other graphic, but don’t attach it to the email response. If the journalist wants it, he will ask.
• NEVER tell the journalist to “visit my website to learn more about me.”
• If you have a contrarian viewpoint on an issue, say so up front. The media love controversy, and your response will stand out from among all the others.
• Keep your response on topic. If you can’t help the journalist with the topic she’s writing about, don’t offer your expertise on another topic and NEVER respond to a query only to pitch another story idea. Do this, and the reporter will blacklist you.
• If you’re lucky enough to have a virtual assistant, delegate the task of sifting through all these leads.

One alternative to these free services, which can be like drinking from a firehose, is Dan Janal’s PRLeads. For a monthly fee, Dan will send you only the queries that tie into your area of experitse. 
       
      
Share your own experiences
     
What kinds of responses have you gotten from journalists using any of these services?  What media outlets covered your story as a result of responding to a journalist’s query? What tips do you have to share on how to answer a query? Or is your time better spent building strong relationships with journalists one on one?

Weigh in here.

The next time you want publicity, do two things that 99 percent of the other people who want publicity fail to do.  
    
First, vow that you won’t use the “spray and pray” technique.  That is, spraying the same one-size-fits-all pitch or press release to dozens or even hundreds of journalists, and then praying they’ll call you. 
    
Second, target a short list of journalists.  And then find out all you can about them before delivering your customized pitch.  It’s easy, actually, because journalists are leaving clues EVERYWHERE online about the kinds of stories they think are important, the kinds of expert sources they’re looking for, and how to contact them. 
    
Think of it as a treasure hunt.  Do it right and you could strike gold.  Here are six places to look for those valuable nuggets, which I shared during the webinar “How to REALLY Use Publicity as an Online Marketing Channel and Zig When Everyone Else is Zagging.”
     
    
1. Find out if the journalist blogs

Some journalists blog as part of their job.  Others blog on the side because they’re passionate about a topic. 

I wrote about how I picked up all sorts of valuable clues by spending a little time reading the blog written by Deborah Kotz, senior health writer for U.S. News & World Report. 
    
I learned, for example, that she’s a penny-pincher and hates bottled water. I also learned that two years ago, she thought about her risk of staying on birth control pills until she reaches menopause, and lamented the dearth of research on the long-term use of contraceptives by women.
   
If I had spent a few hours searching for clues, I’d find a lot more than that.  But I’d NEVER find that kind of personal information in those expensive media directories.  Here’s why this kind of research is so valuable. 
    
If you sell a product or service, or promote a cause or issue, related to women’s health, Deborah already has given you dozens of valuable clues at her blog that you can tie to your pitch. Be sure to read the comments at a journalist’s blog, where the journalist often replies and leaves even more clues about topics she thinks are important.  
     
     
2. Look for journalists on Twitter
    
If a blog can provide that much information, imagine what you can learn by following the journalist on Twitter.  Here are seven places to look for reporters, editors, freelancers, broadcasters, radio talk show hosts, TV news anchors and other journalists:

JournalistTweets.com: Allows you to track what journalists are writing about you or your subject.  Includes email alerts.  Also allows you to locate journalists on Twitter by subject interest.  
    
JustTweetIt.com: Features more than 175 reporters and editors. 
    
MediaonTwitter.com: Features thousands of journalists in 11 countries by name, Twitter ID, title/beat and media outlet.  
   
Muckrack.com: Features journalists by beats (world, U.S., politics, business, technology, sports, arts, etc.) and media company. 
    
Listorious.com (U.S.):  Harry Hoover’s list of more than 250 U.S. journalists, including Rachael Maddow, George Stephanopoulos, David Gregory and Terry Moran.  
    
Listorious.com (Canada):  A list of more than two dozen Canadian journalists, compiled by Harry Hoover.

Listorious: Harry Hoover’s list of more than 300 media outlets, including top-tier outlets. 

Follow a journalist who you want to pitch.  But don’t expect journalists to follow you back.  Some aren’t interested in following other people.  They use Twitter primarily to find leads and sources for stories.  Even so, look for gold in their tweets.
     
    
3. Look for journalists on Facebook 
    
Search for journalists by name, or search for the media outlet’s Fan page.  You can also use the search box to search by job title such as “reporter,” “editor” or “freelancer.”  Journalists frequently use Facebook to issue a call for certain types of experts they need to interview, or let their friends know about the types of stories they’re working on.
     
    
4. Pan for gold at their company websites 
    
Many newspapers and magazines have online versions that include many more articles than can fit into the printed edition.  Some even have videos.  Often, you can leave comments.  One annoying feature of many of these sites, however, is that you must create an account and log in with a username and password.  But sometimes, it’s worth it.
     
