Susan Getgood is wrong about being the only PR blogger not to discuss the Edelman/Wal-Mart/NY Times thing, and I've also stayed out of the fracas for the same reason as she has. It's been a busy week.
But in my hectic week, I've talked with a great number of people in both PR and business and it is clear that this is an escalating issue. I'm also getting an increasing number of invites to speak with PR organizations and firms. To me, this is a good thing, because it confirms the rapidly evolving influence of bloggers.
But there are no rules for how to pitch us. And if you ask ten of us, you might get ten different answers. I'm most influenced by someone I meet and start talking with. I'm immediately turned off by people who give me a canned elevator pitch. I consistently tell PR folk that I rarely do product blogs. Many then appear to be completely befuddled and ask me then what do I write about. I politely suggest they read my blogs as I turn away. I don't bother even to mention that my co-author is a product zealot, and I sort of focus on the rest. That's because pitching me, without reading me, indicates that you are really clueless whether I am influential or not regarding a particular company.
I have no problem with brief email notes to me at shel@itseemstome.net. I also pay attention to posted comments when they are on topic and there is no duplicity that you are trying to get me to look at your client.
I don't want to take calls, unless I know you. I'm much more of an email person.
But the smartest thing you can do, which other bloggers have been advising all week is to join the conversation. read blogs that are on topic for what you represent. Start your own blog. Use it to link to bloggers who you'd like to know or have know you.
One PR guy, whom I never heard of, Alan Weinkrantz, caught my attention big time, by offering a money-back guarantee for anyone not satisfied with Naked Conversations. This caught my attention and I started reading his blog. He writes briefly in conversational fashion about his clients with frequency. One of these days, he'll mention a client who interests me and when he does, I'll jump into his conversation.
I like this system of PR people posting interesting, pithy, apparently honest stuff and letting me subscribe. You don't need to know if I was there.
