The secret to creating a winning title for your email and media release.
See, and here you think we might share the secret formula to creating the world’s best title… no, unfortunately there isn’t one, but we got you to read this article – and that’s the type of title you need to get a journalist to read your email and media release!
How important can a title be?
Years of experience tell us that the title is everything. From your email subject title to your media release title and the title you give yourself or your claim – it can be your absolute undoing, or the making of your PR magic.
Don’t oversell, but make sure you upsell
Ok, there’s a difference between upsetting and outright untruths in a title, so don’t say you’ve broken a world record unless you know for sure you have, and don’t claim to be the “biggest” the “best” or “only” of something if you can’t categorically say you are. There is no faster way to lose credibility with a journalist.
Validate your title – just in case you are questioned
We once helped a friend who told us she was the “only female” to complete a particular stunt – coincidentally, the journalist we sent it to pitched it to her editor and he happened to have worked with another female who he believed had previously done said stunt. The journalist called us on it and said the title wasn’t true and was downright cranky about it because she’d nearly been made a fool of in front of her editor. Turns out our friend was the first female to do this particular task, as it had a slight technicality in the media release that the editor didn’t see – and that was the specific reason it had “never been done before”, but gee it made us scramble and fact check our sources! No one likes working with a cranky journalist. In that instance, the journalist apologised and ran the story with a full feature picture, but only because we could validate the title claim!
How do I own a worthy title? Break it down till you own it.
Unless you’re a multi-national or large corporation, chances are you won’t organically own a lot of big titles, so if you can’t say it broadly, narrow it down until you can own it. Are you the BIGGEST of your <<niche>>, <<suburb>>, <<region>>, <<state>>, <<specialty>>?? You get where we are going with this. If you can’t say you are something broadly, figure out how you can say it with truth, then your trend, your news or announcement suddenly has some weight.
Awesome examples
We could say we are, Australia’s original creators of the DIY PR pack, or Australia’s only fully interactive DIY and mentoring PR service. We can’t say we are Australia’s largest PR agency, we can’t say we are the best (even though we thoroughly believe it to be true). You can also add “arguably” into your title if you’re happy to push the boundary. We could say, EntrePR, arguably Australia’s most innovative PR agency…
Big and bold, yet clear and concise
- Discover
- Reverse
- Cure
- Outsell
- Record-breaking
- World-first
These are the types of phrases that work because they scream “news” angle. Bend them to fit as best you can, but remember the golden rule – no lying.
Got one to run by us?
If you’re on the Rocket PR program, run your title by us and we’ll help you maximise your media opportunity through the title!
