Last week I wrote five tips for PR/marketers pitching bloggers. I had two objectives for writing those tips. The first was completely selfish, I'd really like to see a decrease in the number of irrelevant, uninteresting pitches I receive. The second was more altruistic, I want to, in my small way, help ease the relationship (and potential relationship) between bloggers and marketers.
The relationship between bloggers and pr people is so new the boundaries, rules and codes of conduct aren't set yet. Some bloggers want to be pitched, some don't. Some think press releases and pitches are potentially interesting pieces of information they might want to pass onto their readers. Others think pr pitches are nothing more than spam.
I've had my share of bad pitches and even pr spam but as fun as it is just to complain about bad pitches and watch from the sidelines as bloggers and pr folks spar it doesn't really improve anything does it? While I'd very much agree that it is the responsibility of the PR industry not to spam bloggers it would benefit bloggers to be more proactive in helping the PR industry figure out what is and isn't spam, what is and isn't appropriate in terms of pitches, etc. I'm willing to bet if you lay out your ground rules for being pitched most in the PR industry will respect them.
So I encourage bloggers to implement Blog Pitch Policies and very much encourage PR folks to respect them.
Here is my very brief outline and the Consuming Louisville Blog Pitch Policy. Do with it as you will.
The relationship between bloggers and pr people is so new the boundaries, rules and codes of conduct aren't set yet. Some bloggers want to be pitched, some don't. Some think press releases and pitches are potentially interesting pieces of information they might want to pass onto their readers. Others think pr pitches are nothing more than spam.
I've had my share of bad pitches and even pr spam but as fun as it is just to complain about bad pitches and watch from the sidelines as bloggers and pr folks spar it doesn't really improve anything does it? While I'd very much agree that it is the responsibility of the PR industry not to spam bloggers it would benefit bloggers to be more proactive in helping the PR industry figure out what is and isn't spam, what is and isn't appropriate in terms of pitches, etc. I'm willing to bet if you lay out your ground rules for being pitched most in the PR industry will respect them.
So I encourage bloggers to implement Blog Pitch Policies and very much encourage PR folks to respect them.
Here is my very brief outline and the Consuming Louisville Blog Pitch Policy. Do with it as you will.
1. Do I want to receive PR or Marketing pitches?
If the answer is no then do not pass go, do not collect $200, do not send a pitch as this blogger does not want to be pitched.
2. Types of Pitches
If the answer is yes a brief explanation of the kind of pitches you do or do not want to receive.
3.Personal Responses
Detail what if any response PR/marketers can expect to receive from you.
4. Editorial Choices
Description and clarification of your editorial policies.
5. I'm a Person, You're a Person
Personal preferences for being contacted.
Pitching Consuming Louisville
Do I want to receive PR or Marketing pitches?
Yes.
Types of Pitches
I enjoy receiving press releases, email notices and tips that help make Consuming Louisville even more useful to its audience. If you or one of your clients has something cool going on in Louisville I would love to hear about it.
Consuming Louisville primarily focuses on independent Louisville businesses, artists and events. This doesn't mean that I never write about chain restaurants or corporate events but I do so very infrequently. If you or your client is a national chain and you have a Louisville specific event going on (say a special for Derby) then by all means let me know about it. But if you have an event or special that is happening in every city your chain has a location in then I probably won't post about it.
Personal Responses
I receive many press releases and email notices. I cannot possibly respond to every single one of them. So while I may not personally respond I think we can have enough faith in the email system to assume that I received your message. Sending the same message to me multiple times just increases the likelihood that I'll start ignoring all messages from you instead of paying more attention.
Editorial Choices
I do not write about every press release or event notice I receive. I'm the sole writer on Consuming Louisville and if I don't find think my audience would find something interesting or relevant I will not write about it. Just because you think I should write about something doesn't mean I will. If I have chosen not to write about something it is absolutely not up for debate.
I'm a Person, You're a Person
Emails that sound like press releases, press release attachments without actual email messages and other communication that could have just as easily been sent to and from a robot do not hold my attention. Since I'm a real person and you're a real person I'd encourage you to make our interaction person-to-person conversation instead of an email blast to a marketing list. I like people, I don't like email marketing blasts.
If the answer is no then do not pass go, do not collect $200, do not send a pitch as this blogger does not want to be pitched.
2. Types of Pitches
If the answer is yes a brief explanation of the kind of pitches you do or do not want to receive.
3.Personal Responses
Detail what if any response PR/marketers can expect to receive from you.
4. Editorial Choices
Description and clarification of your editorial policies.
5. I'm a Person, You're a Person
Personal preferences for being contacted.
Pitching Consuming Louisville
Do I want to receive PR or Marketing pitches?
Yes.
Types of Pitches
I enjoy receiving press releases, email notices and tips that help make Consuming Louisville even more useful to its audience. If you or one of your clients has something cool going on in Louisville I would love to hear about it.
Consuming Louisville primarily focuses on independent Louisville businesses, artists and events. This doesn't mean that I never write about chain restaurants or corporate events but I do so very infrequently. If you or your client is a national chain and you have a Louisville specific event going on (say a special for Derby) then by all means let me know about it. But if you have an event or special that is happening in every city your chain has a location in then I probably won't post about it.
Personal Responses
I receive many press releases and email notices. I cannot possibly respond to every single one of them. So while I may not personally respond I think we can have enough faith in the email system to assume that I received your message. Sending the same message to me multiple times just increases the likelihood that I'll start ignoring all messages from you instead of paying more attention.
Editorial Choices
I do not write about every press release or event notice I receive. I'm the sole writer on Consuming Louisville and if I don't find think my audience would find something interesting or relevant I will not write about it. Just because you think I should write about something doesn't mean I will. If I have chosen not to write about something it is absolutely not up for debate.
I'm a Person, You're a Person
Emails that sound like press releases, press release attachments without actual email messages and other communication that could have just as easily been sent to and from a robot do not hold my attention. Since I'm a real person and you're a real person I'd encourage you to make our interaction person-to-person conversation instead of an email blast to a marketing list. I like people, I don't like email marketing blasts.
Leave a comment