Subject: Methodology of teaching English Theme: Written press The Aim of the Lesson

1. Personalize the subject line. Journalists receive thousands of emails a day. They delete most of them. Do a little research on who you’re sending the message to, and personalize both the subject line and the email. Only send it to journalists whom you know typically write stories related to what you’re announcing. Congratulate them on any recent accomplishments — “Congrats on that Emmy! What an accomplishment!” Make sure to be genuine. No one likes a brown noser. Starting points include checking out the person’s LinkedIn account and doing research on past stories they’ve written. Make sure to personalize the email. If it looks like a copy and paste you’ve sent everyone in your contact book, you’re not going to get any traction.
2. Hook the readers with a killer headline. In this day and age, most people have the attention span of a gnat. Think three seconds, at most. If you want a readership that’s larger than your immediate family, be snappy, be funny, be trendy — both when drafting a headline and the subject line when you email the release to reporters. Avoid resorting to clickbait — over-exaggerated claims that more likely than not, leave readers feeling misled or disappointed. Be short, sweet, and tout a benefit of reading. People will always want to know what’s in it for them. If you don’t know how to do this, hire a copywriter to do it for you.
3. Write it in third person. Avoid using first and second person, unless you’re including a direct quote. And when you do use a quote, include something insightful or inspirational — don’t make it all about you. If, when you reread it, it screams buy something from me!, rewrite it. Stick to reporting the facts of the event. The goal is to make it look like a short announcement.
4. Stick to one topic. Have you ever been part of a conversation where the speaker just couldn’t stay on their subject? Your mind starts to wander and you look for ways to get them to their point. The same applies here. Don’t make things confusing — and unnecessarily long — by jumbling together all topics that come to mind. If you have an event coming up, stick with the facts of the event: date, location, time, and guest speaker(s).