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- Securing  positive publicity through the media is still at the heart of public relations practice.
- Publicity is more credible than advertising

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Christina Daves

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★ High Energy Keynote Speaker ★ Trainer ★ Help Businesses Generate Buzz & Get More Customers ★ Best Selling Author

Sir Richard Branson, billionaire owner of the Virgin Brand has been quoted as saying, Publicity is absolutely critical. A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front page ad. The reason for this is that an ad is something you pay for and it is a message you are putting out to the world. Publicity comes from someone else, so it has credibility. It's what they call earned media. It's not you telling the world how great you are, it's someone else telling the world about you.

Here's a great example. Everyone probably has a Joe's Pizza in their community. Imagine you are flipping through your local newspaper and you see an ad for Joe's Pizza that says it's the best pizza outside of New York. Then, you flip back a few pages and there is an article entitled, Hidden New York Pizza Gem, and it's written by someone from Brooklyn who moved to your area a few years ago and they are telling you this is the best pizza they've had since leaving New York. Which one is going to make you want to go to Joe's, the ad or the article? Of course the article because it's someone else giving Joe's Pizza credibility.

This is what Richard Branson meant. The value of that third party credibility is incredible.

So how do you get publicity? You need to make your business newsworthy. "New" is the key word here.

If you are a new business or have a prominent new hire or you are opening a new location, that is newsworthy. Did you invent a revolutionary product, write a book, or win an award? Those are all topics that interest particularly to the local media.

What is your expertise and how can you share that in a newsworthy manner? An accountant can talk about new tax laws and what that means for local businesses. A roofer can speak about the importance of clearing leaves out of gutters in the fall to prevent leaks. A Realtor can share three best bang-for-your-buck upgrades before selling. What is your expertise and what value can you provide a media outlet's audience in sharing what you know?

The press has to fill news 24/7/365 so why not offer them a newsworthy story idea and let it be YOUR business featured in their next story.

If you want to learn more about how to do this grab my Tips for Pitching the Media at www.IWantPR.com.

★ High Energy Keynote Speaker ★ Trainer ★ Help Businesses Generate Buzz & Get More Customers ★ Best Selling Author

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PR vs. Advertising - Why Publicity is So Valuable

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Sir Richard Branson, billionaire owner of the Virgin Brand has been quoted as saying, Publicity is absolutely critical. A good PR story is infinitely

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More pervasive, intrusive, accessible, and more likely to cause problems for public relations professionals
Examples
Microsoft’s email to Wired magazine reporter
Target’s response to “nontraditional media outlets” that do not reach their “core guest”
Redner Group’s threatening tweets to Wired.com
Fragmented, omnipresent (24/7), aggressive, opinionated, sharp-elbowed and less trained reporters

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- Publicity is more powerful than advertising
- Publicity gained by dealing directly with media
-  Differences between publicity and advertising:
-  Advertising costs money while publicity costs time and effort (roughly 10% of equivalent advertising expenditures)

- Advertising guarantees content, size, location, reach and frequency while publicity does not

- Publicity appears as news so it carries a third-party endorsement while advertising viewed as sponsoring the organization’s self-serving view.

Ways to Attract Publicity:
- Media Messages
- Press Kits
- Flyers
- Phone Trees
- Newspaper Listings
- Stand out from other studios
- Make community outreach a      priority
- Be available

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-Public relations must know how to deal with the press
-Press plays "devils advocate" role
-Most reporters have a liberal bias
-Everyone is biases one way or another
-PR professionals should base opinions on objective facts
-Reporters may "break eggs" to ferret out the truth
-70% accuracy considered "acceptable" on the internet

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-New age reporting (use of social media, blogs, and websites to share/broadcast news)

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Never Ever Lie

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-Newspapers closed or cut back during the recession
-Print stabilized in the summer of 2012
-Newspaper reading on the internet had taken off
-P.R. still values print
- News releases and other P.R. messages are often found in newspapers and magazines rather than on TV
-Online media uses the news releases meant for print
-Subscriptions to newspapers has declined, but newspapers still set the media agenda

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Recently while waiting for a breakfast meeting to start at a café in Miami's Coconut Grove, I overheard an exchange between a tourist a local who was reading the daily paper. "Where can I get a newspaper around here?" asked the visitor. "Nowhere," said the local.

