One of the most common challenges PR professionals face is knowing the right way to contact journalists. The majority of the discussion is typically around the first touchpoint — what is the right format, subject line, and content to have your message resonate with your audience? But when you finally decide who to target and what to say, you send your email, and then – nothing.
Now what?
Do you send a follow-up email? Try a phone call? Multiple follow-ups?
Based on our poll of 14 journalists, 65% agreed that one follow-up email is the best route. Read below for the specific context on why one follow-up is best according to our journalist community, and a few examples of successful follow-up emails from our PR community.
The majority of the journalists we spoke with expressed that they are only interested in receiving one follow-up to an initial pitch. See below for the strong response as to why a tasteful approach resonates with our community.
Aarthi Swaminathan, a housing reporter from MarketWatch who covers real estate and travel stands by the "less is more" approach. When asked about her preference, she stated, "Oh, just one."
Catherine Perloff, an Adweek reporter, covering ad tech, social media platforms, and their influence, shares Swaminathan’s sentiment. She says, “Yes, one follow-up. Because if you're following up, it's probably not a great sign.”
Jill Duffy, a columnist and deputy managing editor at PCMag, focuses on writing about work life and productivity. In-line with her focus area, she believes that one well-timed follow-up is adequate.
BB: One follow-up or multiple, if at all?
JD: One is good.
Kate Irwin is a gaming lead reporter for Decrypt where she writes about the latest news and features in technology and big tech, cryptocurrency news, entertainment, and culture. Kate also creates video content for the Decrypt website and social media pages.
BB: One follow-up or multiple?
KI: Only one, please.
Samantha Maldonado is a senior reporter for climate change at THE CITY, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, digital news platform dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York.
BB: One follow-up or multiple?
SM: Just one.
Kathryn Lundstrom is the sustainability editor at Adweek where she covers marketing and advertising news through a climate lens.
BB: One follow-up or multiple?
KL: One.
Russell Contreras is the senior race and justice reporter at Axios, where he covers the policies and agencies at the heart of the administration of justice and how it impacts people of color.
BB: One follow-up or multip6le?
RC: One.
For PR pro, Julian Paolino at BAM, he found that one follow-up at just the right time was what was most successful for him. After he pitched Gili Malinsky at NBC Universal and did not hear anything back for one week, he sent a follow-up email that offered Gili with more value for her in speaking with him and his client, Ash Wellness. See below for his initial and follow-up email cadence.
Initial Email
Follow-Up Email
There were a few journalists who expressed a different sentiment about follow-up quantity. See below for the niche use cases when they feel more than one touchpoint is acceptable.
Riddhi Kanetkar is a Junior Startup and VC Reporter at Insider. She's interested in covering emerging sectors such as health tech, with a focus on women's health and mental health, as well as underrepresented founders and VCs in tech, company culture, labor rights, and the gig economy. Riddhi prefers one follow-up email but absolutely requests no more than two.
BB: One follow-up or multiple?
RK: I would cap at two follow-ups.
Phoebe Bain, a senior reporter at Ad Age covering influencer marketing and DTC brands, expressed a different sentiment than her peers. Phoebe is the only journalist we spoke with that clearly preferred multiple follow-ups.
BB: One follow-up or multiple?
PB: Two.
Colleen DeBaise is Executive Editor at The Story Exchange, a publication dedicated to elevating women’s voices, along with being a podcast host and published author. She wants two follow-ups because her inbox is so crazy she can easily miss a lot of important emails.
CDB: Multiple because –
BB: Oh, multiple?
CDB: I miss half of them. They fall through the cracks. Yes, it's fine.
BB: Wow, I almost spilled my coffee for that one. Okay.
CDB: I'm just being realistic, because I'm going to miss so much stuff that it doesn't hurt to do multiple.
Christopher Zara, senior editor at Fast Co., agrees with Colleen as he has a similar experience with his inbox.
BB: Okay. One follow up or multiple?
CZ: Usually, you know, one or two follow ups is fine. We do get busy and there's times when a good idea slips by and it's, it is something you've meant to respond to, but didn't. So they can be effective to follow up. I'd say if you're following up more than like twice on the same idea, yeah, it's probably no.
However, if you are going to follow-up multiple times, be very careful about your timing. Rose Minutaglio is a Senior Editor at ELLE Magazine, explains her frustration and annoyance with the ‘too-fast follow-up’. She says, “The too quick follow up, like too quick of a follow up, so very annoying. I'll have people that will follow up later that day or like early the next day, and that's too soon for me. Unless it's very obviously very timely. I think like, at minimum like a couple of days before you follow up. I will follow up with people.”
Based on the fourteen journalists we spoke with, it’s clear that a one-follow-up approach is preferred. While some may be open to a maximum of two follow-ups, the underlying message is clear: quality over quantity. The key always is to find the balance between persistence and respect. Each journalist has their own workload and communication preferences, so adapting to these preferences can significantly increase your chances of building a long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationship.
Whether it’s one email, a series of emails, or simply a phone call, learn all the ways journalists prefer to be contacted on #CoffeeWithAJournalist.
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