Pitching Your Story to an Editor? Avoid These 3 Phrases. Send a pitch that editors will actually read.

At a conference recently, a group of entrepreneurs asked me how to get an editor's attention by email. They wanted coverage for their business, and, in true entrepreneurial style, they demanded specifics. How long are effective emails? They asked. How do they start? What do they contain? But here's the problem: There's no one way to succeed. There are, however, many specific ways to fail -- and by understanding how things go wrong, you can better understand how to make them right.

Related: 5 Tips on How to Pitch Your Startup to Get the Press You Need

That's why I just dug through my deleted emails and unearthed three pitches that represent three very common problems. Below are direct quotes from them -- sorry if you wrote one of these! -- and what every entrepreneur can do to avoid their fate.