<p>I get dozens of PR pitches a day. </p>
<p>It stinks, but I simply don't have enough time to respond to all of them between all the writing, editing, and gadget testing I do all day.</p>
<p>One way to guarantee I won't respond to you is to get my name wrong. In the past, I've been called everything from Sam to Stephanie.</p>
<p>But what's even worse than screwing up my name is screwing up the publication I work for. </p>
<p>Today a company called Xsync sent a pitch to the entire SAI team titled, "Walt Mossberg likes us. What about Techcrunch?" (It looks like the sender forgot to change the subject line. The body of the email says Business Insider.)</p>
<p>I'm not sure what Xsync is. But based on a brief skim of Mossberg's review, it has something to do with QR codes, a pointless and dead tech trend, so I probably don't care. However, Mossberg does, so you can read about whatever Xsync is <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324734904578243730813204830.html?mod=wsj_share_tweet">here</a>.</p>
<p>My lesson to PR people: Take a few extra seconds before sending a pitch and Google the writer you're pitching.</p>
<p>Then ask yourself a few simple questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Is this something the writer normally covers? If not, which one of his or her colleagues would cover it? (If you can't answer either of these questions, don't send the pitch.)</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Am I spelling the writer's name correctly?</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Do I have the correct publication name?</span></li>
</ol>
<div><span style="line-height: 19.5px;">Simple, right?</span></div>
<div><span style="line-height: 19.5px;"><br /></span></div>
<div><span style="line-height: 19.5px;">You'll save yourself a ton of time in the future. More importantly, you won't annoy a writer you might actually have a story he or she will be interested in down the road.</span></div>
<p>And yes, I realize I'm drawing attention Xsync simply by writing about its lazy pitch. But it's Friday. (I'm going to stick with that excuse.)</p>
<p>Here's the e-mail Xsync sent SAI, along with my super witty reply.</p>
<p><div class="image-container" style="width:610px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/50f9c2ebeab8ea3a53000000-1010-575/badwaytopitchtwo.jpg?maxX=610" border="0" alt="bad pitch" width="610" /></div><p class="source">Screenshot</p></div></p>

