Strive Notes

photo credit: bryanpearson

While I am not usually one to comment about the right and wrong ways to pitch a story, Brian Solis’ post about Five Wrong Ways to Pitch RWW and One Great Way, really started the old cogs whirling.

Marshall Kirkpatrick explains the ways to increase chances of getting written about on ReadWriteWeb and other tech blogs.

The ‘no nos’ seem self-explanatory - make sure you send the pitch to the correct email address. Phone calls; some people love them others hate them. This is true with many contacts on my own hit lists and knowing the preference is part of building positive relationships.

I was more interested in the idea of using social media such as on Twitter, Facebook and IM to pitch jounros. I certainly remember 10 years back, spending hours printing, addressing, enveloping and franking stacks of press releases. However, as time moved on, electronic press releases took over, and now developments are moving on to using social media tools and RSS feeds get information to journalists.

Personally, I am drawn to the RSS feed idea, but we will be missing some really important opportunities for our clients if we limit ourselves. It’s all well and good for these guys to rant on (present company excluded, Marshal). But really, how are we to keep up with which Web 2.0 format each individual requires when trends are moving faster than a March Hare?

I understand that Journalists have countless PR companies offering them the ‘next best story’, but please spare a thought for PR guys and girls who have a diverse cross-section of clients in their portfolios. It’s not out of ignorance we use email or phone, we are just trying to get the information to right hands. How on Earth can we be expected to keep up with each individual’s preferences on the latest fads?

So please don’t ‘dis’ me for emailing or phoning. Perhaps you could keep us PRs up to date by putting your current preference in an automated email response?

Filed under: public relations