Emails, Templates, Google Docs, Oh-My! Outreach is a large and important (as in bigger than a venti sized black coffee on a Monday morning) part of Public Relations. Keeping the rolodex (do people use that term anymore?) full and the spreadsheets updated, because we all have to allocate time for outreach. At first, I simply thought this was copy-and-pasting templates, while sending out as many emails as possible. Oh was I wrong. Yes there are templates to make the work less repetitive, however you shouldn't be sending the exact same email to 100 people. So lovelies, here are some of my personal lessons learned for and from outreach.
SPELLCHECK - Read, re-reread, and then check their name ten times. Do not make the mistake of misspelling someones name. You don't need to leave a bad taste in their mouth, especially with your company's name attached. Also, it looks unprofessional to have simple grammatical and spelling errors.
Be Genuine - You do want to butter them up in a sense, however don't be ostentatious. People, well most, can sense a difference between genuine interest & respect versus false over-exaggeration. This doesn't mean to never be excited or show extreme admiration, just use your words wisely.
Log It Immediately - Every time you email someone who is listed on a spreadsheet, log it right then and there. You will not remember it later, you are a PR girl and honey you are probably doing ten different things while reading this post. So I repeat, log it immediately.
Do Your Research - I've done a lot of outreach for blogger, author, and entrepreneur interviews. Don't email questions or inquiries without being informed about the person you are contacting. Again, it looks unprofessional. Your research doesn't have to be 15 pages of notes ready for your senior thesis. Just go on their website and look at the about page, google them or stalk their LinkedIn. The internet had blessed us all with information, use it.
Get Creative - Outreach doesn't always have to be in an email form. Use other social media platforms, be genuine and you will attract more people. Many times people will delate hundreds of emails that even look like spam, so connect with them in other ways.
Have Fun Reaching-Out. Xoxo
SPELLCHECK - Read, re-reread, and then check their name ten times. Do not make the mistake of misspelling someones name. You don't need to leave a bad taste in their mouth, especially with your company's name attached. Also, it looks unprofessional to have simple grammatical and spelling errors.
Be Genuine - You do want to butter them up in a sense, however don't be ostentatious. People, well most, can sense a difference between genuine interest & respect versus false over-exaggeration. This doesn't mean to never be excited or show extreme admiration, just use your words wisely.
Log It Immediately - Every time you email someone who is listed on a spreadsheet, log it right then and there. You will not remember it later, you are a PR girl and honey you are probably doing ten different things while reading this post. So I repeat, log it immediately.
Do Your Research - I've done a lot of outreach for blogger, author, and entrepreneur interviews. Don't email questions or inquiries without being informed about the person you are contacting. Again, it looks unprofessional. Your research doesn't have to be 15 pages of notes ready for your senior thesis. Just go on their website and look at the about page, google them or stalk their LinkedIn. The internet had blessed us all with information, use it.
Get Creative - Outreach doesn't always have to be in an email form. Use other social media platforms, be genuine and you will attract more people. Many times people will delate hundreds of emails that even look like spam, so connect with them in other ways.
Have Fun Reaching-Out. Xoxo