July 2026

Let me ask you something.

How many pitches are sitting in your email sent folder right now that you never followed up on?

Ten? Twenty? More?

I already know the answer for most of you, and I am not here to make you feel bad about it. I am here to tell you that those unanswered pitches are not dead. They are just waiting. And the only thing standing between you and a yes is one follow-up email.

Because sometimes the problem isn’t the pitch. It’s what comes (or doesn’t come) after.

Why we don't follow up

Here is what I know. You worked hard on that pitch. You researched the journalist, found the right angle, rewrote the subject line more times than you would like to admit. You hit send and then you waited.

And when you heard nothing you did what most people do — you told yourself they were not interested. You convinced yourself the pitch was not good enough. And you moved on; or worse, you stopped pitching altogether.

I need you to hear this clearly: Silence is not a ‘no.’ It is just silence.

Journalists are managing hundreds of emails, multiple deadlines, and more story ideas than they will ever have time to cover. Your pitch did not get ignored because it was bad. It got buried.

There is a significant difference between those two things and understanding that difference is what changes everything.

The follow-up is not an inconvenience. It is not pushy. It is not desperate. It is professional. It is persistent. And it is almost always where the yes actually lives.

What a good follow-up looks like

I know what you are thinking. Okay Nisha, I get it. But what do I actually say?

That is exactly why I put together this month's free resource — a ready-to-use follow-up email template you can customize in under 5 minutes. No staring at a blank screen. No second guessing your tone. Just fill in the blanks and hit send.

But before you grab it, here are the ground rules for a follow-up that works:

Wait five to seven business days after your original pitch before following up. Not two days. Not three weeks. Five to seven business days.

Reply to your original email so the thread stays intact. Do not send a brand new email. Keep the journalist's context right there in the chain.

Keep it short. Three to four sentences maximum. You are not re-pitching. You are resurfacing.

Add one new element if you have it — a recent win, a timely news hook, a relevant data point. Something that gives them a fresh reason to say yes.

Follow up twice. Maximum. After two follow-ups with no response, move on. No hard feelings. Timing is everything in media, and sometimes it just is not the right moment. That does not mean you are out — it means you come back with a different angle when the time is right.

That is the whole framework. Simple, professional, and completely within your control.

The routine that makes it all stick

The follow-up only works if you have a system behind it.

The reason most DIY PR falls apart is not a bad pitch; it is the absence of a routine. PR works when you show up for it consistently — not when you remember to, not when you have a big announcement, not when you feel inspired. Consistently.

Here is what I want you to try in August:

Mondays: Spend thirty minutes identifying one media opportunity. One journalist, one podcast, one publication. Just one.

Wednesdays: Write and send your pitch. Not a perfect pitch. A sent pitch.

Fridays: Open your follow-up tracker. Who did you pitch seven to 10 business days ago that you have not followed up with yet? Do it now.

Three days. Three tasks. Less than a few hours a week total.

That is your entire PR routine.

And if you stick with it — really stick with it — for all of August, I promise you will start to feel the momentum shift. PR is a long game. But it is a winnable one. And consistency is the only strategy you need.

Free Resource

You know the follow-up needs to happen. Now here is exactly what to say.

I put together a ready-to-use follow-up email template so you never have to stare at a blank screen again. Fill in the blanks, customize it to your voice, and hit send. That is it.

Click here to download

WHAT I'M POURING

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WHAT I'M Listening to

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