Anatomy of the Perfect #highered Email Pitch: @USC #SelfieClass News Release

Most Email Press Releases S*ck

Pitching stories to editors, reporters or bloggers is a difficult art. I know, because, as many news professionals, hundreds of bad examples end up in my email box every month.

So, when a press release actually manages to get me to explore the story it pitches, that’s not only an exception but a great example of what should be done more often.

This is what happened yesterday when I got an email from the University of Southern California‘s news team.

I have to admit that the inclusion of “Selfie” and “Class” in the subject line is what caught my attention first. I teach an 8-week online course on social media marketing for higher education, so I’m biased on both topics.

When I opened the well-designed email, the YouTube video player front and center — with a video of less than 3 minutes — pushed me to explore a little bit more.

So, I clicked – and started to watch.

As you can see, it’s not quite the usual video: more a photo essay with audio.

Since I thought this 3-minute video was a good investment of my time, I decided to scroll down further the email and watch the other shorter video interviews from 3 USC faculty members providing more context to the whole idea of selfies as cultural artifacts.

The fact that the press release includes quotes and photos of each expert is also really smart.
Had I decided to focus my blog post on this class, it would have been very easy (and super fast) to incorporate a couple of quotes.

In the fast pace information world we all live in today, news releases should tell stories before they even try to pitch stories. They should get the attention and ignite the interest of their recipients first. Only then can they provide the building components necessary to the news professional.

Well-done, USC!

So, what’s so great about USC News Release? See it for yourself!