Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York

As the editorial world gets smaller and smaller, it seems PR pitches are lending a bit of arrogance (and ignorance) when submitted to the online media world lately. I, unfortunately, have been on the receiving end of many of these half-witted pitches (and often tweet about my frustration over them.) I can only speak for myself, but I'm pretty sure my fellow bloggers would agree on these points when it comes to PR firms pitching what they call a "collaboration" or "partnership" on behalf of their client.

How NOT to pitch a collaboration/partnership with a blogger:

1. Never say it's a "win-win." Because most times the only person who will be winning (besides Charlie Sheen...sorry couldn't help it!) will be the client and not the blogger. Win-win is car salesman speak for--you're about to get screwed over and I will laugh all the way to the bank.

2. Don't underestimate our knowledge of SEO. Telling me "Linking to my client's website will be a great way to get traffic to your site!" only tells me you think my blog was just born yesterday. Chances are, if you are pitching me, then my blog ranks pretty high in the search engines. There's a reason for that Einstein.

3. Don't assume we don't know the difference between editorial and advertising. The subject often says, "We'd like to collaborate with you!" and the pitch subsequently follows with how many different ways you want me to mention your client: on my Facebook fan page, on Twitter and the best way to position your client in a blog post. Only to end with, "We look forward to a successful partnership with you!" For this, I usually reply back with my advertising rates. That's not a partnership, that's an advertisement--and it's not free.

4. Don't misunderstand collaborating as a one way street. If at any time in a pitch the words partnership and collaboration are used, then I want to not only hear what the benefit will be for your client, but what the benefit is for me. Both words infer teamwork which tells me we are both going to work together for our mutual benefit. If that's not what you are looking for (the part where you do legwork too) then please don't use either term. 

5. Don't assume that because you are an A-List Magazine or brand that I will froth at the mouth. I've been pitched by some of the best (and even my most favorite) beauty magazines asking to partner with me. Their idea is that I will re-publish one of their articles and in return, I will be in their good graces. The idea that they would re-publish one of my posts (because it is a partnership after all, right?) is met with, "Oh, haha, I'm sorry. We don't do that." Hmm, well neither do I. And then they are usually stunned that I declined to engage in such a partnership.

Hopefully amist some of the snark you understand where I am coming from. It is happening far too often, many times by interns just misunderstanding semantics. But in PR, semantics are everything. The way we position and angle things are important, not only for our client, but towards the online media we are hoping to engage in a relationship with in order to eventually strike up a real partnership. So the next time you are creating your PR pitch, remember what NOT to do...it may just be me you are pitching.