     
5. Read the editor’s column
     
One of the most valuable places to pan for gold in a newspaper or magazine is in the editor’s column.  It provides valuable clues about new features and departments, new freelancers and photographers who are contributing to that issue, trends the publication is seeing, and other information the editor thinks is important. 
    
Editors often write about their personal lives, too.  One smart Publicity Hound I know responded to a column from an editor and ended up in an article in the magazine.  
    
He’s Dr. Robert Kotler, a Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon, who was reading a copy of American Way, the in-flight magazine published by American Airlines.  In the May 1, 2009 issue, executive editor Adam Pitluk wrote about how his circle of friends has changed over the years. 
     
“I sent him a letter respectfully taking issue with some of his contentions and offering an alternative personal viewpoint,” Dr. Kotler told me.  “He does not keep long friendships.  I do.  A la my closeness with my fraternity brothers from our days at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1960-64).”
    
Adam called Dr. Kotler and told him he appreciated the letter.
     
“When I had his ear, I said, ‘You know, l have an idea for a story regarding how patients are coming from abroad to Beverly Hills for cosmetic surgery.  Of course, they should be traveling here on American.  I’ll send you an outline of what I think might be an interesting story for your readership.’” 
    
Dr. Kotler followed up and sent statistics about Beverly Hills as a magnet for cosmetic surgery.  Not long afterward, Adam told Dr. Kotler he’d probably assign the story and a writer. 
    
“And then it happened.  An excellent writer in New York called and interviewed me and Dr. Stuart Linder, another plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills,” Dr. Kotler said.  The article, titled Vacationing for a New You, appeared in the Feb. 15, 2010 issue. 
   
Publicity in inflight magazines is a wonderful way to get in front of business travelers and others with a high disposable income. See “Special Report #29: Fly High with Publicity in the Inflight Magazines.” It includes contact information and pitching tips for more than 50 magazines.   
     
   
6. Subscribe to media leads services

Three free media leads services provide hundreds of leads online, five days a week, from print and broadcast journalists, podcasters, bloggers and others who are looking for specific types of sources. 
    
I don’t consider this “panning for gold” because thousands of other Publicity Hounds subscribe to these services, and the competition is stiff.  Even so, you’d be crazy not to subscribe. 
    
Sifting through all these leads is time-consuming, but you can delegate this task to an assistant, or a VA.  Here are the services where you can subscribe and receive your leads by email: 
     
HelpaReporter.com
     
PitchRate.com 
     
ReporterConnection.com

PRLeads.com is a similar fee-based service that sifts through the journalist queries for you and gives you only those that pertain to your area of expertise. 

Now that you know where to look, grab your pan, and go find some gold!  And when you get publicity, please share it with me.  I’m always looking for success stories for “The Publicity Hound’s tips of the Week,” my weekly ezine, and this blog.

If you’re new to publicity and you don’t know where to start, here’s one of the best places.

Sign up for a free subscription to PitchRate.com, a service that  connects sources with journalists, bloggers and anyone who provides content. 
    
PitchRate was created by Drew Gerber of Press Kit 24/7. I wrote all about here when it first debuted.  I’m mentioning it now because Pitchrate has recently added a free 6-part course as part of its service. It covers:

Part 1: How to stand out from the crowd and brand what’s unique about it.

Part 2: How to make it easy for customers and journalists to find you online.

Part 3: Who wants your expertise? How to position yourself as an expert.

Part 4: How to grab the media’s attention by creating the perfect pitch.

Part 5: How to get to the point and use sound bites.

Part 6: How to maximize your publicity by leveraging the coverage you’re getting to attract more traffic and leads to your website.

If you have a dog or cat, I’m betting that, at least once, you’ve looked it in the eyes and said “I love you.”

That’s because a clever survey by Iams, the pet food company, showed that 91 percent of customers it contacted several years ago admitted whispering those three little words to their furry friends.

The company wisely publicized the survey results to coincide with Valentine’s Day.  Hundreds of newspapers, magazines and TV and radio stations picked up the story.

Surveys on topics that are fun, edgy, heart-warming, controversial, timely or compelling can generate mountains of publicity.  They can also do something else.

They can tell you EXACTLY what products and services your customers want and EXACTLY how much they’d be willing to pay for them.

Surveys have been the best-kept secret among Publicity Hounds and successful entrepreneurs–the cute little trick that has boosted PR campaigns and let top marketers create products to order, get proof to convert prospects and keep customers buying, and find the ticking time bombs in our businesses before they explode.

