It’s generally known that reporters hate follow-up calls to news releases and pitch letters. That’s true, but only if you call and say, “Did you get my letter?” The answer is, invariably, “yes” but unless you offer something else—dangling carrots, so to speak—the reporter will not even give you the time of day. These are people who don’t want to talk to you. But if they’re interested—and you have to give them something to be interested in—then they want to talk to you. You’ve got to call.

Follow-up calls can also be the place to customize further your pitch letter. You should know something about the reporters you’re pitching to. Closely watch their shows, read what they write, and figure out what angle they like to take on stories. Give them a taste of that angle in your pitch letter, but use your follow-up call to drive home your point. Reporters love that.

For the rest of the inside scoop to pitch letters and follow-up calls, check out Transcript—How To Write a Pitch Letter.