This is the fastest way to annoy a journalist with your email pitch

We’ve all had a journalist get a little salty with us for just doing our jobs. Maybe they didn’t like that you pitched in the first place, or maybe it was the obligatory follow-up that drove them to send a terse reply. It happens.

But if you want to take an already-crotchety journalist from 0 to 60 in one email, all you have to do is ask for a read receipt

Check that box and you can almost sense a journalist fuming from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. For them, your pitch can make them feel like you’re their boss, peeking over their shoulder to make sure they are doing  work at your request.

That’s just not how a relationship between journalists and PR should work.

You might say that your boss or client wants to know more than just how many pitches you sent – they want to know how many were read. Here are a few ways of explaining to leaderships why read receipts are  such a bad idea: