You’ve just poured your heart and soul into another great email pitch, only to have it met with ego-crushing silence. Is there anybody out there?

The fact that a reporter hasn’t responded to your pitch, doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she’s not interested. With the daily email wallpapering reporters receive these days, there’s a very good chance your pitch was never seen.

Here’s a tip for following up on an email pitch. Wait a reasonable amount of time to place a follow up call (depending on the immediacy of the story, a day or two can be OK). Chances are you’ll get voicemail, but either way, identify yourself; tell the reporter you’ve emailed information; and then — instead of repeating your pitch — say you know they receive hundreds of emails every day and that you just wanted to make sure they knew you’d sent them a message. Tell them the day and time you sent the email, and what the subject line says. Of course, if you do happen to catch a reporter live, always begin by asking if they have a minute.

So many times reporters have responded by phone or email, thanking us for the follow-up, acknowledging they hadn’t seen it. We don’t always get a story, but many times this technique has helped us get results.

The old media blitz is like a hail mary pass: you get your media pitch ready and throw it at as many reporters and editors as possible hoping to get coverage for your client.

Sure, there are occasions when a media campaign for an important product or service makes sense, but a well placed story can be far more effective. Take this case in point: I was talking to a travel editor at the San Francisco Chronicle about one story and also mentioned that the Point Cabrillo Light Station in Mendocino was about to open the former Head Lightkeeper’s residence as a bed and breakfast.

“I love lighthouses,” she said, “I’ll do the story.” It was near 5 months before the story appeared, but it was huge when it did, nearly a full page with photos. Here’s the kicker: AP picked it up and sent it around the world. Then the New York Times News Service distributed it. And the stories just keep coming.

The result: reservations have been pouring into the Lighthouse Inn at Point Cabrillo, a non-profit that puts all its money — after expenses — into restoration and maintenance of the 1909 light station.

Lesson: thoughtful, targeted placements are always better than the shotgun approach.

As the media managers for the Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce, whose job is to stimulate tourism, this goes a long way toward that goal.