Rich at The Passionate Foodie has the right idea. He has started a Monday rant column on his blog. Every Monday he picks something to rant about. I think it is a great (and therapeutic!) idea.
Begin rant:
It really bothers me to see some practices in the PR world. In today’s communications universe, where PR and marketing are so closely related that they spill into each other, I should not be too surprised about these issues, but non-the-less I find it a little frustrating. Being in the PR industry myself, I sit and shake my head in amazement at some of the e-mails that come my way. Huge kudos to the Bad Pitch Blog for exposing ridiculous pitches.
For example, now that I am a blogger and I am listed in media databases such as Cision, I receive product pitches. That is as it should be, it is the whole reason I allowed myself to be listed there. However, when it is less of a “write about my product” and more of a “go buy my product and then go write about it” approach, I get a little cranky.
And when I politely ask if they have any samples for review, the answer I get back is one of shock! How dare I ask to try out the product that they want me to write about in my blog! I should go spend the $69.99 on my new brand of tequila, or travel to japip to pick up a bottle of wine only sold at 3 retailers in the U.S.
No, I will not go buy your product just because you told me to. If you want to send me a sample, that’s fine. But I have no compelling reason to go find your product, which for most of the ones I have seen require me to go to specialty stores or websites to go find these things.
I also get invites to launch events, which I always appreciate. Then I read further and see that the event is in California!
People, there are bloggers everywhere! Most of the time you can figure out where they live by reading their blog! Do not have time for that? (no really, I can understand that) Then when you put my information down on your spreadsheet in the first place, make a note of what state I am in. Ask me! I will point you in the right direction, I promise!
1 day ago
