Bad pitches. Will we ever learn?

I see a new round of posts from bloggers complaining about bad pitching practices by p.r. people.  We've seen them before, and the latest come from Greg Verdino and CK, although CK in her follow-up post talks about a positive pitch.

Both are right to be frustrated, from what I can see.

I don't know how long it will take for public relations people to get it.  And remember, this comes from a person (me) with more than 30 years in the p.r. agency business.

To a p.r. person, blogs are another form of media.  Like each form of media, blogs have their own needs, requirements and etiquette distinct to blogging.  Public relations people need to understand this and behave accordingly.

Mass pitches are not well-received by bloggers.  (Reporters and editors at mainstream media don't always like them either, if they are poorly targeted.)

Bloggers don't like to be used.  Some will talk about a product or service or book or whatever, if they honestly feel it's of interest to their readers.  But the decision is theirs, and p.r. people have to learn to accept the word "no."

Bloggers don't like to get pitches or information that is totally irrelevant to what they normally write about.  If I write about marketing, media and p.r., don't pitch me about a new camera or a book about pet grooming.

Don't think you can buy bloggers (at least most of them) with freebies.  Offer stuff to us, if you want, but don't assume or expect that if we take it we will write wonderful things about your product.  If we do, good for you.  If not, that's the way it goes.

Too many of my fellow public relations professionals received poor training when they began working in this field.  Many weren't told to be aware of and respectful of deadlines, for instance.  And not to oversell.  Chances are your new gadget is not the best thing to happen since sliced bread, despite what your boss or your client tells you.

A word to my fellow bloggers... There's nothing wrong with p.r. people pitching you and hoping to reach your readers with information about their clients' products.  It's marketing and you, as a media outlet that can inform and influence readers, are fair game.  It's your choice, totally, as to how you deal with pitches and information you are given. 

Be frustrated with those who pitch you poorly, but respect those who manage to do it right.  Even if you don't write about their client's sliced bread, please understand what they're doing is part of the bigger marketing game.

Update 7/3/07:  Copywriting Maven Roberta Rosenberg has a good post on the subject.  It's from a few days ago, but I just noticed it.  Click here.

Comments

[CK]

"Be frustrated with those who pitch you poorly, but respect those who manage to do it right."

Good stuff DR the PR. I was so pleased to write about a very positive pitch experience I had and was able to do so here:

http://www.ck-blog.com/cks_blog/2007/07/good-pitches-th.html

[Greg (er, Scott) Verdino]

Great post, David. It's great to hear your perspective, given your PR background. G

[David Reich]

I do understand the frustration or annoyance of getting lots of unsolicited pitches in your inbox. Possibly a note prominently on a blog advising p.r. people you do not accept unsolicited pitches might cut down on the inbox load... or not. Might be worth a try, though. If anyone does it, I'd be curious about the results.

[Lewis Green]

David,

My publications and PR experience come into play when I am pitched. But, as I just said over at CK's, I don't see a problem. I receive about one pitch a week, and almost all are professional.

Like most pitches, I ignore about 75 percent of the ones I receive because it isn't on my rader today. But I always write back and encourage the senders to continue to read my blog and to send me their pitches when they think they are a good fit. Nothing unusual about that process. It's how it is done and always has been done.

If what read correctly what other bloggers are calling a problem with pitches, I suspect both the blogger and the PR specialist are talking past each other. Both may need to educate themselves on the process or create a process that works for them. But don't expect the pitches to change. It is what PR folks do, and most do it professionally.

[Lewis Green]

Damn. The first sentence in the third graph should read: "If I read correctly what other bloggers are calling a problem with pitches,..."

[David Reich]

Lewis, I hit SEND or POST too quickly too, before I realize there's a typo or a word missing. It's why I don't text message.

I get perhaps one pitch every 2 - 3 weeks -- I guess I'm not in the big time yet. But I know bloggers who say they get 20 or more every day, which I can certainly see as an annoyance. But there's always that great DELETE button, right?

As you say, p.r. people are just doing their job. But they should have a better understanding of the media they're pitching and from what I'm hearing, many still don't have a clue. Hopefully they'll learn.

[Lewis Green]

David,

See my response to CK's response (confused yet). I once was the editor of a popular magazine with over 1,000,000 readers and we didn't get anywhere near that many pitches. I get about the same number of readers as CK. Something else other than readership is driving that large number of pitches. I don't get it.

[David Reich]

Lewis, I commented on your comment at CK's. It's copied below, to avoid jumping around...

"When one takes a freebie, that says to PR folks around the world that you are interested in being pitched." -- Lewis.

Well, it may send that signal to p.r. folks at first, but if someone (blogger or editor) keeps taking freebies and never writes about your product, the p.r. person will eventually drop them from the list.

I like CK's idea of having clicks count toward a donation to charity. But if someone prefers to monetize their blog for their own personal gain, that's their business. It will arouse a certain level of suspicion in my mind, though, re credibility. Not so at all, if it's going to a charity.

[Lewis Green]

All true. Thanks David.

[Copywriting Maven]

David, thanks much for the mention of my recent post on PR pitches. My background is direct marketing, not PR, so the whole general pitch thing - activity without a direct, measurable results - is a bit of a mystery to me. But as a direct marketer it just makes plain old good sense to pitch only those with a solid match to your client's product/market. Plain silly and a waste of everyone's time and good humor to do otherwise.

[David Reich]

Roberta, just as in other areas of marketing, with p.r. it's about targeting. It seems that some p.r. people who don't yet understand blogging don't yet know how to target, so they hit everyone and anyone with their pitches.