Your opening made you look like a mass-mailer

Your opening made you look like a mass-mailer

"Dear Sir/Madam, I hope this email finds you well, I am writing to offer..." The reporter's spam radar lights up before sentence two.

Think of it like a sales call that opens with three throat-clears. You hang up.

1. Skip the warm-up entirely. Reporters want the answer, not pleasantries.
2. Open with the response to their actual question, in your real voice.
3. Save names and niceties for the signature, not a flowery intro.

The fastest way to look like a human expert rather than a spam blast is to behave like someone who respects the reporter's clock. Get to the point first.

Try this today: Look at your standard opening line. If it could begin literally any pitch, delete it and start with the answer instead.