Pro PR Tips

It's something about somebody exhibiting at a CES press event, I think.

I know, you think your email pitches look better if you put big, fancy graphics in them. But they don’t look so hot if your recipient has images blocked by default, or worse, is reading their messages on a smartphone with a slow data link. Or even worse, on an airplane with no connectivity.

Do you want your message to be pretty, or do want it to be read?

At the very least, put the actual content of the message in text up at the top of the message. That way, your recipient can read it regardless. Also, it’s much easier to copy and paste information from an email into a calendar or to-do list if there’s actual text to select.

Please banish this redundancy from your email subject lines:

“Please read.”

As opposed to what?

Wait… there are answers! From Twitter:

• “Please Read …aloud, while standing on your head.” (@MattStubbs)
• “Please delete prior to opening” (@MrCippy)
• “Please perform a dramatic reenactment” (@snhuxc)
• And my favorite: “You mean I didn’t have to read all those other emails today?!” (@leebehrens)

And you’re not, either. So try not to send press e-mails that start like this:

OMFG. We are so excited. Today, Hulu and The CW announced a new five-year licensing agreement…

There’s actually a real story here, but I think my point stands.

See also:
Don’t let a 6-year-old address your envelopes
Don’t let your toddler name your company

If your news can’t stand on its own, trying to attach it to another passing story won’t help.

Hi Rafe,

The new Siri app for the iPhone 4S does almost everything… almost. That’s where [[company’s]] newest [[clever name]] case comes in. Designed for the iPhone 4 (but a perfect fit for the 4S too), the slim smartphone case that includes space for cards and cash… So after Siri reminds you to stop at the bank, you’ll have somewhere to stash your cash.

This very typical example takes a hot news item and over-leverages it to pitch something that seems, at least to this jaded writer, completely unrelated. The announcement of a new voice-control technology for the iPhone cannot reasonably be used to pitch an iPhone case, unless you’re writing Sky Mall catalog copy. Just send us the product news, if there is any. Leave the sophomore analysis to us; it’s what we’re paid for.