Emailing: How to contact journalists and arouse their interest

An article published in a media is an asset for your visibility and your reputation. But how do you get such a boost? Don't wait for journalists to come to you, contact them directly. In this article, I explain - step by step - how to contact them, and above all, how to write an email to arouse their interest. Follow the guide.

Before starting, a short presentation is required. My name is Marine, and before joining Growth Room, I was a journalist. I worked for various media, until I founded my own site. During these years, I have been contacted by many startups and companies looking for visibility. Every day, I received a hundred emails, and in that stream, only two or three caught my attention. Too vague message, clumsy approach... Direction the trash can. So how do you stand out from the crowd?

If you want to activate an PR campaign, follow this handy guide. You will learn how to write powerful emails that will get responses and/or (fingers crossed) articles.

You will find there:

• Tips to prepare yourself well
• A method for writing a top email + testimonies from journalists
• Examples of email dos and don'ts
• A template (it's a gift)

And press relations agencies? You can of course use a PR agency. She will take care of everything and guarantee you — normally — benefits. Agencies have real expertise but they are quite expensive.

Sending emails to journalists: defining your objective

Communicating with the press is an exercise that cannot be improvised. You are not going to contact journalists to say nothing. So start by defining your objective. What message do you want to convey? What do you want to announce? You need to provide value.

Targeting media and journalists well

Three steps:

• Select the media that correspond to your sector. If you are a lingerie brand, you are not going to contact a site or magazine specializing in tech. Logical. Sent to the wrong recipient, your email will be put in the trash. Worse, being classified as spam.

• Learn about their readership. Do they match my target? To my personas?

• Find out about the journalist. What section is he writing about? What were the topics covered? What are his favorite subjects? Has he already talked about one of my competitors? Etc. Get as much information as possible and read all of his articles. I'll explain why later.

Note that some journalists are freelancers, that is, they work for different media. They can draw on a regular basis with a title, or have drawn only once. Be careful. You should also know that journalists change editors regularly. Be up to date with their news.

Journalists: where can you find their email addresses?

Once you have properly targeted and built up your contact list, go fishing for emails. You will find them on their website in the “Contact” section or in L'Ours (box containing all contacts) of the magazine/newspaper in question.

Also take a look at LinkedIn, you may find what you are looking for.

If you are missing addresses, know that emails are often in the same format: name. prénom@media.com, prénom@media.com, etc. Do not hesitate to use hunter.io. A pretty magical tool. Type in the search bar the name of the media and the tool will show you the models used.

Note that sites like Cision offer databases that are regularly updated. However, the platform is chargeable. Well yes, it would be too beautiful otherwise;)

How to write a powerful email

You have defined your objective, put together your list and you have enriched it as much as possible. Good Job! You are halfway there. Next step: writing your email.

Careful! You are not doing commercial canvassing. A journalist is not a prospect, he is not going to “buy” your product or service. Mark it on a post-it note, stick it on your computer, and read it several times a day. A journalist chooses a topic FOR his readers.

For an effective cold emailing campaign (prospecting), I recommend the excellent article by Martin Galabru, one of our B2B specialists.

The subject of the email

A journalist is extremely in demand. He receives hundreds of emails per day. You will therefore have to stand out and attract his attention. The subject line of your email should be short and to the point. Forget “A publication on your site” objects.

“I need to have the subject well written in the subject line. I get so many that sometimes I delete them without even taking the time to read because the subject is not clear, and I'm sure I'm missing out on interesting stuff.”

Mathilde B. Food journalist

Tips: be smart. Feel free to use the “RE:” to increase your open rate. And to put all the odds on your side, personalize the subject of your email with his first name/last name or his media.

The content

Hyper-personalization

To capture the attention of your recipient, you need to hyper-personalize your email. That's why it's important to find out more information first! Don't just rely on the journalist's first name and the media's name. Quickly mention his old articles, the ones you enjoyed, in one sentence. “I am an avid reader of X and I loved your last article on X.” There's a Hook sympathetic. But don't lick either. Be subtle. Adapt this hook according to your target.

Explain your subject from the start

Information should be clear and accurate. The journalist needs to know quickly what you are talking about.

“We have to stop with emails with mysterious intros, I need to quickly know what they are about.”

Charlotte L. Children's specialist journalist

After this appetizer, you can then add more ingredients. Give details, numbers, context. And if you have a story to tell, an anecdote, present it. Your email will be all the more captivating. In specialized B2B press, give figures, data, something to eat.

Suggest article titles/angles (optional)

It requires a bit of work, but you will bring real added value. Don't be afraid to suggest article titles or angles.

“This is convenient for me, and it also shows that the person has fully understood the editorial line of the media. I didn't get a lot of emails offering titles or angles. But when I receive them, I always respond.”

Léa.F lifestyle journalist.

“I really like it when I am offered angles. Of course it's part of my job to find them, but sometimes there are really cool things that I didn't think of on my own, and that makes me want to respond.”

Mathilde B.

Highlight a reference (if you have one)

Have you already been interviewed? Indicate it. “X devoted an article to us”, “Let me send you the link to our first interview”.

Suggest visuals, a press release or a press kit

You won't be able to say everything in your email. Then add a press release (CP) or a press kit (DP).

Don't confuse them: a press release is a one- or two-page document that provides clear and concise information. The press kit is a complete medium that presents your company, your values, your news, etc.

