Bloggers are looked at in many different ways. “Warily” seems to come to mind on many occasions. We are the “new media”. Whatever. Potato, po-tah-to. I have written on several different occasions regarding blogging and the necessity of journalistic integrity. Well, buckle your seatbelts, the circle is coming around again.
I had a friend post a picture on Twitter last week. The package he received had a tear sheet full of info and a cellophane bag (which broke in shipment) of dried food items. Of course, when he opened the package, it spilled out onto his desk.
Yeah, I might have giggled just a little. Sorry, D.
However, all laughs aside, this is about using marketing standards written about in textbooks that are more than a decade old. Maybe it’s still standard. I don’t know. What I do know, is that someone didn’t do their research. It doesn’t matter who you are sending your PR Kit/Press Release to, it’s essential that it is sent to the proper person. Just because a journalist is on Twitter, and a very engaging personality, doesn’t mean that what you offer is within their scope. If it’s not, the package you just sent becomes a Twitpic and the very people you want to get in touch are going to look at you like you’re a leper.
Could it be that I have read the Writer’s Market guidelines for publishing houses and agents enough that I know all they need is a strongly worded query? Or am I mistaken? Send me a strong email that gets my attention and sell me. Because frankly, I don’t have the space to store your gimmicks.
Don’t shoot yourself in the foot like that. Gimmicks don’t cut it. It’s not worthy of you; and we suffer from the very public, very negative light that has been shed on the rest of us.
This post was written by...
Lisa – who has written 292 posts on Daily Pinch™.
Lisa Frame is a under-organized, over-achiever. She's a freelance writer covering tech, travel, business, parenting and food. The need for more "me time" has lead her to search the seven corners of the earth in order to find the ever-elusive lazy streak without success. When she's not living online, she's pestering her husband and son in order to test their breaking point and give them something to discuss with the shrink.
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