How Not To Pitch Business Insider

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="REUTERS/Carlos Barria" title_caption="Seven tips to get to an empty (electronic) mailbox." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53d930c9ecad0420691ab52d-960/mailbox-8.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53d930c9ecad0420691ab52d-1200-924/mailbox-8.jpg" border="0" alt="mailbox" /></a><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Carlos Barria</span></p><p class="caption">Seven tips to get to an empty (electronic) mailbox.</p></div><p></p></div></div>A disorganized email inbox can be one of the most frustrating aspects of any job.</p>
<p>There's nothing quite like the feeling of hopelessness and anxiety that comes with logging on for the day and seeing a <span>quadruple digit number of</span> unread messages.</p>
<p>Fortunately, there are some fairly easy ways to keep on top of things. Below, we've outlined seven simple ways to get to inbox zero and enjoy the blissfulness of a clean slate - at least every once in a while.</p>
<h3>1. Get a head start when you have a free moment.</h3>
<p>Instead of checking Facebook for the umpteenth time while waiting in line or sitting in a cab, take a few minutes to lighten your email load. You can start by knocking out emails that you can tell from the subject line won't take long to read and respond to. This will make it easier when you actually do sit down to respond to emails.</p>
<h3>2. Set aside a specific time to answer emails.</h3>
<p>Because other tasks can seem more pressing, we often kick the email can down the road and leave it for later. The result is that unread messages can pile up, and the only way to catch up is to set aside a dedicated time when you are focused solely on whittling down your inbox. </p>
<p>Developer and entrepreneur Matthew Paulson <a href="http://www.mattpaulson.com/2014/03/my-gmail-productivity-hacks-getting-to-inbox-zero-every-time/">likes to take 15 minutes</a> after he finishes lunch each day (a time he says he's usually not very productive), while Southwestern Consulting cofounder Rory Vaden recommends <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3005981/delete-7-tips-getting-your-inbox-zero">making one evening a week a "work night"</a> focused on email.</p>
<h3>3. Decide quickly whether you need to respond.</h3>
<p>One very easy way to minimize the time you spend on email is to not let useless emails linger. <a href="http://mashable.com/2013/10/10/inbox-zero/">Mashable's Zoe Fox</a> suggests immediately archiving emails if the sender, subject, and opening sentence suggest the email is not one worth reading.</p>
<p>Meanwhile investor Bill Liao <a href="http://content.sanebox.com/100-email-hacks">suggests immediately sorting new emails</a> into one of three categories: Answer now, Read and delete, and Star for later. This allows him to keep things moving while saving e-mails that need a longer response for a more convenient time.</p>
<p>If an e-mail needs only a short response, do it immediately and get it out of the way.</p>
<h3>4. When you do respond, keep things short and sweet.</h3>
<p>Save time by getting to the point of your response as quickly as possible.</p>
<p>The makers of the email organization app Sanebox <a href="http://content.sanebox.com/100-email-hacks">explain</a>: "Replying to a lengthy email with a couple sentences or even just a few words is NOT rude. If you can effectively convey your response in just a few words there is absolutely no reason to add fluff. Don't even say 'Hi, so-and-so'. A simple 'no' will suffice and will earn you lots of respect."</p>
<p>The company also recommends creating canned responses to frequently asked questions when possible and ditching unnecessary responses like "Cool." and "Thanks."</p>
<h3>5. Don't get caught up on email offers and newsletters.</h3>
<p>Rather than having to work around recurring email offers from retailers or updates from services like Facebook, Paulson <a href="http://www.mattpaulson.com/2014/03/my-gmail-productivity-hacks-getting-to-inbox-zero-every-time/">recommends setting up junk mail filters</a> that will automatically redirect them away from your inbox. This way, they're not in your way, but can still go back and look at them anytime.</p>
<p>Also, <a href="http://mashable.com/2013/10/10/inbox-zero/">Mashable's Fox says</a>, you can sign up for a free service like <a href="https://unroll.me/">unroll.me</a> to easily unsubscribe from blast emails you're not interested in receiving anymore.<br /><br /></p>
<h3>6. Don't add to the clutter by sending unnecessary emails of your own.</h3>
<p>A surefire way to fill up your inbox is to ask someone an open-ended question that will lead you into a back-and-forth exchange that plays out over several days and tens of emails.</p>
<p>Instead, don't be afraid to give someone a phone call, or, if they work in your office, just walk over to them and have a conversation. This way, you get the information you need in a timely fashion and avoid excess email time.</p>
<h3>6. Give yourself an email break when you go on vacation.</h3>
<p>One of the best parts of taking a vacation is having the opportunity to unplug for a bit. On the downside, doing so usually means you return to a mountain of unread emails when you get back.</p>
<p>That's why Vaden suggests <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3005981/delete-7-tips-getting-your-inbox-zero">leaving your out-of-office reply in place</a> during your first day back at work. "The magic - which I discovered by accident - is in adding one extra day to it so that you legitimately have a catch-up day to get your feet back under you when you return," he writes.</p>
<h3>7. Don't add to the clutter by sending unnecessary emails of your own.</h3>
<p>A surefire way to fill up your inbox is to ask someone an open-ended question that will lead you into a back-and-forth exchange that plays out over several days and dozens of emails.</p>
<p>Instead, don't be afraid to give someone a phone call, or, if they work in your office, just walk over to them and have a conversation. This way, you get the information you need in a timely fashion and avoid a game of email ping-pong.</p>
<h3>8. If all else fails, give yourself a clean slate.</h3>
<p>If you simply can't see yourself ever getting through all the emails you have left, Paulson <a href="http://www.mattpaulson.com/2014/03/my-gmail-productivity-hacks-getting-to-inbox-zero-every-time/">recommends</a> that you "declare inbox bankruptcy" by archiving all non-pressing emails.<a href="http://www.mattpaulson.com/2014/03/my-gmail-productivity-hacks-getting-to-inbox-zero-every-time/"><br /></a></p>
<p>"You'll get a fresh start at inbox zero and you'll likely hear back from anyone that you really needed to respond to anyway," <a href="http://www.mattpaulson.com/2014/03/my-gmail-productivity-hacks-getting-to-inbox-zero-every-time/">he writes</a>.</p>
<p>Then it's up to you to follow our first six steps to get back to zero.</p>

8 Tips For Getting To Inbox Zero

How A Scammy Male Enhancement Company Set An Important Precedent For Online Privacy

