3 Tips to Get a Reporter to Open Your Email

When it comes to pitching your news, it may come as a surprise that half the battle is getting the reporter to simply read your email.

You're sure that you have a great story, great facts, great everything. But if you don't make the email stand out in the massive amounts of messages that typically hit a reporter's inbox, that reporter will never know how great of a story you have.

Here are a few tips to increase your chances of the reporter even opening your email.

• Have a catchy subject line. This is the first thing a reporter sees. Don't make it too long or gimmicky.
• Don't send an attachment. Nobody trusts attachments any more...too many places for creepy viruses and spam to hide. In some cases, attachments don't even make it past the reporter's spam folder. Copy and paste your release within the text of the email.
• Call the reporter to let them know the email will be or has been sent. A follow-up definitely helps because if the reporter likes what you have to say in your message, they'll be sure to look for your email as well.

The moral of the story? A reporter won't know about your epic story if you can't engage them from the very first time you make contact with them.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.