Newsstands may still be squeaking out income in larger metro areas, but I honestly don't know where to buy a daily newspaper in my market. A convenience store, maybe?

Sadly, the days of robust, metro dailies are over. Daily newspapers, which can't compete with specialist publications or the immediate nature of the Internet, are dying a slow death.

But is all hope lost for print? Recent news suggests otherwise.

Last week, the new owners of Newsweek revealed that the famed weekly magazine will return to print after more than a year out of printed circulation. Publishers said the magazine would mainly be supported by subscriber fees, rather than advertising. Clearly they believe that so-called long-form journalism has a place in print. More on that later.

Other publishers are taking a run at print as well. Earlier this year, Meredith Publishing launched a print magazine based on the popular website allrecipes.com. If you don't cook, you may not know that allrecipes.com is one of the dominant recipe sites online (a recent search for chocolate chip cookies, for example, found more than 1,200 recipes). But if the website draws a ton of traffic to an efficient, online venue, why launch a recipe magazine -- asking people to pay for something they can get for free online? In an interview on Bloomberg TV, the CEO of Meredith explained that most people search online for recipes which they already know or are aware of. However, they will read a magazine to get inspiration or to learn about new recipes. A print magazine, with nice pictures and inventive ideas, can still inspire people to do and buy things in ways that the web can't.

Food Network and HGTV have, fairly recently, created successful magazines on a similar premise. Help people come up with new ideas for the kitchen table, or for home design -- and sell some advertising in the process. It also helps that food companies have sizable advertising budgets, and still love the tangible, high-gloss photography provided by magazines. Likewise, Miami publisher Ron Mann recently started a new glossy business monthly called South Florida Executive. Launching in March, the magazine, according to Mann, hopes to fill the void left by shrinking business pages -- which has forced editors to focus on day-to-day news, rather than the personalities driving a local marketplace.

In perhaps the biggest counter-argument to "print is dead," Australian publisher Morry Schwartz recently announced the creation of a new, weekly newspaper to be called The Saturday Paper. In a recent column announcing the publication, the editor Erik Jensen was practically indignant:

There is no question in my mind that newsprint remains the best place to read long-form journalism... Nothing has effectively replaced the beauty of holding a paper at the weekend, or of reading a long story in one. When it comes to forming habits, nothing competes with the predictability of a print cycle and the physical act of turning pages. Even in their weakened state, stories in newspapers have greater impact than stories that appear only online.

Granted, The Saturday Paper is not a new metro daily, but rather a specialty paper; yet, given the current state of advertising involving newsprint, it's a pretty aggressive move by the Aussies.

Counterbalancing all of this is news this week, New York magazine will decrease its frequency to twice per month. Citing falling ad revenues, it will no longer be a weekly.

The print media conundrum remains just that. Some publications continue to survive, while a few thrive. I hope more publishers figure out ways to make print work.

What do you think? Are the latest efforts by publishers to create new print outlets groundbreaking? Or the last gasps of a dying industry?

Long live print!
Cross-posted from DavidPRBlog.

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Recently while waiting for a breakfast meeting to start at a café in Miami's Coconut Grove, I overheard an exchange between a tourist a local who was reading the daily paper. "Where can I get a newspaper around here?" asked the visitor. "Nowhere," said the local.

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Don't sweat the skepticism

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Online Publicity: refers to the specific marketing strategy within the promotion mix that increases public awareness through media on the Internet.

Some online techniques used: email marketing, web page pop-ups, blogs, websites, Facebook publicity, Twitter publicity, Instagram publicity, etc.

