I received the Lent pitch and deleted it without reading beyond the subject line. A lot of us do that. We delete quickly and mercilessly. Or worse, we take time to read and then we mock these poorly targeted pitches on our blogs, Twitter or Facebook.
Mostly, I delete. But depending on my mood, the pitch, the PR person or agency behind the pitch*, I might take a moment to write back. I might include information on the types of pitches that will resonate with me. Or I might send a quick note, "Thanks for thinking of me. I'm going to pass on this, but feel free to touch base again in the future."
On more than one occasion, when this bad outreach has come from a brand I like and trust, I've written or even picked up the phone to say, "I know you can do better than this. What's going on? Can I help you?" This "reach back" has lead to interesting conversations, new relationships and, sometimes, even a new client.
Which is not to say I'm encouraging every mama who's had a blog for at least six months suddenly going around pitching herself as a social media expert for hire. Frankly, I cringe at the thought.
But if you're preparing to move in that direction, you might want to pause before you hit delete or send out that snarky tweet. You might open some doors instead of slamming them shut.
It's not that you will reach out, instantly become someone's hero and walk away with a sweet paycheck. You probably won't. In fact, you may get a door slammed right back in your face (see this old marketing post, about 10 paragraphs in, for one precious example).
Still, you may may find someone who is willing to talk with you or listen to your words of wisdom as long as you don't charge them, which, like writing for free sometimes has a pay-off. And sometimes doesn't**, at least not a tangible one.
Just as I wrote early this year that all feedback is positive, I guess if I pull out my rose-colored glasses, I can say all outreach is good.
No wait, I'll need rose-colored glasses a bottle or two or wine before I could say that.
End note: Just noticed I started a post with this same title back in December 09. Same basic idea, but slightly different direction. That unfinished draft contained a link to Ciaran's post over at , R-E-S-P-E-C-T. What your PR means to me.
*Of course, the corollary is that when I see the names of other reps or agency I delete without reading.
**By the way, if you talk to a brand rep for a few minutes or even a few hours over the course of several months, do not refer to that person, agency or brand as your client. Clients mean contracts. Clients mean pay or at least a spelled out pro bono arrangement. Don't risk embarrassing yourself and ruining your reputation before you even have one.
Peruse my best marketing to mom bloggers posts listed chronologically by topic at MomImpact (and take a moment to sign on, as well).
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