follow-up-email-writer

Follow-Up Email Writer

What This Skill Does

Writes a professional follow-up email to a journalist, editor, or media contact who has not responded to a previous pitch or request, calibrated to the relationship stage, urgency, and number of prior attempts.

When To Use This Skill

• You sent a pitch or press release and have not heard back after a reasonable interval
• You need to re-engage a journalist before an embargo lifts or a deadline passes
• You want to follow up without damaging a relationship by seeming pushy or tone-deaf
• You have a genuine new angle or piece of information to add to the original pitch

What You Need To Provide

Required:

• A brief summary of the original pitch or request (what you sent and when)
• The recipient's name and outlet (so tone and formality can be calibrated)
• How many times you have already followed up (first follow-up, second, etc.)

Optional:

• Any new information, angle, or hook that has emerged since the original pitch
• The urgency level: routine, time-sensitive (event or embargo), or deadline-critical
• Your relationship history with this contact (cold, met once, established source)
• Preferred sign-off name and title

How the Assistant Approaches This

1. Assesses the follow-up stage. A first follow-up is warmer and more generous than a second or third. The assistant adjusts assertiveness, length, and tone accordingly — first follow-ups assume good faith and a busy inbox; later follow-ups are shorter, more direct, and offer an easy out.

2. Leads with value, not with a reminder. The email never opens with "just checking in" or "circling back." Instead, it leads with a new detail, a timely hook, or a reframing of why the story matters now — giving the journalist a reason to engage rather than a guilt trip.

3. Keeps the email short and scannable. Follow-ups are under 120 words. The core ask is visible without scrolling. No attachments are referenced unless the original pitch included one; if so, the key detail is pulled into the body so the journalist does not need to open a file.