The purpose of publicity?
-to get certain information across to as many people as possible within the shortest time possible.

Publicity in general helps build credibility and brand awareness.

-Online publicity is still a relationship business.
-Journalist are moving toward social media.
-Paid wires guarantee use of material.
-Staging online events can draw reporters and publics.

Advantages:

global reach: In this kind of reach, a marketer can reach wider clientele base. Companies can traverse geographical boundaries and time zones. When it comes to reaching a wide range of customers, no other medium can beat the Internet.

target specific: On the Internet, you will find websites which cater to a particular group of people who have some specific interests or who belong to particular age groups. Online publicity gives businesses an opportunity to reach people who would be specifically interested in buying their product.

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- Facebook is what guided the protests, but the true vehicle for change was the protests themselves.
- Precisely how we communicate in these moments of historic crisis and transformation is important. The medium that carries the message shapes and defines as well as the message itself. The instantaneous nature of how social media communicate self-broadcast ideas, unlimited by publication deadlines and broadcast news slots, explains in part the speed at which these revolutions have unravelled, their almost viral spread across a region.

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Public Relations and the Media: Friendly Adversaries

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Public Relations and the Media: Friendly Adversaries

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Reporters want to get the facts from all sides.

Reporters want to be treated fairly and will reciprocate.

The reporter wants the “story”

Organizations want things to be presented in the best light.

Some executives consider journalists the enemy because they want to reveal bad news.

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-Be time sensitive: keep the pitch simple and to the point
-Pitch a story: not your company
-Stand out: find out what makes your company different than your competitors and capitalize
-Don't badger
-Never lie

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Don't Have an attitude

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- 6.7 million people publish blogs on blogging websites, and another 12 million write blogs using their social networks.
- Many entrepreneurs saw a marketing potential in having a blog, and blogging took off from there.
- Blogs allow for reader engagement. Blogs are often included in social media because of the ability for readers to comment and have a discussion with the blogger and others who read the blog makes it social.
- Search engines love new content, and as a result, blogging is a great search engine optimization (SEO)tool.
- Blogging provides an easy way to keep your customers and clients up-to-date on what's going on, let them know about new deals, and provide tips.

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Don't try to "buy" a journalist

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Handling media interviews/dos and don'ts 

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Handling media interviews/dos and don'ts 

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Executives not used to being put on the spot
What purpose will this serve the organization

Prepare by knowing the interviewers point of view and questions

Answer questions briefly and directly

There is no such thing as off the record

Tell the truth

Make eye contact and watch your body language

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Using mobile phone to access news continuously grows

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Using mobile phone to access news continuously grows

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The brother of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock speaks for a second time

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Eric Paddock, brother of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock, spoke to reporters in a rambling, wide-ranging interview outside his home. Subscribe to the "CBSN" Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/1Re2MgS Watch "CBSN" live HERE: http://cbsn.ws/1PlLpZ7 Follow "CBSN" on Instagram HERE: http://bit.ly/1PO0dkx Like "CBSN" on Facebook HERE: http://on.fb.me/1o3Deb4 Follow "CBSN" on Twitter HERE: http://bit.ly/1V4qhIu Get the latest news and best in original reporting from CBS News delivered to your inbox.

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Revenue continued to fall at newspapers last year as modest increases in circulation revenue failed to offset bigger declines in advertising, according to the latest earnings reports from the nation's large, publicly traded newspaper companies.

Analysts say the good news-if there is any-is that the revenue decline is not as steep as a few years ago, thanks to a small uptick in reader payments from digital paywalls and increased subscription prices.

"I wouldn't call it a renaissance for newspapers, but I would definitely call it a stabilization," said Gordon Borrell, a media analyst and CEO of Borrell Associates.

