Dear PR Agency
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06 Sep 12
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9 Comments
Alternate Title: My friend, Amy, is BRILLIANT!
I feel it is quite obvious that my blog doesn’t speak about fashion or food. I’ve tried very hard to keep a tight focus, because I know what my small, yet loyal, following likes and I know the people who land here after searching Google find what they were looking for and often poke around, reading additional articles.
This is why I find it hard to respond to your pitch emails in a professional and dignified way when you ask if I’d like a sample of BBQ sauce to blog about, or if I’ll promote your client’s Facebook contest where people are voting on fashion posts. Not only do you ask me to do these things for free, you often ask me to jump through hoops to get to do them.
My first bone to pick is your lack of homework. If you really love my blog and want to work with me, take a couple minutes to scan my first page of posts and read my about page. I promise, if you do this for the bloggers you contact, you’ll end up pitching less, and getting better results because you’ll end up working with a group of bloggers whose readers fit your client’s target audience.
Secondly, keep in mind that what I do here on this blog is a part of my job. I don’t work in a doctor’s office or teach in a school. I work from home. I choose this not because I’m lazy and wish to work in my PJ’s. I do this because I’m a homeschooling mom of two boys, my career allows me to work from anywhere, and the home office suits my lifestyle. You would never dream of representing a brand for free. Why should I? For the record, I have, on the rare occasion the brand was doing something charitable that pulled my heart strings, or when the product I received was something I had planned to buy and wouldn’t have to spend money on if I received it as pay. But, I always weigh these opportunities, taking into consideration the time I’ll spend on them, and the value of the product I’ll receive. Otherwise, my time is more wisely spent designing websites and making money that will pay bills.
There and good and bad ways to approach a blogger. My friend, Amy, hits the nail on the head in her Open Letter to Brands, and Kelby’s post, Marketers Who Understand Blogger Outreach is a community sourced collection of the best marketers in the industry. I’m so grateful to these women for stepping up and saying what needs to be said, for supporting bloggers and educating marketers. They’re giving us voices and inspiring us to write things like this.
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9 Comments
Yes Ma’am! I love this. You said it.. it’s about homework. Take the time, you will absolutely be rewarded with the right bloggers for your pitches if you do.
Nikki’s recent brilliance… My Audience Does Not Have Hot Flashes and How Media Companies Can Do Better at Blogger Outreach
Great post! As someone who mainly receives mass emails, I was nodding my head. Looking forward to meeting you at Blissdom!
Kate, aka Guavalicious’s recent brilliance… Thursday Indulgence : Red Rose Tea
You too! I am so glad BlissDom is close to home this year.
If more bloggers stood up and shared this kind of info, PR agencies would stand up and take notice.
Well said!
5 Minutes for Mom’s recent brilliance… Make a Personalized ‘Home’ Sign with Your Family Photos (Craft Tutorial)
I think Kelby and Amy’s posts are encouraging that. Nikki had a great one up this morning about a bad pitch she received this week.
While I’m not about to feature every bad pitch I get, I think we do need to speak out about this sort of thing. How else will brands and agencies know?
This is so true. I try really hard when pitching brands to get reviews to be careful how I word things and what exactly it is I’m asking for.
brianna’s recent brilliance… snap 365: august 29-september 4
Honesty and clarity. Ahhhh! Fresh air.
The only things I ask for is respect and common sense.
Respect – Email me professionally by at least using my name. Ditch the gimmicks and just tell me what you want and need from me. I’ll offer the same honesty in return.
Common Sense – I don’t expect you to be a regular reader but just a look over the About Us page will tell you what you need to know about our family and blog topics. Menopause products, dog bones and anti-aging products don’t even remotely fit.
It’s that simple for me.
Cat Davis’s recent brilliance… GIVEAWAY | We’ve Got a Boxed Mac & Cheese Showdown Going On. Who won?
YES! We make our about pages so easy to find, and so full of information. Mine introduces my blog, and what it’s about, then me. I do this on purpose. LOL I also have a PR friendly page that explains exactly what kinds of brands are a good fit for me.
Those two would take someone about 4-5 minutes to look over. That’s a whole pitch and 2–3 back-and-forth emails they could avoid/save time on.
It’s not so much that the lame pitches waste my time. I could just delete. But, I feel like these people need to be educated.