If you’re a business owner or a marketer, email is one of your top ways to keep in touch with customers and announce news and special offers. How much do you use email for PR, though?

Most senders don’t think of how effective email is in expanding brand awareness. Below, we’ll look at some easy tactics you can start using to boost both your PR and email results.

Why use email for PR: is it worth it?

With more than 4 billion email users worldwide, this channel’s power is indisputable. Billions of dollars go into email marketing every year, with tremendous returns: $42 for every spent dollar.

The public relations industry is equally strong. Statista found that the global PR market was worth 88 billion dollars last year. There’s a reason companies invest in PR: although its returns take longer, it works.

Now, how can you use both of these channels to the benefit of your audience, while also boosting your brand awareness?

PR professionals use email daily to pitch and keep in touch with journalists. Let’s see how they can use it to make the most of the coverage they get – and get more attention from the media.

You may already be using email for PR

PR revolves around managing your company’s reputation by using a variety of approaches and channels. Does that include email? You bet it does. Your email newsletter is an excellent way to increase the visibility of your business.

While newsletters are a form of email marketing, they also count towards your overall PR. Showing up regularly in people’s inboxes with useful content builds your brand’s reputation. People will begin to think of you as a helpful, trustworthy source. Be consistent and that level of trust will grow and influence your sales.

For this approach to work in the long run, keep in mind these two things:

• Your newsletters should be non-promotional. Focus on educational content that helps your audience solve a problem. Talking incessantly about your products and services will only cause people to unsubscribe.

See how Inspire manages to write a newsletter that’s all about helping their audience.

• Be punctual and send your newsletters regularly. If you decide to send one email a week, stick to that. Is that something you can’t sustain? Send twice or even once a month, but make sure to be in your customers’ inboxes like clockwork.

Bonus tip: Email lists don’t stay fresh forever. Consider validating your contacts a few times a year to ensure your newsletter makes it to the inbox.

Communicate all company news via email

New products and features, events, awards, webinars – they’re all newsworthy bits of information you can share with your customers and prospects. Issuing a press release is still an effective PR approach. However, you can do more than that to disseminate the news.

In 2021, companies act very much like publishers. The idea of owned media isn’t new. We have blogs, press pages and social media channels where we produce and publish content regularly. Think of email the same way. It’s fast, personal and reaches a larger segment of your audience when compared to social media.

However, there’s a fine line between communicating company news and sharing self-serving content. The key is to always keep your audience in mind: why would they care about your latest feature? How does your new product help them? This allows you to turn your news into information that’s more relevant to your subscribers.

Look at how Readymag shares news in a way that makes sense to its readers.

Bonus tip: When sending news via email, let your subject line communicate an immediate benefit. Then, your preheader can include words like “new” or “launch” to let people know you’re announcing something they’ve never seen before.

Use the power of your email list to land more media coverage

As a PR Manager at ZeroBounce, part of my job is to pitch compelling stories to journalists. It’s not easy and the competition is insane, especially for large publications.

One thing that’s made a big difference in my response rate is mentioning the ways we can help promote a story that features us. So, at the end of every pitch I write, I make sure to let the writer know how we plan to support them in spreading the word about that story.

Try doing this in your next pitch. If you have an email list, mention that you plan to include the article in your newsletter. You don’t need a lot of subscribers to impress: just the thought shows the writer how much you appreciate and respect their work.

Furthermore, the media coverage you get most likely makes for great newsletter content! It’s a win-win-win – you, the publication that featured you, and your subscribers all benefit from this simple approach.

Bonus tip: Share every piece of coverage you get on social media, too. Tag the writer and the publication, and thank them for including you in their story.

Keep your visuals consistent

The visuals you use are essential to the public perception of your brand. While your copy should tell a story, your visuals should complement it in a way that’s in line with your brand.

So, if you’re not sure that your company follows a cohesive esthetic style, take a look at your channels. Next, analyze your emails: would you be able to tell who the sender is just by looking at the images?

Here are some details to pay attention to:

• Your logo isn’t too large, but it’s visibly displayed in your email.
• The color palette of your pictures is within your visual branding guidelines.
• Overall, there’s a clear esthetic connection between your emails and the rest of your channels.

Being easily recognizable matters not just for your branding but also for your engagement and email deliverability. The sooner someone can tell that an email is from you, the fewer chances for them to delete that email or mark you as spam.

Bonus tip: This may seem obvious, but double-check what your “From” field looks like. Is it the name of your business? If it’s a sales agent, do they mention that they work for your company?

How will you start using email as a PR tool?

By now, you probably agree that email and PR go hand in hand. The two channels support each other and allow you to build a solid brand that people trust. Also, both channels take consistent efforts to work. One email won’t make a difference, just as one mention in a magazine will not ensure enough visibility.

So, think of a long-term strategy for both your email and your PR goals. Apart from newsletters, you probably send other types of emails. How can you approach those emails with a PR mindset, as well? Be creative: sometimes, minor twists in your copy will make your email sound less sales-oriented or transactional.

Find your ideal tone of voice for everything you want to communicate and you’ll be way ahead of your competitors.