Total revenue fell last year at each of five large newspaper companies-Gannett, McClatchy, The New York Times Co., A. H. Belo and Lee Enterprises-according to a review of their latest financial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Revenue for all five together totaled $9 billion last year, down 3.3 percent from what they collectively reported in 2012. The New York Times fared best, with 2013 revenue down only 1.1 percent; and McClatchy fared worst, with revenue dropping 5 percent. Gannett, the nation's largest newspaper chain, wound up in the middle, with a decline of 3.6 percent.

* Note: There was one more week in fiscal year 2012 than in fiscal 2013, which means the revenue comparisons shown above reflect 52 weeks for 2013 and 53 weeks for 2012.

Over the last year of earnings reports, four of the five companies- Lee Enterprises, The McClatchy Co., The New York Times Co., and Gannett Co. Inc. - saw modest increases in circulation revenue, buoyed by a growth in digital paywalls and subscription prices. Those increases, however, were dwarfed by declines in advertising revenue, even though that decline is shrinking.

Analysts say the newspaper industry is undergoing a shift toward greater reliance on circulation, which for years accounted for 20 percent or less of newspaper revenue, but now accounts for 30 percent or more at some papers. But declining ad sales are driving the shift, not increases in circulation revenue, which are so slight they suggest reader payments will not be the saving grace for newspapers.

In addition, many newspapers continue to lose print subscribers, which is exacerbating the overall revenue decline. Borrell said the extra revenue that newspapers are gaining from implementing paywall models at their websites could prove to just be "a supplement and kind of a Band-Aid to eroding newspaper circulation."

Still, the shift toward greater reliance on reader payments could be significant for the newspaper industry. A comparison of advertising and circulation revenue reported by publicly traded newspaper companies for the fourth quarter of 2013 versus the same quarter a decade earlier shows the growing weight of circulation. It is most evident at The New York Times, where circulation revenue accounted for 27.2 percent in 2003 and jumped to 49.5 percent by 2013. At Gannett, circulation claimed 22 percent of revenue in 2003; in 2013, that share had jumped to 33 percent.

It is unclear, though, how long circulation revenue can continue to climb. And as total revenues keep falling, analysts say newspapers are under pressure to cut back further on the content that keeps readers paying-at precisely the time papers need readers to help pay the tab for ad losses.

Ken Doctor, a media industry expert, said that since its height in 2005, print advertising revenue has declined across the industry by 60 percent. But instead of those numbers bottoming out as expected because "the base continues to get smaller and smaller," advertising fell again by 8 percent in each of the last two years, and publishers are expecting yet another 8 percent drop in 2014, Doctor said.

"There is some continued growth in circulation revenue," he said, "but if print revenue continues to go down at 8 percent a year and digital advertising remains flat, news companies will still be below zero revenue growth."

News companies are reporting some gains in digital advertising, but they are so modest that they can't stem the loss of print ad revenue. Among the problems news companies face, according to Doctor, are an expansion of advertising outlets online, and the fact that too many advertising dollars are moving to websites like Facebook and Google rather than news sites.

"There is essentially now an infinity of digital inventory, very different than scarcity in print, so you can buy digital advertising anywhere and everywhere," he said.

Without a way to stop ad losses, analysts say, companies are going to have to cut expenses if they want to remain profitable. And those cuts could make readers less tolerant of price increases, according to Doctor.

"If they're more dependent on reader revenue year-by-year-by-year, then those readers who are paying more expect a good product," he said.

There may still be grounds for optimism, though, if newspapers can continue to reduce losses, move toward revenue stabilization and eventually find new sources of revenue.

"It's one of those things that's a half glass full, half glass empty kind of scenario," Doctor said.

Growth may come, he suggested, as companies expand into "third, fourth, and fifth" businesses, in addition to the first two, advertising and circulation. Newer revenue sources include digital marketing services, sponsoring events and conferences, and in-house publishing activities to help other papers looking for publishing services.

If new businesses can grow to about 10 to 15 percent of the total revenue share, Doctor believes they could effectively counteract advertising revenue losses.

