Avoid 'Vile' Media Cold Mail

Here’s a much discussed tweet on the London twitter.

Celebrity who made name from interviewing celebrities and sold autobiography to this specific news organisation decides to call out journalist from there for press intrusion.

Many a radio phone-in hour subsequently filled.

Yet my interest follows a different vane to the talking heads blanketing the airwaves.

Notice how ‘old-school’ this cold approach is?

Hi [firstname], [yourname] here, I am [so-and-so] from [such-and-such].

I hope you’re keeping well in these crazy times we are living.

I am dropping you a mail regarding [subject label].

We have been told by [source & issue].

We are [aim with urgency deadline] and we would love to [action request].

Uncannily similar in construction to mails I saw in my sales youth, decades ago. Which didn’t work then. And won’t work now. Just as this one didn’t.

Even down to the false bonhomie of the ‘crazy times’ version of the ever ropey ‘hope this finds you well’ line.

You can swap in more commonplace terms.

For instance, ‘we have been told by’ is akin to ‘industry luminary X says’. Or even ‘I note your CEO believes’…

And how about ‘we are available to meet at your convenience’, and ‘we would love to get your thoughts on’…

You must recognise the kind of thing.

It is wrong.

Forget how polite you may think it sounds. Even your entitlement to send it.

Does anybody in the dark to your wonders really care about who you are when you first survey them?

Especially if you fail to illustrate an issue upon which they might be pondering.

Oh how different this approach could have been. I hope yours is.