This blog post is your daily reminder that journalists are flooded with pitches. And that’s not counting whatever story they are already researching, and writing.
That means that if you pitched a reporter, and they still haven’t returned your message or email, it doesn’t mean they think the story is bad or your pitch was poorly crafted. It might just mean they are toppled with all sorts of stories, and might still not haven’t gotten to it.
However, they might have seen your follow up, but yours wasn’t up to journalistic standards–whichever they are–and it got lost.
So what do you do? Cue the subtle art of following up.
When done correctly, you can turn into an inbox ally for your favorite journo. When done incorrectly, you can turn into an inbox enemy, and that reporter will shadow your pitches til the collapse of media.
Here are seven tips to perfecting the art of the follow up.
Pick Your Medium
Do you pitch through email or Telegram? Is LinkedIn a fertile ground for your connections with journalists? How do you usually communicate with reporters?
Ask yourself these questions first, and then follow up through the medium that you usually communicate with a journalist.
If you usually communicate via email, or a journalist has explicitly said that they only receive pitches via email, then don’t follow up via Telegram. That’ll just get them peeved, and might mean your pitch goes straight into the digital bin.
Instead, maintain alignment with how you pitch and follow up. It will also create a more seamless and predictable channel with the journalist.
Don’t Be Too Quick To Follow Up
Yes, clients get restless.
But that’s when good PR reps handle the anxiety of a deadline looming, or a founder that wants confirmation if or when their story is going to be in the press.
Personalize Your Follow Up
Imagine you’re a journalist that receives the following email:
Would you reply? Heck no.
Generic follow ups are already a big no-no. If you tack on top that they have to do extra work by going to your previous email, then you’re going nowhere fast. Don’t get confused, journalists do not work for you, they don’t “owe” you anything, so don’t make them feel that way.
Take the time to personalize your email, a journalist will appreciate it. Kick it off with some light humor, or something you spoke about last time. Maybe toss in a real–emphasis on the real–comment regarding an article they wrote, and show that you follow their work, even if it’s not usually within the ballpark of your interests.
What seem like small details go a long way to establishing great rapport, and making sure a follow up gets your client featured on the first page.
Add Value In Every Follow Up
Journalists appreciate people going above and beyond to service a story.
Just like the previous tip, instead of just asking if they’ve had a chance to look over your email, add value to the follow-up. This can take myriad forms. It can be additional commentary from the founder of a protocol that also operates in the same sector, or it can be a fresh angle–bonus points if it offers a contrarian opinion to the story’s main angle.
Adding value to every follow up makes the whole process also feel less like a chase but more an ongoing conversation. One that will ultimately benefit your relationship with the journalist, the reader, and your client.
A win-win all around.
Timing is Key
Nobody wants to feel pressure. Especially a journalist who is working against the clock to get a number of articles out per day.
And the last thing they need is for the same story to fall in their inbox before they’ve even had a chance to think at the initial pitch.
There’s definitely nuance to how often you can follow-up, especially considering when the story is meant to publish, what the journalist said in terms of turnaround, and how the client might be expecting the news to be in the media the following day.
But sending a follow-up too soon is like sending your date a text as soon as she got out of the car. It might dampen your chances a bit.
Gauging by the pressing nature of a story, here’s our rule of thumb:
- 24 hour embargo: 4 hours before follow up
- 48 hour embargo: 6 hours before follow up
- 72 hour embargo: Next day follow up
- Week embargo: Two day follow up
Take these with a grain of salt, not least because if you’ve established good rapport with a journalist–so much so that they are coming to you for sources–you can likely push these limits around a bit.
Keep it Brief and Polite
Everybody is busy; or at least they think they are.
Follow-ups should be concise and to the point. Try to avoid lengthy explanations and get right to the nitty gritty of why you’re emailing them again, on the same day as you reached out to pitch a story.
And always remember to acknowledge the busyness of a journalist’s schedule.
Kick off your emails with: “I understand you’re very busy, so I’ll keep this brief. I wanted to [add value in XYZ way]. I believe this additional commentary (or fresh angle) will really hit home with your readers.”
And then you drop a fresh angle to the same story. Just like that, you’ve given the journalist an extra thought and the knowing future that he or she can count on your for nuanced takes.
Know When to Stop
Persistence is important, but so is knowing when to stop.
If you’ve followed up several times, and still haven’t received a reply, maybe it’s time to move on. If you continue to bombard a journalist, and for whatever reason it might be, they aren’t responding, to keep at it could harm the relationship.
Remember, journalists receive dozens upon dozens of emails a day with all sorts of pitches.
That doesn’t mean your story wasn’t interesting, or the angle you were aiming for is something that they shouldn’t pursue–it might even be the case that they read it and started working on it without saying anything–but that it got lost in the inbox ether.
But if you aren’t receiving any emails after 2 or 3 follow ups, move on. Your time is also valuable.
Being a Follow Up Artist
The art of the follow up is a subtle yet highly valuable skill.
It’s an essential part of maintaining engagement and building relationships with journalists. Following these tips won’t ensure your stories get featured, but they will put you a step above the rest of the PR world who are spraying and praying generic follow ups with no substance.
Remember, the goal is to keep the conversation going and build that long-term relationship–so more of your clients get exposure–than that one-time wonder.
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