Jeremiah has some words of wisdom for PR folks who want his attention.
Here’s a few tips on how to get me to get interested in your clients work. Don’t pitch me. Instead, get to know me, and build a relationship, leave comments on my blog, join the conversation. Find out what I’m interested in. Read my blog, examine the keywords, read the about page, my focus is on Web Strategy, find out what that means! I usually ignore the generic press release, it gets deleted quickly, consider a personal message. Consider not pitching a press release or announcement at all, why not point me to relevant blog posts from the client (non marketing ones) that I’d be willing to add to my blog. Always remember that I’m thinking of my readers first, so if the content is not going to help them, I’m not going to point to it –think backwards.
Bingo.
Link.
Here’s the bumper sticker:
Don’t Pitch. Participate.
The big problem I forsee is that it takes time. And, while the end result is well worth the time, time is money.
Clients see technology speeding things up, but in a lot of ways its requiring PR people to “slow things down.” More outlets, more opportunities, more customization. Yet few are managing client expectations accordingly.
To recap: Jeremiah is right. But client expectations need to change. We make that happen. We define them. Then we manage them. Then we exceed them.
What’s your take?
It is especially tough when you are a start up going the DIY path. You may have the greatest product since sliced bread (and of course I think we do), but it is difficult to invest that time when you have competing demands, a small staff, and a million relevant websites you can contact.