The perfect story pitch: a 12-point formula

From Matthew Barby at Find My Blog Way:

As a general rule, all of the content pitches that I craft will adhere to the following guidelines:

1. The body of the email mustn’t exceed 190 words.
2. The email must addresses the recipient by their name.
3. It must give a very brief intro into who I am and who my client is (if I’m pitching on their behalf).
4. The pitch section should get straight to the point of what the content is and take up no more than two paragraphs.
5. Never send over the content in the pitch email. Wait until you’ve had the go ahead from them.
6. If the content is very complex, use bullet points to get the idea across in a short way.
7. Give an emotional hook for the recipient to want more information.
8. Every pitch should be unique and add a personal touch if possible.
9. Explain how publishing the content will be mutually beneficial.
10. I should have a good understanding of what the recipient publishes to ensure that the content is completely relevant to them.
11. Email subject should be no longer than 55 characters and should encompass the content idea within it.
12. Get straight to the point and don’t use buzzwords!