Tips for Making the Call

By Mark LaVigne

· Find out the journalist's preferred medium: phone, e-mail, fax

· Always ask if they're on deadline

· Pay close attention to your E-mail's subject line

· Don't tease to enable a follow-up call as an excuse

· Don't wait to the last minute to follow-up (a week before an event is perfect)

· Make sure the beat matches the content before you follow-up

· Provide a customized story angle or context in follow-up communications

· Pick your battles, don't follow-up on everything

· Media monitor before following-up, you may have already made the news wire or Web site