When devising an effective outreach strategy, the email pitch is one of the most important weapons in your arsenal. So, what steps can be made to ensure that your email pitch is well received and doesn’t fall into the pile of pitches that are deleted on sight? While there is no magic formula to ensure your email pitches are wonderfully successful, there are certain steps you can take to maximise your chances!
Compelling subject line
The subject line is the primary factor in determining whether your email pitch gets read or gets binned! A good subject line should be phrased succinctly, so that all the key pieces of information (such as the company name, the type of the product, the launch date etc.) can be immediately digested after only a quick glance. This is not the time to be vague or ambiguous, recipients at the press have better things to do with their time then trawl through your release until they understand what it’s about!
Simplicity is king
Don’t over complicate things – if you can state your point in two paragraphs, there’s no need to write more. This isn’t the place to showcase your expansive vocabulary or literary skills, the more succinctly you can phrase things the better. If the reader doesn’t understand what your on about in the first two sentences they are unlikely to continue reading more to find out. You can even structure your email pitch in the form of bullet points, just to ensure maximum digestibility of information.
Pick up the phone
Even a flawlessly crafted email pitch does not ensure that it will be read. Why not pick the phone and politely enquire whether the recipient has had time to read your pitch? This will make your pitch viscerally stand out as the recipient now has a voice to match with the text. Also, being in the minority of people who are actually prepared to make a call to follow-up their pitch demonstrates professionalism, reliability and integrity.
Attachments and images
Try to avoid attachments as they can quickly clutter up the recipients inbox. If additional information is absolutely essential, use an embedded hyperlink instead – that way they don’t feel pressurised into reading it, which ironically will make it more likely that they do. Large images are also a no-no as they can mess up the formatting of your email pitch and give the impression of spam-mail. A couple of smaller images, or perhaps a tasteful infographic can work wonders however.
Provide contact details
The signature of your email should be properly formatted and professional looking, with a uniform font and a clear layout of key information, such as your company name, website, contact details, social media buttons and so forth. By including contact details and key information on the signature of your email, recipients are free to research your company and product further without feeling pressured to do so.
Tags: email marketing, infographic
