What really works in public relations pitching?
Posted on Wed, May 05, 2010
By Melissa
It happens often in the PR world. You write an e-mail pitch, you send it off and you sit there hoping you’re going to get a response back. Then, five times out of ten, you’re still waiting after three days, wondering why you did not get a response. You start evaluating your pitch and whether it really relates to the contact you e-mailed as much as you thought it did. But what if it isn’t the content in your actual pitch? What if the problem is as simple as your subject line?
In my last post, “What is the Real Value of Public Relations?,” I spoke about an experience I had working at a former agency that demanded business press for no reason. It was during this exact experience that I learned how a subject line could actually affect if or when someone would respond. We experimented daily with subject lines to get responses. We tried catchy, off-the-wall subjects to get feedback from our contacts. Some laughed or didn’t react, but, overall, we got a response. It was embarrassing, yet gratifying at the same time. Hey, you’ll do anything to help your client understand why their top contact won’t speak with them, right?
So, as I evolved in this PR profession, I’ve helped my teams realize that it’s more about getting to know your contact then thinking of a catchy, off-the-wall subject. From my experience and discussions with contacts, the crazy subject lines didn’t prove to be as worthwhile as they seemed at the time. I generally ask colleagues: Do your contacts respond to “Re:” or “Fwd:” or just your client’s name? Maybe. Do they respond when you paste in the title of a release or the trend subject about which you think they are writing? Probably not. The point is: You need to experiment - Find a pattern in your outreach, get to know your contacts, research them before you speak with them, provoke their interest through your subject line and get noticed.
Here are some additional tips from an online service called Mail Chimp, “Best Practices in Writing Email Subject Lines.” My favorites are:
- Avoid the words free, help, percent off and reminder
- Keep your subject line to 50 characters or fewer
- Keep the message straightforward and avoid using splashy promotional phrases, CAPS, or exclamation marks in your subject lines. Subject lines framed as questions can often perform better.
- Put yourself in your recipients' shoes. Don't sell what's inside. Tell what's inside.
So, instead of telling your manager that you can’t get an answer, think about what you can do to get that answer next time. It will help you and your contacts understand what you are pitching, and help you get the answer you’re seeking.