What should you say when you follow-up? You should have a scripted message, and I do mean scripted. You don't want to sound like you're reading something, but you do want to know what your clear message is. What you're doing is you're following up and you're saying, "Hi, this is Jill. I'm calling about using publicity in a down turned economy," and you give them the bottom line of your message really quick. Again, benefit/solution oriented. And then you say, "I'd love to talk with you further. Please call me at.," and then say your phone number clearly and twice, and then hang up.

In my opinion, that should be 10-15 seconds. Don't ramble on. Don't tell them about "you're the best thing since sliced bread." Just keep it short and concise, and you're actually more likely to get a call back. We actually call it, in Gorilla Publicity, "The Rule of 7." What do I mean by that? I mean that it takes seven contacts to make one. First you phone them. Well, actually, first they would get the press release-that's one. Then you phone them-that's two. Then what I would do is email them or fax them. For more tips like this on how to follow-up, read "Failproof Ways to Follow Up After Sending a News Release or Pitch Letter."
http://101publicrelations.com/failprooffollowup.html?utm_source=prideas&utm_content=fail-proof_follow-up