The flak emails that get the biggest laugh in the office – not in a good way – are all ones we didn’t read in the first place.
Interest is piqued when the follow up email lands titled: “We would like to recall the email that began….”
Two thoughts:
A) You can’t recall it. We’ve got it.
B) You’re drawing our attention to something we otherwise would probably have missed.
If we had read the first email, we might have thought you’d made a hash of it. The follow up removes all doubt.
Then you are in City diary territory. The recall email might as well be titled: “We would like you to mock us.”
A flak might ask: Why would a hack want to make my life a misery over a press release they didn’t even care about in the first place?
Some answers: Because we are bored. Because journalism is less fun that it used to be. Because we are small, spiteful children.
If you keep that in mind, you won’t go far wrong.
