If you email a pitch (information or an interview opportunity that a journalist can use in a story) to a journalist they will usually contact you if they are interested. However, if they don’t contact you it doesn’t always mean that they aren’t interested.
Journalists are very busy and they often don’t have time to respond to every email they receive. Therefore, you should follow-up your pitch by calling a journalist on the phone two days after you emailed them. Your follow-up will remind the journalist of your information and hopefully encourage them to use it.
PR Fuel has provided the top reasons why you should follow-up each pitch:
- A journalist receives hundreds of emails and pitches a day: This means that your pitch may be lost in the journalist’s inbox because they haven’t had time to look at it properly. If you conduct a follow-up call two days after you sent the pitch, you can remind them of your information. This phone call may also encourage the journalist to use your information.
- Persistence can pay off: There is a fine line between being pushy and being persistent. Never call a journalist straight after you sent your pitch because this will be seen as too pushy. If you call a journalist and they sound busy, then don’t push them to keep talking to you. If the journalist says no to your pitch then don’t push them and don’t call them again to ask about the same pitch.
- Build a relationship with the journalist: By having a phone conversation with a journalist you can add a personal touch to the pitch allowing you to create a relationship with the journalist. Your pitch will then stand out from the other pitches they have received.
- You have the opportunity to re-pitch the information over the phone: If the journalist only scanned your pitch or didn’t see it then you can explain your information in further detail during the follow-up. You can also explain the benefits of the pitch and why it’s a perfect fit for the journalist’s publication.
A follow-up call for your pitch can sometimes mean the difference between getting media coverage for your business or not.
Read the full article here.
Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
