At some time or another you will get PR pitches that are either poorly written, not a good fit for your site, or something you aren’t interested in promoting. It is easy to hit the delete button and move on. But, I have found that many times the person who sent the pitch represents numerous companies. Rather than delete, I send a polite email declining the pitch.
Dear PR Professional:
Thank you so much for considering me for this opportunity. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like it is a good fit for my site. Please feel free to contact me if you have another opportunity that may be a better fit. Topics that are a good fit for my site are (insert blog topics here). I have attached a copy of my review and giveaway policy for future reference.
Sincerely,
Suzy Blogger
or
Dear PR Professional:
Thank you so much for considering me for this opportunity. Unfortunately, my blogging schedule is full for the next few months. Please feel free to contact me if you have another opportunity at a later date. I have attached a copy of my review and giveaway policy for future reference.
Sincerely,
Suzy Blogger
I use a form letter and store it in drafts. It only takes a few seconds to respond and you never know what doors can be opened by a short polite response. Some of my best blogging opportunities came because I declined something first. Unless you are getting 100′s of pitches a day, spending a few minutes returning these emails can really pay off.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Great idea! I’m always wondering how to respond to these pitches.
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This is great advice. I think responding to emails a great way to build relationships. I’ve not had any PR inquiries but I’m ready for them now.
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I love the form letter idea! Thanks for that (read: why hadn’t I thought of that before…lol). Even though we haven’t had a lot of pitches on our blog, I did turn one down recently. The PR person responded the next day and said thank you. She said she would keep me in mind for other opportunities down the road. What you wrote is so true! It sometimes does pay off in the long run to respond.
Thanks for the form letter idea too!
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Great idea! Thanks! I was wondering what the standard review/giveaway policy is, as well.
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This is such a timley post for me!
Great suggestions!
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I am glad to see this topic was addressed.
What bothers me most about PR pitches and press releases is that I feel a lot of these companies are trying to take bloggers for a ride. In other words, they are trying to obtain free advertising for their clients. So a lot of times I struggle in responding to pitches. I feel that IF they are a reasonable fit they should offer to pay! After all, I’ve worked hard to build a community on my site…why should I become a free billboard for these companies?
I recently responded to a PR company that wanted me to post about their event saying that I would do a sponsored post for them or sell them a button on my blog. Guess what? They wrote me back saying they didn’t have any money for advertising. BINGO! So their marketing strategy was obviously to target bloggers for free advertising. This trend bothers me. A lot.
I hope SavvyBlogging will continue to discuss these sort of topics. I think more can be said about relationships bloggers have with PR firms. And I’d love to see folks from PR agencies weigh in too.
Thanks.
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Great post.
I too would love to see tips on what to include in your review/giveaway policy as well as tips for preparing a media kit.
Crystal
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This post comes at a great time for me! Thanks so much!
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Great advice! I seem to be getting some strange requests that make me wonder whether or not they’ve even looked at my site. I may need to get working on a form letter of my own.
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I totally agree. Just a few short sentences declining politely is so much better than ignorning a response. It really does only take a few seconds. I’d also urge companies who receive a pitch from a blogger to respond with a polite denial rather than ignore a request. Bloggers are not only media professionals but potential customers.
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I wish that I had seen this just a few short days ago – I got a pitch that was deleted immediately – I will remember this in the future though – politeness always pays off!
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Great examples of declining but keeping the “doors” open. I got an email recently that was rather vague, saying that she had found my blog, and asked if I was interested in putting links from reputable retailers on my blog. I wrote back saying I might be interested IF it was something that would be a fit (I really didn’t give too much detail) for my blog and if I had control over what was to be placed – no smut – before I agreed.
I just did this post http://katsdailyinspiration.blogspot.com/2010/07/special-moment-recognition.html after a few emails back and forth.
After I had posted it, I emailed her back with the link and said that I hope to be able to do more for them.
You just never know where your opportunities will come from.
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Thank you for the idea of a form letter! I’m absolutely going to use this! I love what Angela said, and think the same. I’ve been deleting the pitches I receive for my bigger blog, FreelyEducate.com, because I haven’t had luck getting them to be willing to pay. The standard response is, “We don’t have a budget for marketing. We were just trying to make you aware of a great opportunity. We hope you’ll still let your readers know about it!” I have other things to blog about, I don’t need to be a free billboard for you!
But you’re right — you don’t know where opportunities will go. I won’t work for free for them, but I should respond back to each and every one of them. Some of the advertising I’ve been offered, or paid trips, have been after a relationship was established with a media group.
Thanks again!
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