This is NOT a Pitch

A news release is not a pitch. Well, neither is this intro I just received.

Dear Mr. Kevin Dugan,
Please consider the press release below for publication in an upcoming issue, either on-line or in print.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks in advance for your consideration.

Some things evidently are worth repeating as we’ve talked about the need for pitches before.

A pitch should show that you’ve had even the slightest exposure to the outlet and you must also tell the media contact why your news is relevant to them. The above note fails miserably at both.

Would you send a resume to someone without a cover letter? If you did it would come off ham-fisted and it would confuse the recipient.

So extend the same service to the media if you are sending them a news release. Pitch letters and news releases "go together like peas and carrots.”

tags | public relations | PR | media relations | media | good pitch | bad pitch | bad pitch blog

A News Release is NOT a Pitch!

Poynter’s Amy Gahran will delete any unsolicited news releases sent to her, labeling them as spam.

Techdirt also joins the discussion with reference to Valleywag’s snarky ire for Tech PR's approach to media relations. You should read the comments at all of these posts. That is, unless you haven't eaten breakfast yet.

Are these responses to PR people harsh or too general? Does it really matter? If you're trying to reach Amy Gahran with news, it's her preferences that matter. I'm willing to bet at least half of the news releases she receives are from people that never even read the media list they send to, much less her column or either one of her blogs.

Despite the ample opportunity to create a relationship with Gahran, folks are simply typing some general keywords into Bacon's database, coming up with a list, pasting a news release into an email and hitting send.

Enough Already
Repeat after me "A news release is NOT a pitch." A news release is background material that supports a pitch.

The above visual is from my presentation on Thursday where I noted:

Public relations relies too heavily on email, news releases and technology like Bacon's database and does not rely enough on critical thinking when conducting media relations campaigns.

Richard Laermer will tell you to spend less time building lists and more time reading the news. Think about it. If you're consuming current events on a steady and regular basis, you'll know the names and outlets that will appreciate your client’s news. You’re qualifying any list you might create in the process.

Your pitch should focus on telling a specific editor why the news is relevant to her readers. This eliminates the need for the editor to sift through the release to determine if there is a story hidden in there somewhere. There are other reasons to pull the release out of the email and, as necessary, link to it. But we’ll save those for another day.

Maybe you don't even need a news release. Kick the habit and consider other forms of content that could replace it. Check out 12 News Release Alternatives and rethink your approach to media relations.

tags | public relations | PR | media relations | media | good pitch | bad pitch | bad pitch blog | Valleywag | Techdirt | Amy Gahran | news release

Cut & Paste PR Spam

OK folks. Those who know me personally will represent and tell you that I am not a mean-spirited person. But wtf is this crap?

Here's some PR spam I received this afternoon.

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 15:54:22 -0400
To: prblog@yahoo.com
From: "AGENCY" <AGENCY@AGENCYNAME.com>
Subject: News: NAME Joins AGENCY

NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: FLACK NAME
FLACK PHONE
FLACK EMAIL

NAME Joins AGENCY

BETHESDA, MD- August 15, 2006- NAME has joined Bethesda, MD-based
AGENCY as an Account Executive and Copy Writer.

NAME'S responsibilities will include writing copy for direct mail, company brochures, membership materials, tradeshow promotions, press releases, email blasts, and advertisements. Additionally, she will assist in managing AGENCY'S client accounts.

NAME was previously employed as a marketing specialist at the American CAREER/NOT DISEASE Association. She holds a degree in advertising from The Pennsylvania State University.

About AGENCY
Since 1992, Bethesda, MD-based agency AGENCY provides branding, marketing research, strategy, graphic design, copywriting, Web development, public relations, and media planning and placement. Among its clients are PEOPLE THAT SHOULD KNOW BETTER BUT ARE GETTING RAKED. LOCAL BUSINESS NEWSPAPER lists AGENCY among the area’s top 25 advertising agencies. More information is available at URL.
--

Why would you send a personnel release to a blog? Unless that blog *literally* states it likes receiving personnel releases, I'd cross them off your list of targeted outlets for this kind of "news."

New hire news has its place. We have all written the de rigueur page of bullshit to make the new hire feel good, knowing it will run as "NAME joined AGENCY as TITLE."

But doing a search on Bacon's MediaMap for advertising and sending an "email blast" with nothing more than a news release in it is a waste of everyone's time and money.

So this was a poorly targeted, blanket pitch but that's not what drives me nuts. If you learn nothing more from this rant, please understand that a news release is NOT a pitch. A news release is background material.

There are exceptions to this of course. Personnel releases and earnings statements stand on their own. That said you still might want a salutation and intro sentence if you happen to be emailing the information.

But if you want a real story in the media that might help your client, a news release is not going to make it happen. Why do lazy PR people use a news release as a crutch to do all the work?

Its tactics like this that piss me off and remind my why we started the Bad Pitch blog. Thanks for reading.

tags | public relations | PR | media relations | news release | good pitch | bad pitch | bad pitch blog | advertising | marketing | blog | spam

The News Release Format is SHIFTing

SHIFT Communications unveiled a new format for the news release today that incorporates social media hooks in an effort to make your next news release as highly-networked as a blog post. Todd Defren is leading the charge and, like anyone on a mission, he will probably get arrows along with the accolades.

Side Note: Todd, the blogs calling for change are usually the same ones that kick the crap out of anyone that actually answers the call.

The Bad Pitch blog is all for improving old tools by blending them with new ones. But if your writing sucks or you are not writing about news, no format will save you from the dustbin (or from a blog post calling you out in front of your peers for that matter).

So as we join the din of PR bloggers giving Todd a well-deserved salute, we would like to remind readers that a news release supports a pitch as background information. A news release is not a pitch.

In the past month I have received two emails that were nothing more than a news release. After challenging the senders on why the release was relevant to my readers, I received concise explanations. I can only assume that these explanations were not sent as pitches in the first place because it was a mass pitch.

Regardless, be sure to check out the SHIFT template. If it does not make sense, take heart. SHIFT is a high-tech agency. So you have some time to learn more about all of these social media tools, and how they might improve your public relations efforts, before they become mainstream. But don’t wait too long. Even the Associated Press is busy inking deals to ensure it becomes more Web-friendly.

Cross-posted at Strategic Public Relations.

tags | public relations | PR | media relations | media | good pitch | bad pitch | bad pitch blog | SHIFT Communications | Todd Defren | blog