* Note: This story has been updated to reflect the fact that the 2012 fiscal year had one more week than the same reporting period in 2013. Had the two periods both contained 52 weeks, these revenue declines would have been less.

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The Big Shift in Newspaper Revenue - American Journalism Review

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Revenue continued to fall at newspapers last year as modest increases in circulation revenue failed to offset bigger declines in advertising, according to the latest earnings reports from the nation's large, publicly traded newspaper companies.

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- Objectivity = fairness with the intention of remaining neutral.
- Total objectivity is impossible; biases and preconceived notions exist.

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The print newspaper is an American institution. Since the times of the Revolution, it has been an essential part of American politics and culture. From Benjamin Franklin's publication the Pennsylvania Gazette to the famous "Dewey Defeats Truman" gaffe of the 1948 presidential election, the newspaper has been at the forefront of American history. Unfortunately, it seems that the faithful appearance of the morning paper on America's doorsteps is a dying tradition. While it is certainly true that a number of national publications are living on in a digital format, not every one of the 1,000+ daily publications is of the caliber of the New York Times or Boston Globe. Many smaller local papers have been forced to downsize or stop their presses entirely. My own local paper has recently been forced to lay off several employees, with more expected soon.

There was a time when most print shops published both a morning and an evening edition of their newspapers to be distributed for the people. Over the years, publication after publication ended their tradition of offering an evening paper. The rise of TV news outlets saw to that. Now, digital media is slowly killing print media. It seems like a foregone conclusion and has even been a central vehicle in an episode of the satirical Netflix comedy Bojack Horseman. But the end of the print newspaper is in actuality a very bad thing for our culture and country, and I've provided three key reasons why.

1. It's creating a generational information gap.

Older generations of Americans read newspapers at a rate as high as twice that of the under 35 crowd. This is not necessarily to say that older Americans are more in the know about current events than their posterity, but rather that different demographics are in the know on different events, written from different perspectives, using different facts and opinions. Speaking anecdotally, I know that this information gap is more common in small towns and rural parts of America, where certain millennials are likely to be significantly more liberal than their parents and grandparents. Many smaller print publications tend to have a conservative bias, while younger generations tend toward liberal online media.

In the past, this separation of information would not have been so prominent, as the newspaper was the only source of information available to everybody. Young and old alike would have relied on the same sources of information, and would have been able to discuss current events and political opinions with each other. Instead, as younger generations move away from print publications to form and subscribe to their own sources of information, they only create forums specifically among similar people who agree with them. This election cycle has revealed how a growing information gap among voters can exacerbate differences among demographics.

2. It takes away a source of consistency in people's day to day lives.

Ask anybody, and they'll tell you that having a routine is a very important part of living a healthy life. For hundreds of years, people have been able to incorporate their morning paper into that daily routine. There is even a moment in that episode of Bojack Horseman I mentioned where a character describes the daily paper as a steady presence, something you can count on day in and day out. It also allows individuals to start their day refreshed and well caught up on current events. I know plenty of older people who start every morning with the newspaper and a nice full breakfast.

Unfortunately, we now live in a world where everything must be happening all the time. People are no longer sitting down to catch a breath and catch up on the latest news. Instead, people will maybe read a quick article on their phones during a coffee break or while riding the subway on their way to the office. They are no longer trying to maintain a steady routine and are sporadically reading on their phones and tablets when they "have time" instead of making the time to sit down and unfurl a paper themselves.

3. It's created job losses around the country.

When talking about employment numbers in our country, manufacturing industries tend to make the headlines above all else, but the newspaper industry has been quietly suffering as they continue to toil away to provide us with our daily news. As print newspapers make way for digital news sources, revenue continues to plummet and jobs continue to become lost and consolidated. The highest newsroom employment numbers in recent history peaked at around 55,000 in 2006. Since then, employment has been in a nose-dive, with a net loss of 3,800 editorial jobs in 2014 alone. This is bad, not only from a direct economic perspective but from a forward thinking outlook perspective. Digital news outlets require far fewer employees and don't rely on technical experts who can operate and maintain the presses in the print room itself. This will only discourage children and young adults from seeking careers within the industry, which will continue to cause the industry and the quality of news that it can provide to atrophy.

