10 tips for mastering how to follow-up on pitches to journalists
How to/not to follow-up on pitches to journalists
“Hi Steph, just checking you saw this.”
“Hi Steph, just following up on this press release. Any updates?”
“Hi Steph, think this is one for you?”
I’m on 1,001 mailing lists and receive hundreds of emails every day. Unfortunately, I’m not able to acknowledge them all. I really do try to politely decline a pitch when I know the person on the other end of the email chain but that’s not always possible.
I’d never get any reporting done if I spent the day responding to each and every pitch I receive. The same is true for hundreds of other journalists.
So, this brings me to the art of the follow-up. I don’t mind a chaser email. I try my best to stay on top of my inbox but I definitely miss things. A follow-up can be a helpful nudge to bring something back to the top of my inbox.
Here are some of my thoughts on what to/not to do:
1. Keep follow-ups shorter than the original pitch. One to three sentences maximum is ideal.
2. Change the subject line on a follow-up. If the first subject didn’t land, don’t reuse it. Try a sharper angle or a data point.
3. Time your follow-ups to a journalist’s workflow. Certain times of the day and news cycle should be avoided... like late on Fridays, weekends (unless news-driven) and the height of major breaking news cycles. Instead, try early mornings or early afternoons.
4. Don’t fake urgency. Don’t say something is “time-sensitive” when it isn’t. That’s just a credibility killer.
5. Don’t “just bump” the email. “Just bumping this to the top of your inbox” adds zero value.
So what should you do instead?
