Anyone else getting tired of the doom and gloom of the news lately? Recession, lay-offs, newspapers and magazines folding, bail-outs....and the companies (AIG *cough cough*) who spend the bail-out money on luxury items and raises? I know I sure am (and we've given you some tips on how to keep your spirits up despite it.)
So in the spirit of watching the transition from print to digital publications become more clearly evident for those who lived in denial for so long, I decided that to avoid having positive news about your newest products falling on deaf ears thus slipping through the cracks, that another blog post was in order regarding some of the pet peeves blogger's have when it comes to pitching them. I'm sure you've read the more serious Do's and Don'ts of pitching bloggers that I wrote and had published on the Bulldog Reporter's The Daily Dog or even my interview with several mommy bloggers on what works and what doesn't in pitching them? If you haven't, you should. So we polled blogger's on Twitter this morning to ask them what bothers them most when being sent PR pitches; here's what they said:
Christine Mielke, beauty editor of Temptalia: The only thing that frustrates me sometimes is when they follow up so soon - like a skincare product and 1 week later. I probably haven't started testing within 1 week & certainly haven't finished by then either!
Chloe Findlay-Harder, blogger at BlissTree.com: Pitching me something that obviously has nothing to do with what I write about.
Latoicha, blogger of Luxe Tips: Assuming or asking me to write a review just because you send me a product. I only write about what I love!
Eileen, blogger at MissWhoever You Are: One PR folk asked to review my post prior to posting. I didn't like that. At all. I got the facts from you now let me write!
Shannon McKarney, blogger at ThreeSeven: Some variant of "write about me and if I like it I will link back."
Amybeth Hale, blogger at Research Goddess: "I've got a site/product/service you might be interested in." If you know me, you will know for sure what I'm interested in.
Bella B., blogger at Beauty Xpose: A straight press release with absolutely no pitch/note attached.
Dina Fierro, blogger at Eye4Style: My ultimate pet peeve: "Can you please post this?"
Cybele, blogger at Cybele Says (and Christie Ingram, blogger at Pretty by Critty agreed): "Here's a product that would be perfect for your site" and it turns out to be a category we don't even cover, like fashion!
Jordana Bruner, blogger at Clutch 22: "Hi Ms. I really like your blog." Is that why you BCCd me in a blast mail? Have you even visited my site?
Are you guilty of any of these? Hopefully not. As Jason Chupick told me, "I became acutely aware of how bad most pitches are, once I started PRNewser." Remember, it's about less talk and more interaction. It's about public relationships. And it is always about them (their readers) and less about you.
Bloggers do you have more pet peeves you want to add? Sound off in the comments.
Posted by Shannon Nelson on March 16, 2009 8:39 AM
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Comments (2)
Seeing these all bulleted out made me think of even more!
Agree with Dina - "Please post..." Are you kidding me? I actually responded to one of these once b/c I kind of knew the girl who sent it (wanted to be helpful). Her response was something to the likes of "You should feel privileged to be on our list."
I understand that sometimes it's hard to take a quality approach to every pitch and it's sometimes out of the PR person's control. However, I think if you're going to continuously pitch the same list, it's a waste of time if you don't try to get to know who you're pitching. At a minimum, add these blogs to your RSS reader.
I really like your phrase about "public relationships." Especially with bloggers - it's all about interaction.
Thanks!
Posted by![]()
Jordana |
March 16, 2009 11:41 AM
Posted on March 16, 2009 11:41
What about sending something without any press materials...? That's a bit of a pain
Posted by![]()
Leann |
March 16, 2009 11:46 AM
Posted on March 16, 2009 11:46