The four words that make me delete a PR pitch immediately

Hard no.

I get hundreds of daily PR pitches. And though I obviously can’t feasibly use everything, I almost always hold onto pitch emails in case there is any future application; I use my inbox like a search engine and like to have all the archives at the ready.

Sometimes a pitch really hooks me right off the bat — I’m in, I’m liking everything I read, it’s squarely in my beat and aligned with my coverage interests and plans. And then suddenly, it takes a sharp turn and I’m OUT.

This is the kind of pitch that I just don’t want anywhere near my inbox — I find it insulting and downright cringey — so it’s an instant DELETE. Don’t act on it now, don’t save it for later — just nope forever. I’ve said this before, but I’ve still been getting them a lot lately, so it seems a good time to repurpose this important tip.

The kind of PR pitch I reject immediately is one that uses this four-word no-no:

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