This morning I called someone and had to sit through a 45-second email message that about drove me nuts.
If I had been a reporter calling her for an interview, I probably would have hung up and called someone else to interview. Here are three voicemail tips that will make it easy for the media to cover you:
—If you have a special pager or cellphone number for the media, say so on your voicemail.
—If you are a publicist and do a lot of work with the media, state on your voicemail message your policy for returning calls. If you return calls to the media say, within an hour, mentioning that might encourage a reporter to wait for your call before going to press with a story that doesn’t include your comments.
—Leave your website URL on your voicemail so reporters and others can visit your website and learn everything they need to know about you in your Media Room or your online media kit, in case you’re not available when they call.
—Don’t take up precious time on your voicemail message with phrases like I’m so sorry I missed your call” or “I can’t come to the phone right now because I’m either away from my desk or on another call.” Isn’t that obvious?
Make your voicemail greeting quick and helpful.