Such a dramatic drop in available employment also relates back to the aforementioned information gap. As newsrooms continue to downsize and close altogether, younger journalists who are just now entering the workforce are struggling to find positions in established offices. Newspapers instead are opting to retain only a few writers and editors that may have offered the same perspective for several decades. While retaining employees with proven track records is important, it is just as important, if not more so, in journalism to provide new perspectives for readership. As a result, older readers who stick to their print publications rely on the same people for their news for years, while younger writers struggle to find work within a flooded job market that is unable to put necessary value in fresh perspectives. Without new writers, there is little incentive for younger readers to subscribe to their local print publication, who then continue to migrate solely to digital media.

So, if you don't make picking up a newspaper part of your morning routine, or at least your lunch time routine, I suggest you do so. I know that most convenience and grocery stores sell newspapers, and if you're in college, there are probably newspaper stands lying about on campus. My school had stand upon stand of New York Times issues, but the only time I ever saw them used were by art students who never bothered to read the papers before destroying them for a project. Let's try to change that habit together, and keep the American tradition of the newspaper alive.

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3 Reasons The Decline Of Print Newspapers Is A Bad Thing

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The print newspaper is an American institution. Since the times of the Revolution, it has been an essential part of American politics and culture. From Benjamin Franklin's publication the Pennsylvania Gazette to the famous "Dewey Defeats Truman" gaffe of the 1948 presidential election, the newspaper has been at the forefront of American history.

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New Age of News Sources     -Compared with print, nearly twice as many adults (38%) often get news online, either from news websites/apps (28%), on social media (18%) or both. (81% of adults ever get news on these online platforms.)

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New Age of News Sources     -Compared with print, nearly twice as many adults (38%) often get news online, either from news websites/apps (28%), on social media (18%) or both. (81% of adults ever get news on these online platforms.)

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Dear PR people,

Like most journalists, I'm constantly bombarded by your emails. And they all suck. Well, not all of them. Some are fine. But the majority of the time, the pitches I get from you guys are downright awful.

Do I want to interview your company's founder? Maybe, but you spelled my name wrong and think I work at Hustler Magazine. So, no.

Would I be interested in covering a revolutionary new product?! Sure. Oh wait, this is totally a mass email that's been sent to 100 people. Once again, I'll pass.

And I'll be honest with you, PR people. At first, this really pissed me off. In fact, it even landed you on my 2015 sh*t list:

1. People who take the elevator down one floor

2. Whoever greenlighted True Detective: Season Two

3. People that obsessively force-quit their iPhone apps (it doesn't do anything!)

4. Companies that send a "you are now unsubscribed" follow up email after you just unsubscribed from them

5. PR people who send bad pitches

But over time, I've come to realize that it's really not your fault. Since you've never sat on this side of the fence, you can't possibly know what goes through a journalist's head. So, I figured I'd lend a hand.

The following is both a critique of PR pitches that I've received, as well as a potential rubric for future ones.

Best case: someone, somewhere learns a valuable lesson and starts crushing their pitches. Worst case: I let off some steam.

It's not about you

Let's get one thing straight: I don't care about who you are or what you do. That's the hard-hitting truth. Unless we've already established a relationship, you're nothing more than a random name sliding into my overcrowded inbox.

You might think you've got the next Facebook on your hands, and heck, maybe you do! But there's no way a cold email from a stranger is going to effectively communicate that to me.

So why even try? Instead, consider...

1 - What's in it for the journalist?

Your pitch has to offer me value. Rather than explaining what x company does and why they're awesome, show me why their story will drive traffic to my article and resonate with my audience. Or illustrate why writing about them will reach a new reader group that we haven't tapped into yet.

