You spent good time studying a handful of media representatives. You know what they like and you\u2019ve created a press release pitch that you hope grabs their attention. After sending the pitch to your chosen media representatives and journalists you can sit back and rest \u2013 just wait for them to call you, right?<\/p>\n
Absolutely not. The next step is to spend a little time crafting your follow-up. The work isn\u2019t done until you\u2019ve followed up with the journalist and made sure they are aware of who you are and what you\u2019re about.<\/p>\n
Do Remember that Media Reps are People To<\/strong>o<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to forget that a journalist is a person. To you they\u2019re a means to an end. You want them to cover your story. However, media representatives also enjoy it when you know a bit about them. You probably customized your email pitch to them, so make sure to also customize your follow-up message as well.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t Pester<\/strong><\/p>\n The standard rule of thumb is to send one follow-up email to a journalist, or one follow-up phone call. However, in most cases you\u2019ll have better luck if you send an email. Unless you know the journalist personally, email is usually more effective and efficient. Following up with a journalist more than once shows them a bit of disrespect. Think about how you feel if you get repeated emails from someone who is a bit impatient and doesn\u2019t trust that you know how to respond to an email. Not great, right? One follow-up, no more.<\/p>\n Do Make Sure Your Follow-Up Email Gets to the Point Quickly<\/strong><\/p>\n Make your follow-up email as brief and succinct as possible. You\u2019ve already sent an email to the journalist that told your whole story and was more in-depth. Don\u2019t repeat yourself. A well-crafted and succinct follow-up will usually get more attention and respect than another long-winded email. Succinct also shows that you respect their time and that your intention isn\u2019t to pester; you simply would like to know if they\u2019re interested in your story.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t Get Too Friendly<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s important that your email communications with the media representative are always professional. You\u2019ve probably done enough research on the journalist to feel like you know them, but they don\u2019t know you. Stick to the topic, don\u2019t joke or try to win their favor by being overly friendly. It might work for some journalists, but in most cases it is more likely to backfire and make you look bad.<\/p>\n When emailing a journalist and following up on a pitch, keep it short and sweet. Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself how you\u2019d like to be treated. Chances are, you\u2019d prefer a bit of professional respect and courtesy. If your story is interesting to them, they\u2019ll follow up with you, guaranteed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You spent good time studying a handful of media representatives. You know what they like and you\u2019ve created a press …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1324,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[479,478,481,480],"class_list":["post-1323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release-optimization-2","tag-common-mistakes-in-pitching-a-story","tag-how-to-pitch-a-story","tag-learn-how-to-pitch-better-to-media","tag-things-to-avoid-when-emailing-a-journalist"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n