Journalists get hundreds of emails a day, many of which contain story ideas, media pitches or media releases. Most journalists are extremely busy and don’t have time to read every single email they receive.
If you are pitching a media release or story idea to a journalist then one of the first things they will see is your email subject line. If your subject line isn’t relevant to what they write about or doesn’t grab their attention, they are likely to delete your email without reading it.
It’s then important to write a great email subject line to interest a journalist in your email and hopefully encourage them to consider writing about you or your business.
PR News has provided some great tips for writing compelling and informative email subject lines.
- Get to the point: Subject lines are fairly short, which means you need to include the main point of the email straight away. By reading the subject line journalists should know exactly why your email is of interest to them.
- Don’t lie: Don’t mislead a journalist in the subject line just to get them to read your email. Journalists may be angry when they realise your email doesn’t support your subject line, which could ruin your relationship with them.
- Include your business’ name or client’s name: You can include your business’ name or your clients name in the subject line, if the email is about either of them. For example if you are sending a journalist an article written by the CEO of your company you could include the name of the article plus the name of the CEO and their title. This is especially effective if your business is a well known brand.
- What is the journalist interested in: Journalists are interested in writing stories about current events and topical issues. If your email relates to a recent news story then include this in your subject line. This will be more effective if you know the journalist is writing about this news story.
- Don’t spam: Make sure your email doesn’t get caught in a journalist’s spam filter. Avoid using excessive punctuation and exclamation marks. You should also avoid using common spam words such as ‘mass email’, ‘marketing solutions’, ‘hi’ and ‘click’.
One of the most effective ways of getting a journalist to read your email is by creating a relationship with them. If a journalist knows who you are and knows you provide them with great content they will be more likely to read it.
What do you write in your email subject lines to journalists?
Read the full article here.
Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
