9 dreadful opening line errors that will doom your pitch

A veteran journalist combs his computer desktop trash bin for the worst of the worst, offering Do and Don’t guidance for PR pros seeking coverage.

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The press release started with: “Hey – what’s up?”

I added it to my collection of awful opening lines in publicity pitches. Then I deleted it from my inbox.

As an editor at the Chicago Tribune for many years, I received thousands of press releases. The good ones made their points clearly and quickly, and they sometimes led to news stories.

The bad ones were excruciating—especially their opening sentences—and they made my list of terrible examples.

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