Public relations Question:

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While the press release is written in third person, the pitch letter allows for direct communication between the publicist and the journalist. It is an opportunity to pique interest, form a relationship, and persuade. Bad pitch letters begin with boring formalities or promotional hype. Good pitch letters begin with a striking opening that immediately alerts the journalist to an interesting story possibility (e.g. if you're promoting sunscreen: "In the time it takes to read this letter, seven new cases of melanoma will be diagnosed." Or, if you're an accountant: "Americans who were unaware of a new tax break needlessly paid more than $5 billion in extra taxes last year -- and time is running out for them to get that money back."

The pitch letter has one purpose: to persuade the journalist to read the attached press release. Personalize it, keep it short, sign it, and clip it to the front of your press release.