It’s Fred with Prezly, back again with some fresh PR tips to help you promote your coworking space. Hopefully after my first two posts, you’re feeling pretty well-equipped to start creating social media press releases and visual content.
But it’s not enough to create a press release; you have to pitch it effectively, too. With that in mind, let’s talk about the pitch email, one of the most powerful tools in your proverbial PR toolbox.
Right Email + Right Audience
There are two parts to a successful pitch email – your target audience, and the email itself. While it might be tempting to email your entire database, your childhood friends, and maybe a distant cousin or two every time you have something new to say about your coworking space, don’t do it.
In the PR industry, we call that S.O.S. (sending out stuff), and it’s never a good idea. Instead, send a highly targeted email to specific influencers for whom your press release is relevant. For coworking spaces, this might include influential members of the local tech and freelance community. You’ll get better response rates, and your contacts will thank you for not spamming them with irrelevant emails.
The Anatomy of a Great Pitch Email
A well-crafted pitch email can quickly and effectively open new doors, strengthen media relationships, and increase your exposure. A bad pitch email, on the other hand, can alienate influencers and permanently damage your credibility.
So what distinguishes a great pitch email from one that fails to get results? Luckily, it’s fairly straightforward. Let’s walk through the anatomy of a great pitch email, piece by piece:
- A Specific From Line: Your From line is probably the first thing your reader sees. It should clearly and concisely communicate who you are as the sender. I typically use the From line “Frederik from Prezly”, which tells you who the email is coming from, as well as which company I work for… all before you even open my email.
- An Irresistible Subject Line: Your subject line should be relevant, timely, and evoke just a little bit of mystery. Include a tidbit about your story that relates to your influencer’s interests and inspires enough curiosity to make them want more. Example: “New study: Everything we thought we knew about the freelance economy is wrong.” Here’s a great list of best practices for subject lines, drawn from MailChimp’s analysis of over 200 million emails.
- A Brief, Relevant Introduction: Start your email with a 2-3 sentence introduction that states who you are and why you’re reaching out. Tie your message to something personal that you know about them, which shows that you’ve done your research and understand what they care about. Example: “I saw your tweet about freelancers and thought you might like to learn the surprising results of a new study.”
- A Compelling Value Proposition: Once you’ve made your introduction, get to your point quickly. Remember that in order to get a response, you need to demonstrate value for your contacts. Ask yourself, how will a journalist benefit by covering your story? Always keep your pitch about them and how they stand to gain, not about you. Example: “Your latest article about the freelance economy got a lot of buzz. Sharing the results of this study would be a great follow-up for your readers.”
- Supporting Multimedia Previews: Don’t just tell influencers and journalists about your story. Your pitch email should also include previews of all the multimedia assets in your social media press release. Don’t send attachments or links. They’ll take forever to download and lack the visual impact of an embedded preview. Instead, use a tool that automatically generates media previews in your pitch emails.
- A Clear Next Step: Make it as easy as possible for your contact to follow up with you. Include all of your contact information (phone number, email, Twitter, Skype, etc.), and suggest a clear next step. Example: “I’d love to answer any questions you have about the study I sent you last week. Can we talk for 15 minutes tomorrow or Friday?”
Don’t Forget About Tracking
It’s tempting to send pitch emails from Gmail or Outlook, but what you gain in speed, you lose in trackability. Use a tool that allows you to track opens, clicks, and responses to your pitch emails. You can also A/B test subject lines and messages to see what works best.
Prezly can help you with all of the above and more. If you own or manage a coworking space, your first 3 months of Prezly are free – no strings attached! Just sign up for the free trial on our website, then email us with the name of your coworking space.
Till next time.