Over the last couple of months I have read a few posts on Ideas on Ideas, in which Eric discusses the unprofessional and annoying behavior of some public relations companies. He was receiving these emails because he is a blogger and has received a level of authority as a result. I too have found myself in a similar situation.
Over the past few weeks I have seen my inbox steadily fill with these unsolicited email messages, and have rightfully sent them straight to the trash folder. However it was not until I was reviewing the comments on my recent article “30 Holiday Gift Ideas for Creatives and Geeks” that I saw the first example of a PR firm so clueless that I was just frankly disappointed.
WHAT DON’T THESE PEOPLE GET?
Press Releases are from another era, they may still work for traditional media but not social media. It is plain and simple bloggers don’t care. At least not if they haven’t ever spoke with you before, and especially not if you didn’t at least take the time to introduce yourself and your company. Bloggers get hit up with offers daily. Their email becomes flooded with them. But all it really takes to get my attention (and I’m sure everyone else’s) is some genuine language and evidence that you actually have read my blog. Not an unsolicited email that I have no interest in, and is in all honesty a piece of spam. But none of this is as bad as what I have witnessed today.
I got someone who found all three of my blogs and posted the SAME piece of spam like this on all three, one after the other. No real relation to my post either. Just happened a couple hours ago. Wonder if its the same company who is either
A – selling PR services, or
B – selling blog comments and just using a press release as the comment
Either way, they are definitely getting it all wrong.
Good post
This may not be a PR firm but rather an SEO firm. Had this happen to a client of mine a few weeks back. The SEO firm swore this was standard practice but no PR person I know would do it. Its out of line and inappropriate. If you want to pitch a blogger you treat them like the media and send an email or call. Then, its their choice to respond or not. You don’t comment via their blog with a pitch or anything disguised as one. Bad form all around.