Following up and calling journalists
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Yes, follow up, once, maybe twice, never more. Send the first follow-up 48 to 72 hours after your pitch, when most replies actually land. Keep it short and add a new angle or asset, never just ask whether they saw your email. Call a journalist only with a relationship or a real time-sensitive exclusive.
Should you follow up at all?
Yes. A single follow-up after a pitch is not pestering, it is standard media relations, and it reliably lifts your reply rate. The reason is simple: a journalist receives dozens of emails a day, and your first one slid down the inbox before they could act on it. The follow-up is not a complaint that they ignored you. It is a second, helpful chance to read a story they may genuinely want.
The rule is restraint. Follow up once as a matter of course. Follow up a second time only if you have something new and real to add. After that, stop. Silence is an answer, and respecting it is what earns you a reply on your next campaign.
When to follow up
Wait 48 to 72 hours after the original send. This window matters more than people expect. Most journalists who reply do so in the first two to three days, so you are timing your nudge to land just as the first wave of triage settles, while your news is still current.
- Same day: too soon. It reads as anxious and assumes the worst.
- 48 to 72 hours: the sweet spot. Read, triaged, still timely.
- A full week or more: usually too late. The story has gone cold and the moment has passed.
If your news has a hard date, an embargo lift or an event, work backwards from it and make sure your follow-up gives the journalist enough lead time to actually run something.
Step 1: Wait for the right window
Do nothing for the first two to three days. Let the original email be read and filed. Use the wait to prepare what you might add: a new figure, a confirmed customer, an image.
Step 2: Read the signal before you write
Before you touch the keyboard, look at what the journalist has already told you, even in silence. The signals are quieter than a yes or a no, but they are real.
| Signal | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Opened, no reply | Interest exists, timing or angle was off | Follow up once with a new angle |
| No open after 72h | It got buried, not rejected | Follow up once, resurface the thread |
| Soft no (“not for me right now”) | Door is closed for this story | Thank them, stop, keep them on the list |
| Hard no or unsubscribe | They do not want this | Stop immediately, remove them |
| Reply with a question | Genuine interest | Answer fast, send assets, do not over-pitch |
This is where knowing who opened your email is worth real money. PressPilot shows you opens in real time, so you can follow up the reporter who read it twice and leave alone the one who never saw it. See the pricing page.
Step 3: Send one short follow-up that adds something
Reply on the original thread so the context travels with you. Keep it to three or four lines. Lead with the new thing, not with the reminder.
- Do add a new angle, a fresh statistic, a confirmed customer, an image or an offer of an exclusive.
- Do reference the news in one line, then the new hook, then a simple ask.
- Do not write “Did you see my email?” It adds nothing and signals you have nothing to add.
- Do not guilt-trip, mass re-send, or move them to a new thread.
A follow-up that only asks whether they saw your email is a wasted send. A follow-up that hands them a new reason to care is a second chance at the story.The follow-up rule
Step 4: Call only with a relationship or a real exclusive
The phone is a precision tool, not a default. Pick it up only in two cases: you already have a working relationship with the journalist, or you hold a genuinely time-sensitive exclusive that email cannot carry fast enough. Everywhere else, calling is an interruption, and reporters remember the interruption more than the news.
- Never cold-call a journalist you have never met. Email first, always.
- Never call anyone on deadline. If you do not know their deadline, assume it is now.
- If you call, be ready to pitch in fifteen seconds and to email everything the moment you hang up.
Step 5: Stop after two touches
Once you have sent the pitch and one or at most two follow-ups, you are done with that journalist for this story. A third, fourth or fifth email does not improve your odds, it destroys them, and it costs you the next campaign too. Move your energy to the reporters who opened, replied or asked a question.
What not to do
Most follow-up damage is self-inflicted. Avoid the four habits that turn a willing journalist into one who filters your name:
- Spamming. More than two touches per story trains reporters to ignore you.
- Guilt-tripping. “I have not heard back” or “I am surprised you did not reply” reads as entitled. Their inbox is not your responsibility to police.
- Mass re-sends. Blasting the same email to your whole list again is visible, lazy and a fast way to land in spam folders.
- Switching channels to chase. Following an unanswered email with a DM, a LinkedIn message and a call about the same story feels like surveillance, not outreach.
Bringing it together
Follow up once, maybe twice, and only when you can add something. Wait 48 to 72 hours, read the signal, keep it short, and pick up the phone only when you have earned the right to. Then stop. Done well, the follow-up is the single highest-return habit in outreach. Next, in chapter 6, measuring your results (coming soon), you will learn how to track pickups, reach and replies so you know which follow-ups actually worked.
Frequently asked questions
- Should I follow up after pitching a journalist?
- Yes, once, almost always. A single polite follow-up is standard practice and lifts your reply rate noticeably, because most journalists are busy and your first email simply slid down the inbox. Send it 48 to 72 hours after the original, add a new angle or asset, and stop there unless you have a genuine reason to write again.
- How many times should I follow up?
- Once, maybe twice, never more. The first follow-up is expected and welcome. A second, only if you have something genuinely new to add, such as fresh data, a confirmed customer or a hard deadline. Beyond two, you are no longer following up, you are spamming, and you damage your name for the next story.
- Should you call a journalist about a press release?
- Rarely. Call only if you already have a relationship, or if you hold a genuinely time-sensitive exclusive that email cannot convey in time. Never cold-call a reporter you have never met, and never call anyone on deadline. Most journalists prefer email because it lets them read, file and reply on their own schedule.
- How long should I wait to follow up?
- Wait 48 to 72 hours after the original send. That window is long enough for the first email to be read and triaged, and short enough that your news is still current. Following up the same day reads as anxious, and waiting a full week usually means the story has gone cold.