(Shel Horowitz's Frugal Marketing Tip, July, 2002)

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THIS MONTH'S TIP: HOW TO E-MAIL THE MEDIA

Last month, I actually got mentioned in the New York Times! Not an important story, but now I can say I've been quoted there. I get about 50 media appearances in a typical year. More and more journalists are accepting pitches and story ideas by e-mail. Here's some advice to turn more of those contacts into press coverage.

* Choose your subject line VERY carefully: interesting and informative, but not hard-sell. Be as descriptive as possible without sounding like a spammer--and focus on the news peg. Aim for 50 characters or less, 60 tops. Here's an example I just wrote for a client: Pro-Anorexia Sites "Danger to Children," Says Expert (News Release). 52 characters not counting the parenthetical at the end. And it's at the end so that if something is cut off, I don't lose the important words "Anorexia, Danger, Children, Expert."

* If responding to a published query by a journalist, put the name of the service and then the subject, e.g. Profnet: Small Biz Money Savers. (If you'd like an affordable source of journalist queries, matching the keywords you select and coming directly into your inbox, visit http://www.frugalmarketing.com/prleads.shtml.)

* Write in the most interesting way possible (again, without going off the edge into sales/spam).

* Keep it short. One screen is best, three paragraphs is a comfortable maximum. (Include a web page for more info--the full URL, so they don't have to poke around on your site.)

* Send to the specific journalist's direct e-mail address (you can usually find contact info on the publication's website or examine the staff box and learn the pattern--for instance, asmith@yourpaper.com

* Send only to people who directly cover the subject of the release. Otherwise, you're spamming--and contributing to the big problem of journalists refusing to read e-mail

* If possible, reference a previous story or the journalist's "beat" (subject area).

* NEVER send an attachment--but offer to send one on request, if that's appropriate.

* Remember that journalists are extremely busy and always on deadline. They need you as much as you need them, but the easier you make their job, the more likely that they'll call you rather than someone else.

Thank you reading this back issue of Shel Horowitz's Monthly Frugal Marketing Tips, published every month since May, 1997; please click here to view the complete archives, grouped by subject. Shel is an internationally known copywriter and marketing consultant, author of Grassroots Marketing Getting Noticed in a Noisy World, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First and several other books, and creator of the Frugal Marketing web site. Please click here to contact Shel.