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Great article!! you should do this as an e-book pdf maybe? with awesome info graphics and whatnot. Let me know if you need any help!
// jesse
"Hi Jim,
Hope you are well – I read the blog a lot and want to make sure you are getting our news – ok to add this address to my media list?
P."
My response: "Sure thing, just don't send me boilerplate press releases. If you think it would interest me, send me a summary and tell me why you think it pertains to me."
I'll take those kinds of pitches. But the minute they send me a cut/paste press release I'll put them in my spam block.
Thank you.
But a couple of things I'd note...
Don't think of a single mainstream media, either. Just as you note here - know your audience. The trade magazine folks need a very different pitch than their mass media colleagues. They have different audiences and different experience levels.
Mainstream people have passion, too. But often, their beats are so wide-ranging that they can't be as plugged into all the worlds they might want to be. This is especially true for TV and local news people. If you're not pitching to a trade magazine, you're pitching to a relative generalist. I might love the cool tech gadget you're pitching, but I just spent three days focusing on foreclosures. Catch me up.
In theory (and not always reality), I just hit delete. I won't call you out publicly, even if you deserve it. I don't talk as much to people who cover my beat from other media organizations, but that's no reason to try to piss me off. I try to be fair, even if I don't really want to. (And if you think I'm not, explain to me your concerns like an adult.)
And I won't take free stuff. Even if I really want to.
But don't cross me either - I'll still hold a grudge if what I thought was an exclusive is on someone else's air, front page, or yes, their blog.
Brilliant. Are there mainstream bloggers?
@Ted McEnroe
first you say:
In theory (and not always reality), I just hit delete
then:
"But don’t cross me either - I’ll still hold a grudge if what I thought was an exclusive is on someone else’s air, front page, or yes, their blog."
Ted, if you are of the "I just delete" attitude, I am wondering why you would "hold a grudge" because someone pitched to another blogger / writer. No disrespect intended but, it sounds like you are ok with taking what you want but, not totally open to giving. Did I miss something?
I love what Garyvee says here: http://twurl.nl/m3nuk0 .
I also liked the Pitching ME section. Idea: what if every blogger maintained a Pitching ME post, tagged it as such, and it was aggregated to PR people can use it to filter who to pitch to? Pull instead of push...
I'd love to help make that happen...
I had asked you to move from your Tom-rant from earlier today to concrete advice and you did. Props!
Twitter: @elliottng
One of the challenges in pitching to bloggers is finding them. Cision maintains a good database of off-line media and their large on-line counter-parts but misses many of the important bloggers. Alltop.com has created a great resource pulling together categories like "fashion" for those who are in pitching mode.
@lindasherman
Also, I published a free ebook on this subject for anyone who wants to dive in deeper. "the art and science of blogger relations" is available for download on the right hand column at briansolis.com
Please keep up the beneficial work!
I will see the difference in this way - an ideological machine. Mainstream press, to some extent, does not possess ultimate freedom of speech, reporters are asked to reflect the interest of the media organization. While bloggers, on the other hand, do not have such burden. Their stance on the issues can change from day to day basis, they will not be blamed on their inconsistencies on issues.
Enough saying bull-shit, you got a great idea of 'pitching', this should be the way bloggers get connected, and we grow into a network similar to international media organizations like AP, Reuters. Bloggers are like correspondents :-)
@Brian - please feel free to share the link. : ) Your materials are top shelf.
Here's another example I wrote yesterday:
http://www.chrishambly.com/content/how-communicate
Great article. As a PR practitioner, I appreciate that you give us some tips on what to do, instead of just focusing on what not to do when reaching out to bloggers. Thanks.
including the twitters
but bloggers need to get over themselves :)
i think the conversation etc is valid
but
people ... you blog.
i'm not sure how that qualifies you as deserving a higher quality of service that the real world receives?
that isn't going to come out smoother than that : /
but really
yikes
Absolutely! I think the first one is key. Bloggers are passionate folks. If you can uncover, WHY they blog, you are much more likely to make a better pitch.
-Shama
There's really a huge difference when you really actively communicate and friend with someone online. I think that since the evolution of the net, we're no longer laughing at others who say, "my friend on the net.." and so forth. It's no longer a wall. The internet has now become a door, and because of that, we can no longer play by the same rules or simply connect with someone simply to market something. We have now become more accessable and therefore, there are more rules and personal space issues. We have to realize that the net is no longer the space between two people. It's no longer a separation of people. This was a great post. Now I just got a new idea for a post myself about the internet in how it's changed from a wall to a door. I think that makes sense, right?
In fact, if you were to transpose your sentiments back onto mainstream media, I’d venture they’d have a similar laundry list of pet peeves and advice for those who pitch. And I think they found out a long time ago that politeness isn’t necessary.
