- Starting with a subject line that includes 21 words
- Trying to spark coverage by diving into complicated stock holdings and land deals that would take journalists half-hour specials to explain
- Screaming an opposing candidate is putting someone at risk without offering an interview with one of those people supposedly at risk
- Putting at the top with stars “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.” In Media-ese, that often translates into “FOR IMMEDIATE TRASH.”
- Making an email 10 paragraphs, forgetting many reporters now read off small smart phones, not stadium-sized monitors at their desks
- Not including pictures or video
- Answering follow-up questions by responding with an answer that everyone knows is a non-answer and expecting it to be accepted
- Calling out the other side for playing politics because everyone knows both sides are engaged in the same game
- Saying “let me check into that” when reporters ask for documentation to prove one of the claims in a press release
- Not realizing there are better and more subtle ways to persuade the media to cover issues that play toward your candidate’s strengths other than sounding like nothing more than a political mouthpiece who studied spinology in college
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