Kibbe on Marketing: Knocking Email Pitches Out of the Park

Say a marketer has just crafted the best email pitch ever, full of great newsworthy information and exciting contacts ready for interviews. The media list is ready, a finger is poised over the send button… it’s going – going…

It’s a foul. Why? For “subject,” the marketer used “Press Release”.

How much more uninformative and, frankly, boring can you get? Marketers are very sharp and creative folks, so why oh why is the subject always “Press Release”?

The whole point of a pitch is stand out from the crowd and get some coverage for the client. Please, I’m begging here, put something in more descriptive than “Press Release”. The client deserves more, not to mention me. There’s probably a headline or deck on the release itself – “Joe Schmoe, Award-winning Wood Artist, Launches Dental Device Store” -- just use that. Even better, shorten it: “Juried Woodcarver Opens Toothpick Boutique”.

Many marketers also include a press release as an attachment, either as a Word doc or a PDF, but nothing in the body of the email. That’s fraught with issues, and I'll tell you why.

Computer attachment viruses still exist, unfortunately, and nasty things can and do happen. But much more frequently, something goes awry with the attachment and I can’t open it. Without copy in the body of the email, I don't know what the release is about. It’s not very likely I’ll have time to reply or call to ask for a resend. (If it’s a “Press Release,” I’m even less inclined. I don’t know what it’s about – why would I ask for more spam?)

PDFs hold the same issues. Even more vexing – I can’t easily copy and paste information into a document to create an article. The marketer was hoping to get something in print, right? It stands to reason that I actually need to get at the text to write something. By their very nature, PDFs are meant to be printed, not used as a document. When I try to use PDF text in another document, all formatting is obliterated.

I have even had some folks send press releases as a JPG – yes, a picture file! How in the hell can I use that?! I’d have to physically retype the thing to get it into a usable format. I don’t think so.

Marketers can and, and in many cases, should send releases as attachments, but please include the information in the body of the email as well. And for heaven’s sake, please put something descriptive in the subject line. If I know what I’m reading about and the information is in a usable format, it’s a good bet I’ll be able to consider it for coverage.

Cindy Kibbe, an editor for a New England business publication for nearly a decade, can be reached at cindykibbe@comcast.net.

Kibbe on Marketing: Be Soft on Hard Copy Pitches

In this day and age of communication – and business – at the speed of light, you’d be surprised any marketer would still send pitches and releases in paper form, but it still occurs, and more often than one would think.

I would receive about half a dozen press releases or other forms of hard copy in the mail each week. Now that might not sound like a lot, but I was probably just one of dozens or even potentially hundreds of media folk that received such notices.

It rarely, if ever, worked for me and I’ll tell you why.

All publications are produced electronically these days. Stories are sent to editors through the email, picture files are uploaded – shoot, even the files of the print-ready paper are sent electronically to the printer.

If I receive a release or a pitch by snail mail, is there really an expectation that I’d TYPE IN the copy? Really?

Granted, often pitches are just that – something to be used as a springboard for larger coverage. Even so, when I am pulling my reporter’s notes and questions together, I'd keep all the source material in one place. If I have this paper thing hanging around, I’d have to constantly refer to it instead of having the source info right at my finger tips.

There is a place for some hard copy. Occasionally, shiny, happy snail mailed-announcements for events can be nice, but, there, too, I’d prefer electronic. I love clothes catalogs and hard copy shelter mags. 

If there's some situation where I needed hard copy, I'd request it. But given a choice, electronic is the way to go.

But for pitches, don’t throw us journalists a curve ball – email us.

Cindy Kibbe, an editor for a New England business publication for nearly a decade, can be reached at cindykibbe@comcast.net.

Kibbe on Marketing: Marketing by “Pin the Tail on the Donkey”

As an editor for a New England-based business newspaper, I received literally hundreds of press releases and coverage pitches every week. A few were great; most were horrendous.

I’d like to share some of my insights gained from nearly a decade of experience to help make pitches rise above the noise, increase the likelihood of coverage for clients and to make everyone’s life a little easier.

If there’s one cardinal sin I see that occurs almost more than any other is that pitches are seldom targeted the media outlet. This is what I call “marketing by pinning the tail on the donkey.”

Marketers could increase their potential for coverage simply by doing a bit a research on the outlets before sending a single thing. Granted, when a release is going to hundreds of media folks, it’s difficult. Well, maybe a more targeted media list needs to be created or purchased. I all but guarantee it will be worth the effort and the money – especially if the marketer personally gets paid on commission for how many clients get covered.

Case in point – the paper I worked for was located in New England and was exclusively focused on business. What chance do you think a church bean-pot supper, a new album released by a local music group or a California-based REIT has for coverage?

None. And here’s why:

God bless them, but what does a ham and bean supper have to do with business? Unfortunately, nothing. In this case, I would delete the email without much hesitation. (And that’s if the announcement is actually sent electronically. We will discuss hardcopy pitches in the future.)

A new rock bank from New Hampshire is great – but again, has little to do with business. There would be rare occasions that might work IF – and that’s a big IF – the pitch was crafted in such a way as to highlight a new method of distribution, technology or something like that. Then the story isn’t just about a rock band, but the way the rock band does business. See the difference?

While a REIT certainly fits the focus of a business newspaper, one based in California does not. In the trash it goes. Now if a California REIT is setting up shop in the region with the potential to have a $1 billion book of business – that might get you a front page feature. The difference is, first, it’s a big business opening in the state, always good news worthy of some sort of mention. Second, that’s a hell of a lot of business. Third, it’s a bit unique as businesses often expand from New England, especially from Northern New England, to other places, not the reverse. As a reporter, I’d certainly want to know more.

In many of these cases, when the pitch is off, I politely let sender know the subject is simply outside of paper’s coverage focus and explain precisely what that focus is. Hint: I just gave the marketer invaluable information. If he or she is smart, that information will be filed away for future use.

These examples are based on a business paper, but they could any media outlet, whatever the particular focus or niche is. If the firm is Acme Aerospace, a pitch to a lifestyle magazine is wasted effort even if it’s on the media send out list. And vice versa, a review of a great new restaurant has no business in tech pages.

Sounds bloody obvious? You’d be surprised what came to my Inbox.

The lesson of targeting a release to an appropriate outlet is a very simple one, but one very few follow. Take a closer look at media lists and find out what’s really on there. Purchase ones with better targeting or allow the marketer to make specific sub-lists. Or simply check the website or the publication to get a feel for what the coverage is.

If a marketer wants coverage for his or her client and a personal win, a little forethought will go a long way.