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You are
pitching a journalist on a story idea about how your new
technology is going to change the world. In this case,
you do actually have a story – your technology is solid
and the applications are obvious. If you land this
story, sales could go through the roof. The only
problem is, you can’t get the journalist to answer your
messages.
If you are
like most marketing folks today, you do a lot of
research and media list building on the web. You find
the people who write about your industry and you target
them to receive your press releases and updates. And
usually, the first thing they see from you is an e-mail.
It amazes me
how much money and effort we put into marketing
materials, sales collateral, web pages, product sheets,
and every print piece we produce – yet when it comes to
e-mail we don’t punctuate, spell, or use correct
grammar.
Somewhere
along the line it became “acceptable” to use e-mail like
a third grader. Just sit at the keyboard and pound out
your message. Don’t worry about how it looks; the
recipient will get your drift. This is instant
messaging after all.
I know how I
feel when an erudite colleague sends an e-mail
that is barely literate. I feel slighted. I know that
they were in a hurry and that it’s OK to send e-mail
like that, but to me it seems as if they just don’t
care. If I don’t know them, I think they don’t know
better, and that’s even worse.
Don’t get me
wrong, I don’t think we need to go to style sheets and
letterhead, but I do think that we should proofread our
e-mail before it goes out. In the many cases when your
e-mail is the first thing someone sees from you,
shouldn’t it look as good as it can? Don’t we remember
the old adage about a first impression?
Now we go
back to the journalist and the story pitch. Maybe the
first thing the journalist received from you was an
e-mail with a short paragraph introduction and a link to some collateral material. The introduction itself
may have been what turned that journalist off to begin
with – they may never have seen the collateral material
at all!
It’s true
that the Internet makes everything happen faster. We
can communicate in seconds over the web. And people can
judge us on our first impression just as quickly. Take
the time to make your e-mail as professional as you are,
and you may see better responses to your inquiries. |
