Tag Archives: pitching

Yes, Virginia, Your E-Mail Pitches Do Still Make a Difference

Global MarketI’ve written before about my belief that the near constant bashing of media relations has to stop, and how yes, despite how much I love social media and how much I believe in the true good of what it is doing in the PR and marketing business, there still is a time, place and relevancy to traditional PR tactics, such as developing strong relationships. Today, I’m going to give kudos to another one those of traditional tactics that the “gurus” love to bash, but if done right, can still have a major impact in our business: the e-mail pitch. Continue reading

Now I know how “the spammed” feel

I’ve seen it. The template pitch. The “cut this person’s name out <here> and insert next person’s name <here>.” Outlook usually has this cute feature where any new text in a forwarded e-mail turns a different color making any changes obvious. I cannot stand when people carelessly forward along identical e-mails. Even more when they make it so obvious. It makes me wonder how many of these e-mails editors, producers and reporters receive… And I shiver.

Below is an e-mail I received from a guy we’ll call Jason. Jason is a very nice man. He came into my office, asked for some business contacts I knew and said he’d be happy to refer me any clients he had looking for PR. Great! All the greatness ended when Jason sent me this e-mail: Continue reading

Not Mine. Not Yours. Ours.

Couple shaking hands with businessmanIt’s no secret that clients hire us for our contacts.  That our relationships are often the bait that gets them to sign on the dotted line.  But at the end of the contract, the course the agency’s relationship with the media has taken while representing said client has lasting benefits or consequences for both parties. Continue reading

Guys…we’re scarce, use it to your advantage

Two women touching a businessmanOk, so to address this first…maybe there is something to the whole women’s intuition thing…(touché Kate).

As many of you know, earlier this week my colleague and PRBC founding blogger Kate Ottavio posted a great article addressing the male:female ratio in our industry, noting it’s a great chance to meet a girl.

While undoubtedly true (have you seen the Male:Female ratio of the PRBC family and of our get togethers (and yes @dannybrown — it is sheer coincidence)) there is a definite chance to use this to our advantage gents. Continue reading

The Fallacy of “Blogger Relations”

Male against financial journalsI’ve never really had a problem being a little unconventional with my thinking, so I’m going to go ahead and say what some in the PR business may consider blasphemy: To me, the term “blogger relations” is a bunch of BS.

It’s not that I have a problem with actually reaching out to and effectively working with bloggers. I am completely for that, and embrace those types of relationships each day with my work. My problem stems from the fact that those of us in PR have even had to take the time to create a new term for the type of relationships and media outreach we should have been doing all along with EVERY type of media, not just bloggers. Continue reading

Your Copy Sucks: How to Pitch a Blogger

(CC) flickr // websuccessdiva
(CC) flickr // websuccessdiva

Do you want to know an inside secret on how to pitch a blogger?

Oh man. Lean in close. No, closer. That’s it. Almost.

You have to talk to them like they’re a human being.

I know, it’s crazy. It doesn’t have much to do with the length of your pitch or the “Hi” instead of “Hello” in your salutation. It doesn’t have anything to do with how many bullet points you have and what Cool Blogger Slang you employ. You just have to talk to them like they’re an actual person, which, gasps all around, they are. (Another crazy fact: journalists are also people. Maybe you should give this a shot with them too?)

Just one rule: talk like a person, treat them like a person. Here’s how to do that.
Continue reading