There is a fine line between following up on your press kit distribution and being an obnoxious pest. The first can help get you published. The other can do the opposite.

After you’ve sent out your press kit, make sure it has reached the right person by following up with a telephone call. If the answer is “No,” verify the name and address and send another immediately. If the answer is “Yes,” don’t launch into a speech. Simply ask if there are questions that you can answer. If not, say you’ll be available should questions arise. Leave your name and contact numbers or e-mail and say goodbye.

Tip: The adroit use of pregnant pauses allows reporters to ruminate long enough to think of a question. It may lead to a longer conversation. That’s what you want. The longer they talk with you, the better your chances of getting publicity. But they must be willing. Yammering at them seldom works.

Be mindful that reporters and editors receive this kind of stuff by the bucket full. Make their lives easier. Don’t add burdens. You’re there to help (which helps you) not to impose (which doesn’t help you).

Nevertheless, the follow-up call is your opportunity to put personality to your press kit, and indeed to your entire business. Reporters and editors may be in a hurry, but they’re naturally inquisitive. If you reach them when they have time to talk, you may strike it rich, media-wise.

Establishing relationships with the media may lead to becoming a respected news source, which means media outlets will call you in the future instead of vice versa. If your press kit and telephone demeanor are helpful, reporters and editors may see value in you becoming a tipster for them, someone in the know in your industry who can alert them to trends and developments.

You might even cultivate a trusted position that warrants stories written or broadcast based on interviews the press initiates with you, entirely apart from your press kit and news release mailings.

Good media relations are potentially great for keeping your company, your product or your name in the public eye. And it may all start with a courteous telephone call to make sure your press kit arrived safely.