Let the Survey Expert Help You

My business partner, Jeanne Hurlbert, PhD, is one of the world’s foremost survey experts.  She’s so good at surveys that she’s helped people like The Tony Robbins Companies, Ali Brown, and Joe Polish.  She also created my own customer profile survey last spring, and I’m using the results as a roadmap to guide my business.

She and Mike Koenigs are hosting a webinar called “Your Cash-Generating Crystal Ball: How to Use Simple Surveys to Read Your Prospects’ and Customers’ Minds, Build Lists, Create Products, and Make Money.”  It will be at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, May 4.

They’ll show you how to jumpstart your business by putting your publicity, and your profits, on steroids.

And if you don’t HAVE a business yet, the news is just as good: They’ll help you start one, create products that generate revenue, and build your email list, in as little as 2 weeks.

You will learn:

Sign up here now.

P. S. When you sign up, you get 2 special reports—and one is about how a survey transformed my business.  On the call, Jeanne and Mike are giving away two things to five lucky winners: a cool new product that will be sold for at least $97 and another helpful special report.

(Shutterstock photo)

If you’re a guest expert, or a PR person who represents an expert, and you’re looking for radio talk shows and podcasts that need guests, don’t pitch only the big shows.

Many of them are difficult to book, and you might be far better off trying to get onto shows that reach niched audiences.

Check out RadioGuestList.com.  You can use this site several ways.
       
      

How to be on a show

Experts, authors and PR firms searching for the right shows can sign up here. Whenever a talk show is looking for guests, RadioGuestList will notify you.
  
     
How to find guests for your show

If you’re a radio show booker, podcaster, talk radio host or TV producer who needs guests, submit your talk show booking opportunities here. RadioGuesetList will email its list of guest experts, authors and PR firms so that experts who are a good fit for your show can email you directly.
     
    
How to see which shows are available 

On the homepage, you can see a list of categories on the right side. I clicked on a few of them and saw lots of opportunities for authors, musicians, small business people and Internet marketers to appear as guests. If you have an area of expertise, you’ll find something here that’s a good fit.

The site is maintained by Scott Fox, an author and Internet marketer. Check out his 10 tips on how to use social networking to market your product or service. You can also follow RadioGuestList on Twitter.

Never done a radio interview before? George McKenzie, a former radio talk show host, offered tips galore when I interviewed him about how to get onto drive-time radio shows and ace the interview so that the host invites you back.

Have you used RadioGuestList.com? Share your success stories here.

Jill Starishevsky of New York, NY writes:

“I am a prosecutor of child abuse and sex crimes in New York City.  I wrote a children’s book called My Body Belongs to Me to teach children that if someone touches them inappropriately, they should tell a parent or teacher right away. 

“In a non-threatening, engaging manner, this guide establishes boundaries and teaches kids that when it comes to their body, there are some parts that are for ‘no one else to see’ and empowers them to tell a parent or teacher if someone touches them inappropriately. 

“Most importantly, this narrative assures young ones that sexual molestation is not their fault, and by speaking out, the child will continue to grow big and strong.  A ‘Suggestions for the Storyteller’ section is also included to help lead a comfortable discussion afterward.

“How can I promote this book in traditional and social media?”

(Read more about how to submit your own question to this blog.)

If you’re trying to get onto local radio stations, but you don’t have money to spend on advertising, offer the station free recorded 30-second  spots filled with valuable how-to information their listeners will enjoy.

Tie it into a month of the year that’s related to your topic, and you just might generate some valuable free exposure for next to nothing.

This is more difficult to do today than it would have been 10 years ago because radio stations, like their brethren in the print media, are seeing ad revenues plummet. But I know some local radio stations still do trade-outs with local vendors, so that might be an alternative to asking them to just hand over free air time.

I was reminded of this tip when Beverly Belury, who has been through my mentor program, wrote this week asking what I thought about an idea that her husband, leadership consultant John Hersey, was considering:

“Motivational speaker Earl Nightingale’s wife lives in our little town and having met her last week reminded John of a dream he had. He loves Earl’s inspiration thoughts that were frequently on radio stations.  They were quick spots that the station used as filler. 

“John would like to do something along the same lines.  John has developed oodles of thoughtful quotes and inspirational thoughts on self leadership over the last 12 or so years and we are thinking about giving them to radio stations to use as they want. 

“We would send out a dozen or so professionally done audio spots a month. First, is there a challenge in what we want to do. Would you recommend 30-, 45- or 60-second spots or even longer? Do you think this is a worthwhile project?”