If you don't have one, I strongly advise you to create one on Canva (graphic design platform) for example. Make sure the person can copy and paste your texts.

A lot of journalists read their emails on their smartphones. So avoid attaching your CP or PD as an attachment. Insert it into the body of the email at the end. Better: insert a link where he can find the document (Dropbox, drive)

Also, don't forget to transmit visuals in HD. Include a visual in the body of your email so that the journalist can project himself, and a link to download all the images.

“I need to have access to everything I need to write a subject (visual, news) without even having to contact the person. I don't often have time to wait for an answer.”

Charlotte L.

“Visuals are important. I need to project myself. And if the email is accompanied by a press release, even better. I need to have material, to have concrete elements at my disposal. The ideal is to have all the elements to avoid calling the person back. I don't always have time for interviews. So if I have everything in hand, that's fine.”

Lea F.

Conclude neatly

The killer question: “Would you like to talk about me? ” Ouch! Don't beg. The journalist does not do charity. Would you have written to a prospect: “Would you like to buy my product/service? ”. No Well don't ask that question.

A few examples

• “I remain at your disposal if you have any questions.” Soft
• “Can we discuss this together? ” Clear
• “Would you be available next week to talk? ” Straight to the point.

Don't forget to sign your email. Your signature must be complete: phone number, email address, email address, website, social networks, etc. Avoid signatures in photo format. Copy/paste is not possible.

The presentation

Your email should be pleasant to read.

6 golden rules:

• Avoid spelling mistakes (the base)

• Air out your text. Say goodbye to big pies!

• Put bold or even color on important sentences

• Don't use a font that's too standard. It's amateurish.

• Use bullet points if several elements need to be highlighted

• Your email must be readable on mobile

Four examples of emails not to do

The problems:

A very evasive object/No personalization/The person does not take the time to explain to me who they are, what they do. I am not captivated, and I do not want to make the effort to open her press release.

The problems:

No customization/I don't know the brand name/Lack of details/No visuals/Very clumsy question

If you understood this email, I am interested!

Problem:

A very clumsy approach.

Four examples of good emails

These emails are not perfect but have been answered. An article has even been published (except for the second one).

The good points:

An object that arouses curiosity/Personalization (well ok, the person could have gone further)/I have a slightly long story that nevertheless captivated me/I have the details of their product and their approach/I have a media kit

The good points:

A curious object. Did I request an interview? No, it's strange. I click/A product detail/Possible angles to write my article/A Dropbox link with all the elements if I want to know more.

The good points:

Hyperpersonalization/Humor/Details about their products/Impacting figures. “In 4 days, we exceeded 700 pre-sales”. If so many people are interested, so will my readers. I don't want to miss it!

The good points:

Hyper personalization/Her email was very long (I didn't give you everything) but I was captivated from the start/A story

When should you send your email?

No magic slots. However, I advise you to send it in the morning around 10:00am and in the afternoon around 2:00pm to 2:30pm. Avoid Monday mornings. Journalists are often at editorial conferences.

Emailing: relaunch or not?

“Most of the time, if I don't respond, it's either because I wasn't interested or I didn't have time to process it. So I find it annoying to be called up again unless the email provides new information. But in general, no, I don't like it.”

Charlotte L.

“I don't mind but the recovery should bring value.”

Lea F.

Tips: You can send a follow-up email for journalists who did not open your email. Quickly reexplain your approach and provide new elements that may be of interest to them. For those who have opened your email, wait a few days before relaunching them, and provide a new element. Still no response? Let go of the business. They are not interested.

Is it advisable to call journalists?

No good answer. Some journalists are for it, others are against it.

Tips: If you have the journalist's personal number and don't know it, don't call. Having 06 is certainly the holy grail, but you risk getting hit by a wall, a very big wall. Instead, contact the editorial staff, and if the person is not present, ask to be put in touch with one of their colleagues who might be interested in your subject. He who does not try anything has nothing.

Contacting journalists on social networks: yes and no

If the person has not highlighted their post on social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), do not contact them. The approach is too intrusive. Choose LinkedIn but don't “sell” your subject directly. Get to know each other first.

Have you read this far? Congratulations! It's up to you to play now.

Here is a template as a gift. Adapt each element to your situation. Please know that I am not promising you answers. Everything will depend on you and your news:)

E-Mail: Template To use

Purpose. It should be short, meaningful, and impactful. Announce the color.

Hang up. Personalize your email. Example: “Hi X, I am an avid reader of X. I loved your last article on...”

Presentation. Introduce yourself quickly.

Development. What is your news? Specify and give impacting details. When writing, say to yourself, “Why should a journalist write a piece about me?”

Suggested titles/angles (optional). The journalist will be able to project himself. Suggest two or three titles/angles.

Resources. Link to your press release or press kit + visuals

Conclusion

A visual or your visible CP

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Tip from our team: to generate growth, PR should be secondary

In addition to PR, there are many other scalable acquisition channels. The particularity of PR is the ability to generate a peak in traffic quickly, but you do not control its quality or sustainability.

It is therefore essential to diversify your acquisition channels. Whether you are B2B or B2C, Paid Media campaigns on networks like Facebook, Google or LinkedIn can bring quality traffic, but especially over time and not in a one-off peak.

And that's good news, it's our mission at Growth Room to set up tailor-made campaigns for you that really perform! Of course you can make an appointment with a Marketing expert with us on this link so that we can discuss it together.