I genuinely think this might be one of the most helpful editions I’ve ever written. This is a behind-the-scenes look at what happens to a journalist’s inbox when dealing with a massive news event - namely, the Budget!
This newsletter may not be the most helpful to you today but do save it and loop back to it again in 10 or eleven months time when the next one rolls around… or when there’s another massive news day. There's talk of a spring statement next year so this would be of use then too. Let's dive right in. Today we’re analysing my inbox on Budget day.
In total, I received about 650 emails on Wednesday when John Healey delivered his maiden Budget in the Commons (wait till you find out how many I actually opened)!
Last year I received a similar number of emails (that was the first year I actively monitored my inbox on Budget day)
Now, I hasten to say that not every single one of those was about the Budget. There was still other news happening but the overwhelming majority were linked to it.
It won’t surprise you to hear that there was a bit of comment trickling in from people in the morning before the Chancellor stood in the Commons to deliver his statement. These were the types of quotes that worked well for being slotted into our live blog which was running from 7am. Some senders pointed out that they saw I was involved with the live blog and sent comments for inclusion. That personalisation was nice and noticeable. (At this point in the day, I was still on top of my inbox, opening things as they came in… that’s no longer the case by 12.30pm).
Trawling through the mass of emails I received, I’m going to talk about the subject lines that I think worked best and whether sending reactions away from the inbox was a good idea. Let’s get into it.
SUBJECT LINES:
Most subject lines on the Budget included the word itself. This is a good start. I preferred the ones which put it at the beginning of the subject line. Here are some examples:
BUDGET 2026: XYZ
Budget response: XYZ
Budget: XYZ
It was also quite helpful when comms pros immediately put what industry they were sending reaction from at the start of a subject line. This might have been teachers, hairdressers, publicans, landlords etc etc. Not many senders did this but one example looked like this: “Hairdressers could be next to shut up shop as Budget fails”. This is helpful because if I were to be writing a piece on the beauty industry then one quick skim of the subject line would have told me who would be reacting to an announcement in the email.
Several trade bodies, associations and firms led with their brand name in the subject line. What I’m going to say next may hurt but not all of them have the name recognition they may hope they do. I wouldn’t lead with a name unless you’re 100% sure a journalist would have heard of you before. Otherwise, you’re assuming a journalist knows that XYZ firm deals with, let’s say, defence. If you see what I mean? If it’s a household name then by all means lead with it but avoid this method if there’s a chance a journalist won’t know what the firm does at a quick glance!
I also got A LOT of emails with very, very long subject lines. On Budget day, reporters are attending briefings, press conferences (thanks Reform UK!) and taking constant calls which means there's a lot of working on the move. Make sure subect lines are short enough to be comfortably read on mobile formats.