Her question jogged my memory. I remembered a teleseminar I had conducted several years ago with Dan Collins, media relalations director at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. It was called How to Make Hospital PR an Easy Pill to Swallow.

During the call, Dan explained how he ad gotten thousands of dollars in free publicity for his hospital by doing something similar to what Beverly had asked me about. His strategy was successful, and there’s no reason why it can’t work for you, too, depending on the product, service, cause or issue you’re trying to promote, and the type of station you’re targeting.

Here’s an excerpt from the transcript that explains what Dan did an how he did it:

Dan Collins: I contacted WLIF, which is a leading light station here in Baltimore and I contacted the news director and I said, “Hey, where you aware about this being National Nutrition Week?” I called this particular news director because I happen to know that fitness was a pet thing for her.  In fact, she was seeing a personal trainer that I had recommended and that I’ve worked with here at Mercy and have done some media for. I knew that it was something near and dear to her heart and I said, “I’ll tell you what we’ll do. If you think this is interesting, we can provide you with a dietitian who could come in and give you a series of tips, throughout the whole course of the month, about how to stay fit and what to eat and what not to eat. What would you think about that?” 

She said, “Well, that would be great,” because that way she could run a spot every day.  The person could come in and tape them all at once, do it in one shot.  “If it would be easier, do you want us to write it or do you want to write it?” she asked. ”Oh no, we’ll write it,” I said. 

Obviously, we’ll write the piece, that way we can control the script.  And so we did, and the dietitian recorded the various tips and made sure to plug Mercy in each spot and “if you’d like to find out more, call Mercy Medical Center at 1-800-MD-MERCY. 

They ran these every day for the whole month and it didn’t cost us anything.  If we had booked this as commercial time, it would have cost thousands of dollars, but because it was something that was near and dear to the news director’s heart, I was able to convince them that this would be a fun thing to do. It would be one less thing each day that they would have to worry about filling. So we looked at it from the station’s viewpoint and really got some nice publicity.

Joan: You had one spot aired each day?

Dan: Yes.

Joan: For a month?

Dan: Yes.

Joan:  Hospitals probably don’t even have to do that just during National Nutrition Week.  You can probably find all different kinds of days, weeks and months of the year to tie into.

Dan:  Oh, absolutely. I’ve got the schedule hanging up on my wall. I’m looking at it now.  We’re in August, which is Cataract Awareness Month. It’s also Medical Alert Awareness Month and Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month.  You’ve always got to look ahead and see what’s coming up.  Radio is an underutilized medium. 

The whole world of radio may change, but with this new sort of cable—you hear about cable radio, satellite radio—I don’t know how that’s going to ultimately change everything, but in the land of free radio, many stations have news directors and public service programming that they have to fill. 

Health is always a story, and as we’ve noted, doctors are hard to get a hold of.  You can call up a station and say: “Hey, it’s Healthy Lung Month and I have a pulmonary specialist who can talk to you about it. Did you know, for example, there’s enough nicotine in a single cigar to kill you three times over? And talk about things like that.” Then they’re going to say, “Well, you know, it’s great.”

Joan:  There are two really good resources out there for finding these special days, weeks and months of the year that you can tie your hospital experts into or your hospital into.  The first and probably the most popular is called the Chase’s Calendar of Events, and it’s about as big as a small phone book. You can find it at Chases.com.

There’s another book that was written by John Kremer called Celebrate Today.  I think you can even search by the month and come up with all kinds of interesting days, weeks and months of the year to tie your press releases and story ideas into.

Dan:  Absolutely.

As for John Hersey, he needs to remember that business topics generally aren’t a big draw for local radio stations. But because he’s a motivational speaker, he might offer inspirational messages for mass audiences, instead. Good luck, John! Be sure to let me know if you’re successful.  

If you’re trying to get onto radio talk shows to promote your book, product, service, cause or issue—and you’re on a tight budget—a series of inexpensive ebooks will help you locate the contact information for shows in specific niches. 

Talk radio advocate Francine Silverman has based the ebooks on her book, Talk Radio Wants You: An Intimate Guide to 700 Shows and How to Get Invited (McFarland & Co.  2009).

The ebooks include the show theme and guest criteria, which is usually missing from radio websites, in addition to title of show, name of host, email, phone (optional), website, best method of contact, and where the show is aired. You’ll also find information on Internet radio shows.

“Naturally, there are more shows in the book in every category, but as more questionnaires are returned, the number of shows in the ebooks are likely to surpass the book’s,” Silverman says.  “The business ebook, for example, has 53 shows, compared to the book’s 49.”