<p><div class="image-container float_right"><div class="image"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5240850a69bedddc578b4577-1200-924/prem-watsa.png?maxX=480" border="0" alt="prem watsa" width="480" /><p class="source on-image"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53zsdW33wTw">YouTube</a></p></div></div>The letters of intent have been signed - <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackberry-offer-to-go-private-2013-9">Canadian firm Fairfax Financial has offered to buy BlackBerry for $9 a share</a> and take the company private.</p>
<p>That means the BlackBerry is now in the hands of Prem Watsa, a man known as the 'Warren Buffett of <keyword id="6356687" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="canada">Canada</keyword>.'</p>
<p>Watsa has been Chairman and CEO of Fairfax Holdings since he founded the company in 1985, and he <a href="http://www.thestar.com/business/2012/01/23/prem_watsa_meet_the_man_behind_the_rim_shakeup.html">controls half the voting rights</a> of the company. That likely means he's amassed a great fortune - reports put it in the billions - but it's hard to pin down exactly how many billions because, as the Toronto Star put it in a 2009 profile, Watsa is <a href="http://www.thestar.com/business/2012/01/23/prem_watsa_meet_the_man_behind_the_rim_shakeup.html">"the richest, savviest guy you've never heard of."</a></p>
<p>In short: Watsa does not care for fame.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for him, his story and track record are attention grabbers. Watsa was born in Hyderabad, India in 1950 and was orphaned as a boy. He shined in school despite his misfortune, and ended up studying chemical  engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology. For business school he emigrated to Canada <a href="http://www.nasdaq.com/article/canadas-warren-buffett-from-india-inspired-prem-watsa-sells-in-review-cm248046">(with $8 in his pocket, say some reports)</a> and attended the University of Western Ontario.</p>
<p>When the time came, Watsa modeled his holding company after Warren Buffett's. He's a die-hard value investor and one of his kids is named after famed value man Ben Graham.</p>
<p>After founding Fairfax Watsa's own legend grew. He predicted the 1987 crash, Japan's crash in the 1990s, and the most recent global financial crisis - though he may have been a little early on that one <a href="http://www.financialpost.com/analysis/columnists/story.html?id=9c0066a6-8473-4615-9b48-d47d4e1846b6">(from the Financial Post):</a></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">In 2007, Fairfax, Canada's largest property and casualty insurer, posted profits of US$1.095-billion compared with US$227.5-million in 2006. In 2008, as more bad news hit markets everywhere, Fairfax's profit soared to US$631.8-million in the first quarter.</p>
<p>Since then Watsa has warned about <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-27/watsa-who-models-buffett-sees-housing-bubble-corporate-canada.html">Canada's housing market</a> and won big on an investment in the <a href="http://www.gurufocus.com/news/212509/after-success-in-ireland-prem-watsa-eyes-national-bank-of-greece-investment">Bank of Ireland.</a></p>
<p>Good stuff, but Watsa's still come up against some major headwinds in his career, and one of them has a name - Dan Loeb.</p>
<p>Back in 2006 a bunch of hedge funds were shorting Fairfax - Jim Chanos' Kynikos, Steve Cohen's SAC Capital, and Loeb's Third Point. Loeb was especially graphic about his feelings on Watsa in e-mails, and when Fairfax sued this group of hedge fund managers, Loeb's comments were made public.</p>
<p>Check this one out, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/11/us-hedgefunds-fairfax-loeb-idUSTRE72A4NH20110311">from Reuters:</a></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"Prem Watsa bend over the hedge funds have something special for you," Loeb wrote in the June 25, 2006 email to Adam Sender, the founder of Exis Capital, whose hedge fund also was "shorting" Fairfax -- that is, looking to profit from a decline in its shares. A little later that day, in an email to a consultant who was doing research for some of the hedge funds wagering on Fairfax's fall, Loeb wrote: "die, Prem Die!"</p>
<p>Not the most professional thing to say about a fellow CEO, but it's more than likely Watsa's shaken off by now.</p>
<p>With BlackBerry, he has bigger fish to fry.</p>

You Searched For "E mail sender" and got 4 results

How Not To Pitch Business Insider

Steve Kovach

8 Tips For Getting To Inbox Zero

Aaron Taube

How A Scammy Male Enhancement Company Set An Important Precedent For Online Privacy

Nate Anderson, The Internet P…

Meet Prem Watsa, The Blackberry Suitor Known As The Warren Buffett Of Canada

Linette Lopez