It’s important to remember that while the blogger pipeline to the world is indeed different than the traditional pipelines, everything has been done before.
I don’t know this to be true, but I suspect we’re all living through Blogging’s more innocent age simply by virtue of timing and fate, and somewhere in the future, blogging as a form of media will be as mainstream as old line media, just a little different.
Look at your personal journey, Chris.
Think about who you were as a blogger a year ago and who you are today. Are you more aggressive, less forgiving, more demanding? Remember when you were happy that ANYBODY cared to read what you have to say? Do you have the time to be as personal and warm as you used to, or are you more discerning about who you give your time to?
And so Blogging in general will go. There will always be the disruptors whose business and scope of influence requires them to mature into the mainstream only to make room for more disruptors.
Stay as long as you can, my friend.
Having been involved in both mainstream and not-so-mainstream media over the years, I have to say that one of the key differences between mainstream media and bloggers is that mainstream media's bottom line always has been, and always will be dictated by advertisers.
How does this affect the way media captures and covers events? Simple. They cover the stories that will get them the most readers/listeners/viewers and that makes their advertisers happy. The boilerplate press release is their friend because there is no filtering required, they just cover the stories that are sure to be most popular (read: what everyone else is covering).
Bloggers and not-so-mainstream media (like community access stations) are not held by the same rules at all, and that means the approach HAS to be different. When I worked in community access TV, I was boilerplate press release pitched continuously (20 - 30 a day), and I rarely responded to any of them. What I did respond to was personal contact (phone, email) and someone telling me why their story was unique.
In light of the emerging "blogger media" empire, mainstream media has some serious adjustments to make over the next little while if they hope to compete.
So, while there might be some best practices for pitching, you have to work on a case-by-case basis or you're set up to fail.
Thanks for sharing what you're looking for in a pitch... maybe we'll see more of the same from others (a la Brian Solis' "help us help you" post). I'll certainly be sharing this with colleagues!
http://twitter.com/z11 believes that courting bloggers is far more affective than main stream media.
1. News (i.e. actually new or new angle)
2. Relationships with journalists/editor/bloggers
3. Relevance
The blogosphere is so damn noisy because it's down the media food chain. Apple embargoes "news" with chosen reporters so the news breaks in the NYT (not so much the blogs) the day or product releases or during Macworld. Blogs jump on the "news" and amplify with opinion and what-not.
Madonna graces the cover of Vanity Fair in photos spreads shot weeks/months in advance by her favorite shooter. The coverage coincides with album release. Blogs run pictures of her walking from her trainer's gym to the car.
Big established players and brands roll out information much differently from the rest of the noisy attention-starved pack of companies. These companies often try to appeal to bloggers to get their first "ink" or "placements." Hence, the avalanche of content (infinite storage and news holes on the Web, right?) from some PR practitioners. Not much different from spam.
Mainstream press can be a filter, and has limited space to publish every single story. Blogs? Have at it. And the bloggers who really break significant news, more power to them.
Bloggers just happen to be in the business of niche. So if you have a story you want written about that involves strawberry yogurt in 10 oz jars, your story is more likely to be a hit with StrawberryYogurt.blogspot.com than the Washington Post Food Guide.
Thanks, everyone for your perspective.
What are the other tips we should be spreading?
It really helps to write in the blogger's (or journalist's, for that matter) writing style and voice. It's not easy and takes a lot of practice, but the closer to their style you are, the more likely they are to like it.
It's akin to a face to face conversation filled with mirroring. If you're mirroring their movements, they tend to start agreeing with you. If you mirror their voice in writing, they feel some sort of kindred relation.
There's also being a member of their community. It's not easy and takes time, but before you pitch you may want to comment on a recent post-- IF you have something worth while to say.
And this doesn't work with everyone, but some of the best bloggers out there open up their posts for conversations, so point it out in your pitch. Point out "I wonder what your readers would have to say?"
There's so much advice, tips and tricks out there, but the base mantra is "Get to know them." It's not too difficult. Pretend you're at a bar and just start chatting about anything they find interesting and eventually bring up your stories.
Also, Chris, here at Wetpaint we can dig up "Nonprofit and organizational experiences with social media that have made an impact" stories whenever you want.
See? Slick right? Eh.
But, where do you draw the line between bloggers and journalists? Barriers to access? Platform? Ownership? Isn't this distinction becoming increasingly blurred everyday? WHO are these "bloggers" we're talking about?
The reason I bring this up is because by lumping bloggers together -- and giving tips that people should apply across the board -- seems counterintuitive to how bloggers want to be treated: as individuals.
I don't say this to discount all the advice you're giving, because I'm sure most of it applies most of the time... but just something to think about before we start rattling off more generalizations.
