May 13, 2011 Beth Monaghan
Reporters sometimes complain about the staid phrases PR people use in their pitches, rightly so in some cases. Erica Swallow at Mashable has a post on this topic, which inspired the InkHouse team to write the worst pitch we could think of during one of our recent FOFs (forced office fun for anyone who doesn’t work here).
Granted, we’ve all used pieces of some of the phrases in our pitch below. When I write, “I hope you are well,” which I often do, I mean it. And sometimes my emails end up in someone’s junk folder, so I am genuinely concerned that it did not come through.
The difference is authenticity and simplicity. The late 1990s and early 2000s led the marketing world into a frenzy of buzzwords (see my post from December 2010 on the buzz words we should eliminate from our vocabulary). Social media has changed that for the better. We now understand the importance of telling stories in simply phrases that actually mean something to their intended audiences. We are heartened by the recent surge back to the basics of good storytelling, which Meg outlined for us in April.
In homage to our friends in the media, following is the worst pitch we could write. Enjoy, and we promise that it will not be coming to your inbox any day soon.
Subject Line: Embargo: The next Google. Pre-briefing tomorrow?
Hi [INSERT REPORTER'S NAME],
I hope you are well and enjoying the warm spring weather. I am just following up regarding my voice mail earlier today. I also sent an email yesterday and fear it may have ended up in your junk folder, so apologies if this is a duplication. My client is launching a next generation, robust and cost-effective platform that leverages the cloud for mid-market companies. It's a Web 2.0 concept and I've noticed that you cover Web 2.0 frequently, so I think this is right up your alley. It's really revolutionary and a first of its kind.
While we have reached out to several outlets, we'd love for you to be the one to cover this breaking story. It's truly a transformational technology and the CEO only has a few times available tomorrow to do an interview. I believe he's traveling to Dubai in the late morning. Please let me know if 10:00 am tomorrow works for you. If I don't hear from you, I will call you later this afternoon to confirm. Ping me with any questions.
Cheers,
Your PR Pal
P.S. In the event that this message lands in your junk folder, I do have your home address, so I might swing by tonight on my way home.
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