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PR pitch discussion

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Thoughts on Bloggers and Public Relations | Maris Callahan. These days, pitching media means pitching bloggers. For some topics, a blogger may even be the more influential expert. Still not all publicists have refined their blogger pitching methods. Three years ago when my coworkers discovered that I had a blog – or maybe I sent it to them, begging that they become my first five readers – I became the point person for blogger relations for some of my clients. Since then I have become aware of a lot of disparities between public relations professional and bloggers. Many PR pros think bloggers sit around on our couches all day lazily typing on the Internet. There are a lot of things that I wish I could tell every blogger and single public relations professional from my seat on both sides of the fence.

For PR Professionals: There are thousands of bloggers and each one probably has a very different agenda and goal. For Bloggers: Know the difference between editorial and advertising. If you’re a publicist, what do you wish every blogger knew? The Bloggess vs. Brand Link Communications: The Real Problem with the Email. Yesterday I received an email not at all unlike the dozens of similar emails I receive each day that went something like this, “The Kardashians did something. Write about it on your blog.”** Clearly the sender of this email – who thinks my name is “There” – has never been to my blog or they would have seen that I blog about parenting, Disney, and myself not hosiery, celebrities, single moms or Armenian-Americans. When I receive a pitch that is a bad fit from a PR firm that I know and respect such as Fleishman-Hillard, Weber Shandwick, or the fabulous ladies of Litzky, I respond with a friendly email that it simply is not a fit at this time, and we both carry on with our days.

But yesterday Brand Link Communications sent this same ridiculous email to someone who did not just go on with her day. Jose, a PR rep at Brand Link Communications, hit “reply all” and called Jenny a f****** b****. At this point, Jenny did what any amazingly funny and irreverent blogger would do. Yeah. Forget Jose. Why Bad PR Blog Pitches Don’t Work and Relationship Building Does. Yesterday, one PR firm got a harsh lesson in pitching in the new media era when BrandLink Communications sent a typo-ridden pitch to one of the most popular moms who blog, Jenny Lawson a.k.a. the Bloggess. When she used her typical voice and style to respond that it wasn’t a fit for her, a VP there accidentally replied all by calling her…. Well, I will let you read the whole debacle here (expletive warning, and they aren’t all from Jenny). This prompted a non-apology from the VP, in which he said she should have been thrilled to be relevant enough to be bad pitch-worthy. She responded by telling him to “please stand by for a demonstration of my relevancy.”

Wil Wheaton (1.8 million followers) and author Neil Gaiman (1.6 million followers) were tweeting about it, and that alone is millions of impressions. This isn’t the first time a PR person pitching a blogger or an online ad campaign just clearly doesn’t get the space, the blogger, or how to properly pitch in new media. And then the PR guy called me “a fucking bitch”. I can’t even make this shit up. I know I just posted a few hours ago, but I’m posting again because you all know how dedicated I am to writing about PR pitches (both good and bad) and this one just can’t wait. I got a form letter email pitch (more than one, actually) about a Kardashian sister being spotted in pantyhose. Actual line from email: “The Kardashian’s once again show they are right on trend, and this is on (sic) Mommy’s are all going to want to follow.”

As I do with all unsolicited form-letters about celebrities-doing-shit-no-one-cares-about, I replied with my usual, simple response: me: And here’s a picture of Wil Wheaton collating. I got a response from the woman who sent the original email: Hi there, That wasn’t very nice. That sort of email might be threatening to a blogger who makes a living by getting advertisers who go through PR companies, but I’m not, and (as far as I know) neither are most people.

I wasn’t going to respond, as she did have a point, but then a VP of the company (Jose) hit “reply all”. Blogger Outreach Changes the PR Timeline Forever | PR 2.0. Social Media Moms (9) Social Media Moms (7) Social Media Moms (7) Social Media Moms (7) Social Media Moms (7)