Spotlight Communications, LLC

Those who have tried their hands at PR know that getting a journalist to open your pitch is no small feat. While marketing email campaigns often enjoy open rates north of 40%, PR professionals are usually stuck in the 17–28% range, which is usually a cause for celebration.

And yes, marketing emails usually go out to people who’ve already opted in to receiving those emails, so the audience is warmer. But still, we can learn a lot from how D2C marketers write their emails—and apply those same principles to how we pitch.

Don’t ignore the often forgotten real estate space.

The first thing to steal from their playbook? Pay attention to that preview text space—the little snippet that appears next to the subject line in most inboxes. Most people completely ignore it, but that space is precious. It’s the first chance you have to hook someone into your message.

So instead of starting your email with “Hi Abigail, I hope this email finds you well,” try opening with something that actually signals you have something valuable to offer.

Here are some one-liners that I’ve been using that have resulted in open rates well above 50 percent. The trick is making the recipient feel like I’ve sent them a one-to-one, personal email.

For example, when I’m reaching out cold to introduce myself to reporters who writes in a specific industry, I write “Regarding your recent article on [topic]”.

If I’m pitching an expert or a statement, I might try “Insight on [topic] that you may find interesting.”

Because there’s a section in there that’s tailored to their beat, these lines don’t scream “I’m blasting this to 100 people.” They read like a relevant message to the recipient—even if I did send them as part of a broader campaign. Once they open the email, they might realize that’s not the case, but by then, they’re already hooked.

Front-load your value preposition

D2C marketers know that people don’t spend more than five seconds deciding whether to keep reading an email. Too many of the pitches start out with an introduction, a note of gratitude for taking the time to read their email, or they otherwise spend 30–60 seconds on “fluff” before getting to the gist. 

Instead, most D2C emails offer their value prepositions upfront because they know that most readers only have 5 seconds to read their email. So ask yourself: what would you want them to know? 

Think about what you want the journalist to know—even if they stop reading after the first line. You can always follow with the context afterward.

Don’t forget the bold, the list, and the italics

Last but not least, let’s talk about formatting. This one gets overlooked way too often. Spending a little bit of time formatting the text makes it readable.

If your email is more than a few lines long, break it up. Use bold headers, bullet points, or line spacing to guide the eye.

A journalist should be able to skim your email and still get the gist. If they can’t, your email may look like too much work to get through.

This is a lot of attention paid to the details for sure, but these little tricks make it easier for someone on the receiving end of 200+ emails a day to see the value in yours. If you do it right, your email won’t just get opened—it might even get a reply.

Happy pitching!