3 No-No's When You Pitch the Media By Email

Almost all journalists say they want to be pitched by email. So guess what -- they are deluged with email pitches! And to make matters worse, most of them are bloated, non-news pitches that get deleted faster than you can say, "did you get my email?"

How to avoid the trash bin? That's easy -- pitch real news, facts and figures, information that the journalist's audience really might want to know. Skip the self-serving pseudo ads -- those are the ones that get deleted FAST.

But the title of this post is 3 no-nos, so here's a list of other no-nos:

1. Using ALL CAPs in the subject line -- why are ya yellin' at me?


2. Putting the words "press release" or "news release" in the subject line -- yer wastin' precious space, pardner.


3. Including attachments -- send links, not attachments. Repeat -- send links, not attachments.

For more handy email pitching tips, tune in to PR University next Wednesday, September 16, for a lively webinar called, "Perfect Email Pitches: Master PR Scribes Reveal How to Craft Copy That Boosts Opens and Media Coverage in Today’s Shrinking News Hole." I'm moderating, and the panelists will include:

• Harry Medved, Head of Public Relations, Fandango


• Jane Mazur, Executive Vice President/Director of Media Relations, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide


• Dan Beeson Director of Media Relations for Mother Nature Network


• Nancy Brenner, Senior Vice President/Director of Media Relations, MS&L Global Public Relations