The story locked inside a 9MB attachment

The story locked inside a 9MB attachment

A consumer-electronics brand pitched a glowing review opportunity. The email said "full details and assets attached" — and attached a 9MB PDF plus a zipped image folder. Reporters on deadline don't open mystery attachments from strangers; many spam filters don't even let them. The pitch read as a virus, not a story.

The news was trapped behind a download nobody would risk. Friction killed a story that, on its merits, would have run.

We stripped it bare. The pitch itself now carries the whole story in the body — three short paragraphs, the key spec, the angle. Assets live behind a single clean link to a press kit, clearly labeled, no download required to understand the news. The attachment went to zero.

The re-pitch was 140 words with one link. A gadgets editor replied in eleven minutes: "Finally, a pitch I can read on my phone." It earned a hands-on review and 4 syndicated pickups.

Lesson: every attachment is a door the reporter has to choose to open, and most won't. Put the story in the email and the assets one safe click away — friction is the cheapest way to lose a placement you'd otherwise win.