Something happened recently that still makes me smile, even after all these years working with media.
I heard back from someone I pitched approximately a year ago.
A full year ago.
Most authors and experts assume that when they send a pitch and hear nothing, the story is over, and sometimes it is. Sometimes the pitch landed badly, the timing was wrong, or the media contact simply was not interested. It happens.
But sometimes that pitch is still sitting there, minding its own business, waiting for the right moment, particularly when you know you’ve done the alignment work. It fits the journalist’s beat and it’s appropriate for the outlet.
One thing people outside the media business may not realize, however, is that journalists, editors, and producers often use their own inboxes as research tools. Their email is not just a place where messages arrive. It can become a searchable archive of ideas, experts, books, trends, sources, and possible future stories.
Imagine a writer is assigned a story on workplace burnout, leadership, philanthropy, career change, or any number of other topics. One of the first things they may do is search their own inbox for a keyword related to the assignment.
And there you are. Bingo. Up you pop.
A pitch from six months ago. Nine months ago. A year ago.
That may be exactly what happened with the response I just received.
It is one reason I think carefully about how a pitch is written. Its usefulness may extend far beyond the day it is sent.
And this is where publicity can get a little tricky.
When you are launching a book, you have your calendar. You know the publication date. You know when you would love to see interviews, reviews, features, and articles appear. You may have a three-month campaign mapped out beautifully, with a clear beginning and end, but the thing is that the media has a calendar too, and theirs may have absolutely nothing to do with yours.
They may like your idea very much and have no use for it right now. They may be covering something else, their editorial priorities shift, or a producer may think, “Interesting,” leave your email sitting there, and move on with the rest of the day. Do they get back to you and tell you this? Rarely. (I may write about that in an upcoming post.)
Then months later, something changes. Perhaps a new assignment lands, or an unexpected trend develops, or a related news story breaks. It could be that an editor asks for a piece on exactly the subject you pitched long ago.
Suddenly, that old email becomes very interesting.
This does not mean every unanswered pitch is being lovingly saved for future use. Let’s not get carried away. Plenty are deleted, overlooked, forgotten, or simply not right for the outlet.
But some have a much longer life than we realize.
That is worth remembering because publicity can feel very immediate. We send something out and naturally want to know if it worked. Did they like it? Should I follow up? Is this one dead?
Sometimes you know quickly, and sometimes the answer arrives a year later.
That is also why media outreach is not only about the response you get today. You are putting your expertise, your book, your ideas, and your name into the media ecosystem. A good pitch can become a resource someone rediscovers when the timing finally lines up.
Your publicity campaign may have an end date.
Your pitch may not.
To your success!
Joanne
P.S. There really is a song for everything.
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