Here's a pitch I got recently. It's nice and short (which is good), but that's all it is - nice and short. How would writing about this benefit us? Why should I care about a relaunch? TELL ME, don't give me homework.

2 - Don't beat around the bush

If you don't tell me what you want me to do, chances are I'm not going to do it. Include a clear description and call to action in your email so I don't have to think. The less I have to do, the better.

Yeah, linking to some past articles about your company or a video of your CEO on Bloomberg might pique my interest, but it doesn't give me any direction and, again, you're giving me homework.

Tell me what you want out of this. You're not going to offend me by being upfront about it. In fact, I'll gain respect for you immediately.

3 - Know who you're talking to

Take a look at this pitch I received a few days ago:

This person is clearly aware that I cover tech. One gold star! But then they went ahead and assumed that I'm interested in covering a fairly local story in Chicago - and potentially attending the event.

Come on, man.

First off, I'm in San Francisco. On top of that, this event's in like a week and I've never heard of your "music incubator" in my life.

Also, just as a general rule of thumb, steer clear of the phrase "Can you help us get the word out." It's horrible and the answer is pretty much always "no." Obviously, I didn't respond to this email.

But here's one that did get a response (and it's pretty clear why):

Not only did this person read something I wrote (it's a pretty sweet article), but he/she also took the time to go into detail about it.

This builds a relationship right off the bat, making it more likely that I continue reading and then email back (the rest of this email was a pretty standard pitch).

It takes about five minutes to read a post, people. And it all but guaranteed this person a response.

Here's another great pitch:

Nicely done, PR person.

4 - You know my coworkers and I talk, right?

DO NOT email multiple people from the same media company, especially on the same day.
Why, Kendall? Doesn't that just increase my odds of getting a "yes" from one of you?
Actually, it ruins your odds. And let me explain why.

In our office, we talk about the pitches we receive all the time, and the second we realize we all got the same exact one...it's over, man. You're finished.

It makes each of us feel like a number, as opposed to a journalist you chose to contact directly. You're like the person at the bar who's been hitting on everyone in sight and is now walking towards me...

Not interested.

5 - Make your email look like an email...

And not some collection of copy-and-pasted information that makes it feel like an automated email from Bank of America or something.

Take this pitch, for example:

This person started off so well, referencing one of our past articles and making it clear what they were looking for. But a totally different font for the second half of the email? SMH...I lost interest immediately.

Now, maybe I'm being a stickler. Maybe I'm being unreasonable. But an email pitch is so much more effective when it looks and feels like it was written directly to the person receiving it.

This one doesn't. It feels like I'm the 17th person to receive this, albeit with some slight alterations up top.

And by the way, all you have to do is hit "Remove Formatting" (in Gmail, at least) and I'll never know it's a total copy-and-paste job.

In conclusion...

Good people of the PR world, the next time you're getting ready to send a pitch, first read it back to yourself as if you were the journalist receiving it. If you wouldn't respond, they probably won't, either.

Pretty simple stuff.

Also, this article focused on email pitches, specifically, but your battles can actually be won elsewhere, before you email me a single word.

For instance, I always read emails from people whose names I recognize. So, why not follow me on Twitter before sending your pitch? Maybe share one of my tweets or comment on a blog post. Get on my radar.

Then, once it's time to craft your email pitch, you're already way ahead of the game.

Sincerely,

Kendall

A note from The Hustle: Every morning at 9am Pacific, we send an email with the top news stories in business and tech. It's kind of like if your friend read the internet all day then told you the important stuff in a fun, easy to understand way. Join the club and impress your coworkers with how smart you are.

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Dear PR people, Like most journalists, I'm constantly bombarded by your emails. And they all suck. Well, not all of them. Some are fine. But the majority of the time, the pitches I get from you guys are downright awful. Do I want to interview your company's founder?