So maybe I blogged too quickly. Maybe I was a bit harsh.
After driving home, having dinner and putting my kids to sleep, I’ve had some time to think about it.
And I’m still annoyed.
For a couple of reasons.
First of all, this pitch was several pages long when I printed it out. It included a lengthy interview with the client that had no relevance to what I blog about – it was mainly about ‘innovation’ and other buzzwords we put to rest in 2000. So I wouldn’t have sent it to a journalist, let alone a blogger.
Here’s a tip folks. All of this discussion on pitching bloggers vs. pitching journalists misses on key point. The way most PR people pitch journalists is wrong and counterproductive and only serves to piss off the journalist.
Don’t write pitch letters. Write letters! Make phone calls. Find out what the journalist or blogger is interested in and if you think they might be interested in your client, drop them a friendly email. I know this is beyond the imagination and ability of the average PR account manager, but maybe that’s why so many journalists hate dealing with PR people.
Second of all, since this pitch obviously went over like a lead balloon in the blog world, the agency will probably figure ‘oh well, so much for pitching bloggers.’ No chance at all that they might take a good hard look at how they go about approaching bloggers.
There, now I’ve made myself very happy I don’t work in an agency anymore.
Technorati Tags: blogging, /pr, /public relations
David speaks, Mason says Mmm-hmm.
All about pitching. All common sense. Not to worry, you should still be annoyed, David.
It’s funny – one of my comments at the BlogOn panel was that PR people have no supervision, and that the junior people are running around willy-nilly. Do you think an AS oversaw that letter – a real AS, not a dotcom inflated AS? Probably not.
When we fix the overinflated titles and egos at agencies, and have people with clues, this type of crap will likely end.