PRNews
Be concise. Don’t write checks in the subject line that your body text can’t cash. These are two of the suggestions Andrew Hindes has for PR people trying to get journalists to read their emails.
This is a real problem. For every masterpiece of concision and quick delivery of information that hits my inbox, like “FWS Improves Manatee Protection in Kings Bay” (not on my beat, usually, but if I wrote about manatees, I’d pounce), I get some clunker that I can’t even imagine recycling into a blog post that will somehow manage to make me hate myself more.
Hindes gets some tips from LA Weekly’s copy chief, Lisa Horowitz, including this: “If you’re not sure if you’re being too clever, show the headline to some people who know nothing about the announcement and see if they understand it.”
But just because no one asked me doesn’t mean I don’t have suggestions! Here are a couple: 1) Remember that journalists have a deep and largely unmet need to be loved. Prey on this by putting their first name in the headline. 2) Start with something conversational, like, “If you’re not thinking too much about getting laid off…” 3) “Why Bryce Harper loves stuffing large objects into his mouth” will work only once. But it will work.
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