Connie Reece was part of a terrific panel at BlogHer Biz two weeks ago in NYC. Here's a short clip on YouTube where she talks about the approach: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kPFmgQR6Q4
As for me, I really wish peeps would stop leading with "Dear Blogger" which is only slightly more personal than "Dear Demographic."
It's not about ego, it's about companies stopping by to slap a flyer on my windshield hoping I'll call for a window washing estimate.
There are also links to other free ebooks at www.briansolis.com that include: PR Tips for Startups, The Art and Science of Social Media and Community Relations, The Social Media Manifesto, and The Art of Listening and Engagement Through Social Media. (all on the right hand side of the homepage.
Cheers!
a. Enterprise reporting / sourcing
b. Good PR pitches
c. Reading newswires / blogs
Can someone take the first crack?
Will anyone admit "b" and how it went down?
Speaking of ego, it's also easy to get caught up in the blogstar illusion status (phrase courtesy of Rohit Bhargava). Don't let it happen.
It's a give and take. Keep bringing the important issues to the forefront, Chris!
Several bloggers gave us great feedback about our newly redesigned newsletter and asked that we send it to them regularly. Both sides walked away feeling warmer about the other. And I know that the next time I do have a story, I have new contacts that I can reach out to in a real context, not just a blind email.
Liked your article. I have a feeling that you may have gotten one too many email's that start with something like: "Hi, Billy Mays Here....Let me tell you about this blog...." (in case you don't watch TV. This is Billy Mays: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mays).
Think OxyClean, etc...
--Marco
As an entrepreneur, I can say that many of us are so near-sightedly passionate about our products that it's hard to understand why everyone wouldn't jump at the chance to blog about our "game-changing/paradigm shifting" Web 2.0 Post-it Note application.
When you're an entrepreneur (or PR person) who's new to the game and don't know "the rules" (some of which I'm sure I've broken in the past;), forwarding a press release with no personal tie-in may seem reasonable.. but taking the time to get to know the blogger and approaching him in a genuinely personal way is the way to go.
Thanks for documenting "the rules" Chris.
Pitching mainstream writers is very much like pitching bloggers. You need to know what they cover, what they personally find interesting and tailor the pitch accordingly.
And as nonprofit person now, I'm looking at Facebook for starters as a way to increase attendance at our events. A lot of other people are doing it so it's off it a slow start.
I have to say -- I hope most bloggers are polite. They don't have to be nice, but polite is good. Otherwise, I'll get a little twinge of the eye when I run across the blog until I forget the rudeness.
@chris Thanks for the warm welcome...
@sue murphy Oooh, now you hit one of my favorite topics. Don't lump the individual journalist with the media company. I don't spend much time thinking about whether this could be the story that attracts the biggest audience for the advertisers. My boss might, the accountants might, but most journalists I know don't. In fact, I've met bloggers far more concerned about how many hits something will get -- in part because it's a lot easier to measure immediately. As far as the pitch goes, if you win me over, you're probably in pretty good shape. (But maybe I just charm my bosses better than most.)
One observation - PR people who don't deal with social media regularly have no idea how to approach bloggers and are generally apprehensive towards the medium. Not really surprising, but still somewhat startling when you think about how much information they are missing out on.
fyi my shirt says
We Will Not be silent
g-oh
I have quite a niche, my passion is minority of the Deaf community. CODA, which means (hearing) children of deaf adults. I can't believe how creative I can be in the blog and have now just begun my journey. I am so moved here, I hope to learn more from you.
As far as using some new media for blogs, I've got one I'm testing and when it works out, it'll be so fun, I'll go back to your last ten posts before presenting the idea.
Thanks for letting me share here.
I like your post.
I'm both a blogger and a mainstream journalist. Many reporters nowadays write or contribute to daily blogs, create their own video stories (I've done a handful) and write articles for the Web and the paper product. Some journalists also produce regular podcasts. An NPR commentor recently called journalists "the steelworkers of the 21st century." That's because we must produce content for multiple platforms, report and write original articles and tell good stories. And we watch as thousands of traditional journalism jobs go away. Although we get paid peanuts for what we do compared to PR people, I venture we still make a lot more than most bloggers. (I recently read about the ValleyWag bloggers getting paid for the popularity of their posts, which can lead to sensationalism. They also work in an uncertain environment where pay changes every quarter.) (I also read the NYTimes front page story about bloggers dropping dead from heart attacks because of the constant demand to feed the beast online.)
Despite some of the problems in both mediums, I believe excellent bloggers and journalists exist online. I read more and more blogs these days in addition to newspapers and magazines. Many traditional reporters, like myself, find this an extremely exciting time filled with endless opportunities.
Social media, done right, brings us closer to the community we cover and provides richer and better stories.
http://tinyurl.com/5exv6o