Okay, I Sent my Pitch off! Crossing my Fingers! Uh, Now What?

This guest post was written by Jena Coray of Miss Modish.

You’ve probably heard people dishing out advice on how to pitch to blogs before- I know I’ve been shouting ’bout it for years now! 🙂 It’s great advice that’ll get you to the point of hitting send, which is a big step!

But what do you do after you send your pitch? How long do you wait to hear back? What happens next?

If you’re feeling confused about the next steps, read on!

How long do I wait to hear back before I pitch another blog?

Out of the 28 editors I surveyed for my Tip-Top Pitch Kit, 96% said they get back to pitches that are a great fit within a week and most of them said they’ll respond in a day or two! So if your pitch is a fantastic fit, they’ll be sure to let you know, pronto!

That’s why I suggest waiting a few days to hear back, and if there’s no response, assume that it’s not quite a fit/not the right timing, and move onto pitching to the next blog on your list.

I also think it’s ok to send pitches to a few blogs at once if they don’t have heavily overlapping audiences. ie: if you make clutches and are from Melbourne, you could send a pitch to a handmade blog, a wedding blog & an Aussie focused one in the same day- wait a few days to hear back, and then send another pitch or two, and keep going.

Sending pitches to two design blogs with similar style/audiences at the same time tho? Not so kosher, unless it’s for an event/date specific thing you’re trying to get the word out about.

And what if I never hear back at all?

That silence on the other end can often be deafening and hype our critical self-talk into overdrive- believe me, I know!

But don’t start interpreting that silence as: “they don’t like it”, “my work’s not good enough”, “I’ll never get a write-up, anywhere!” Because if you’ve taken the time to do your research, write a personal pitch addressing them by name and include awesome photos of your work and you still don’t hear back?

Don’t sweat it at all! It’s not personal. It just means, it wasn’t the right fit for them right now. That’s it!

Should I follow up if I don’t hear back?

In a word, YES.

But following up to see if they read your email? And what do they think? And “if you could just please get back to me, I’d appreciate it!” Well, that isn’t the most effective way to go about it.

I think it’s best to “follow-up” by adding something new to the conversation. If you didn’t hear back on a pitch you sent regarding a certain line, but have something new coming out you think might fit the editor’s taste better? That’s a good opportunity to follow-up.

If you their blog recently mentioned their love of plaid vintage dresses, and, oh my! You happen to have a really cute one in your shop right now. That’s a good opportunity to follow-up.

If you don’t have anything new to add to the conversation, just take the lack of response as a no, and move right along.

What about you- have you pitched your products/shop to blogs before? What was the response? Did you continue pitching?

I’d love to hear in the comments below!

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 image above by Amanda Blake “Every night she sent out messages and waited for an answer.”

Jena Coray is the mojo-maker behind Miss Modish, helping artists, makers and indie-prenuers create fulfilling businesses. She doles out biz advice 1-on-1 in her mojo sessions, and helps people self-promote with style and confidence in her Tip-Top Pitch shop!