Even though some of these shows are small, Publicity Hounds can use these gigs as practice sessions. Appearing on TV and radio talk shows in smaller markets lets you make your mistakes, and learn from them, in front of much smaller audiences. Then, and only then, will you be ready to hit the big-time talk shows in the top markets. 

The ebooks include information for these niches:

Business
53 shows, ($20). Covers workplace issues, innovation, entrepreneurship, business strategies, careers, finance, small business, sales, home-based businesses, investments, insurance, money management and real estate. 

Entertainment
30 shows ($12). Covers art, fashion, movies, music and comedy.

Politics
25 shows ($12). Covers conservative, liberal and Libertarian politics; current events; the Constitution; and pop culture.

Self-Help
27 shows ($12). Covers overs personal and professional goals, growth and empowerment, emotional freedom techniques, motivation, creativity, living one’s calling, making for a better world, transforming your life, and self-realization.

Health
20 shows ($12). Covers healthy living and lifestyles, fitness, health as a business advantage, natural healing, alternative medicine, medical travel, issues, education and treatment, and overcoming adversities.

New Age
35 shows ($15). Covers astrology, metaphysics, Tarot, Angels, psychic development, paranormal, parapsychology, holistic health, healing, mysticism, occult, mediums and more.

Customers will receive five free updates when Silverman gets information on five new shows in that niche.

To buy the book, pay by PayPal to franalive@optonline.net. Or send a check payable to Francine Silverman to P.O. Box 1333, Riverdale, New York, NY 10471.  She’ll email you your book when she receives your check.
  
I asked Francine for three sample listings, and here’s what she gave me.

Bob Hardcastle’s Money Talk

Name of Host: Bob Hardcastle

Theme: Financial

Where Aired: KFNS 590, St. Louis, Missouri

Guest Profile: Banking & Finance, Investment, Real estate, Commodities professionals

Email: delta@moneytalk.org

Website: http://www.moneytalk.org

Phone: 636-532-0484

Best Method of Contact: Phone
        
       
The Art Rocks! 

Talk Show Name of Host: Philly Joe Swendoza & Co-Host Alexandra Rosa (Executive Producer)

Where Aired: WS Radio

Theme: “Where art, fashion and Lifestyles collide”

Guest Profile: Someone in our related genre, rock stars, celebrities, people who want to showcase their product or service on our show as it takes the form of an Infomercial. 

Email: alexandra@artrocks247.com

Website: http://www.artrocks247.com and http://www.wsradio.com/artrocks

Phone: 619-890-254

Best Method of Contact: Email
   
   
Mission Unstoppable Radio

Name of Host: Unstoppable Frankie Picasso

Theme: Inspiring stories to help folks be Unstoppable

Where Aired: Blog Talk Radio

Guest Profile: Authors (preferred) who have been unstopppable in their lives, attaining their goals, overcoming tragedy or who help others, i.e., business, crime, music, religion, spouse abuse; all categories are open.

Email: coachpicasso@rogers.com

Website: http://www.instituteforquantumliving.com and http://www.unstoppableplanet.com

Phone: 519-267-2493

Best Method of Contact: Send books to 839 Avenue Rd, Cambridge, Ontario, N1R 5S4 Intiial contact. Email is best.

National Public Radio, with its hundreds of shows, offers opportunities galore for people to pitch a story about their product, service, cause or issue.

But here’s an important caveat: Don’t pitch to more than one show at the same time.

That was one of several tips from (Ms.) Alex Cohen, a reporter and local host for “All Things Considered,” at KPCC-FM in Los Angeles, in an article for Bulldog Reporter.

“Don’t send the same pitch to a bunch of reporters in the same general area. If you send me something and I like it, but discover it’s already been pitched and accepted by one of the talk shows on my station, then you’ve wasted my time and put me in an awkward situation with my own colleagues.”

Are you listening, authors? Eager publicists who are pitching your book, particularlyone that ties into a hot breaking news story, might be tempted to pitch multiple NPR outlets concurrently.

“If you pitch a book to both ‘Morning Edition’ and ‘All Things Considered’ at the same time and both shows are interested, one will have to back down.”

Book publicist Lissa Warren, who I interviewed during a teleseminar on how to get booked on National Public Radio, says one of the best ways to find shows that are good candidates for your pitch is to use the search box at the NPR site. NPR will deliver a list of shows, and you can spend your time listening to them to find out which are the best fit.

Make a list of shows you want to pitch, with your preferred shows at the top of the list, and then pitch one at a time. If, within several days, you hear nothing, pitch another show.