As a blogger and a public relations/marketing consultant, I've seen my fair share of horrific pitches, arrogance, hubris, and an inability to be flexible. You don't have to be that guy anymore. There is hope! I've come up with a program that will help public relations failures become public relations heroes.
Great public relations is connecting with people, customers and journalists in any available medium. No client can be too small to pay attention to. You need to shift your mindset and go down ever-changing avenues. Half of your job is to stay ahead of the media curve and pitch accordingly.
1. Admit you have a problem. You don't know what a blog is and have a press book that is 80 pages long. You probably aren't helping your company out, are you? You need to admit you have a problem.
2. Acceptance. The front page of the NYTimes is still important, but not as important as it has been in the past. It's about building the community and finding a wide variety of outlets to talk through.
3. "Go Big or Go Home" no longer applies in press coverage. I'll take 100 little blogs over a high-profile blog any day. If the news/product is on the level, the story WILL get picked up by MSM.
4. Relevance. This should be a no-brainer but often isn't. If your pitch will not be helpful to whomever you are pitching (executive OR blogger), don't pitch it.
5. Take criticism, feedback and rejection with humility. Yes, someone turned you down and rejected your content. The reason? Who knows, but don't immediately assume that the person is a total jerk and is out to get you. Maybe restructure.
6. Try new avenues of communication with passion not indifference. Think about it this way: If you were hungry and trying to cut your teeth, where would you go? The answer these days is most likely Twitter. So why aren't you more excited to be using new ideas that could be potentially huge for your job?
7. Don't pitch during inappropriate times. A simple, "Oh, no worries. I'll shoot you an email and we can reconnect later," is often more valuable than getting mad that a blogger won't run your story after a death in his or her family.
8. Access, transparency and working 24/7 is a necessity. The news cycle doesn't sleep...so you should try and fit yourself into that framework, not yours.
9. Don't spin. You'll gain credibility, praise and appreciation for being straight with people. If your company screwed up...it's better to say it screwed up. Spinning only hurts you in the long run.
10. Share your knowledge. People love those who add value. So think like a publisher or become one.
11. Comment on blogs, regularly. Once you have enough blog posts and a knowledge base: perhaps start your own blog.
12. Show your humanity. Let people know that there is a real person behind your pitches. Personalize everything. Personal branding is a trend for a reason.
If you follow these steps, you will be on the road to relevance, success and respect within the online/new business community in no time. It's really not that hard to talk about. The challenge is to fully commit yourself to the process and new way of thinking.
photo credit: PR Fail
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tagged as bad pitches, douchebag, pitching, pitching bloggers, pitching douchebag, PR, pr douchebag, pr fail, Public Relations, public relations fail, relevance
