I see both sides of the PR pitch game everyday. I regularly get PR pitches sent, asking me to write about a product or a website. Sometimes I will write about the product, sometimes I pass. Writing a good blog post does take a bit of time, thought and energy while juggling 2 children. I would like it if PR companies who send blanket PR pitches would take the time to think about the work behind a blog post they are asking to be written. I have been asked to do contest and giveaways for such and such company. That is good and fine and I do like to make a lucky winner very happy, however, it is work on my part. That is NOT to say I don’t like writing my blog, however, if you want me to pitch your product, consider approaching me or other bloggers with some respect. A .99 cent iPhone App? Come on really? Basically for a valuable link to your product, you feel it is only worth .99cents????
Just a suggestion, consider offering bloggers a link in return for their time, or offer to pay for some ad space for a duration of time, or offer them another type of an incentive. But please don’t just send out a pitch and see if someone will do it for free.
Now for the other side of the coin. I have regularly pitched other bloggers for product reviews for companies. However, I do take into consideration the time and energy it takes for the blogger to write a good post. When I pitch a product, I try to focus of building an online relationship with a blogger. I follow them on twitter, I re-tweet their content, I add a link to their blog from the business’s blog in exchange, I fan their Facebook page and I regularly communicate with them. I even go back months later, read their blog, see how they are doing and catch up on their latest blog posts. In the end, I feel better about the relationship I have built for the company I represent and the blogger. This is how to build on-line relations. Not a blanket PR pitch to see who will write a blog on a product or a website for FREE!
Funny, in thinking about the PR pitch topic, I wondered how other bloggers felt about it. Here is a really helpful article about how bloggers feel about PR Pitches, PR TIPS- How to Pitch a Mommy Blogger.
This comment from the above link, said it in a nutshell about PR pitches,
Erin: “Depends on the pitch. I don’t mind pitches that are sincere and make sense for my blog (or podcast, or show). They are welcomed as long as they are researched. The rest gets thrown into the spam folder.”
So with a few of the these ideas, think about how to best approach a blogger when pitching them. Honestly as a blogger, I really do not like it when a PR rep says, “Oh if you write about this product, it will bring you more traffic.” NOT TRUE, I have done that and no, it did not bring my blog more traffic.
If you are a blogger, how do you feel about PR Pitches? I would love to hear. Or if you are a business, what are you ideas for building relationships with bloggers?
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I can’t believe the number of emails I get every day that start with “Dear Blogger”, or just “Hi”. It’s not hard to find my name on my blog! And then the pitch goes on to tell me how excited I should be to share blahblahblah with my readers, they will want to know about it, and how about if I post it and email the person back with my link.
Um, no. Like you said, if you can’t provide me with a product to review, then at the very least, offer to do something to help me. Offer to tweet or Stumble my post, link to me from your Facebook page, SOMETHING.
They don’t work for free. Why should I?
I totally agree!