Blog marketing is heating up: bloggers need pitch policies

Bloggers need pitch policies these days. The marketing contacts to bloggers are increasing exponentially – hardly a day goes by that I don’t get pitched to review some product, check some site, add some link.

Recently, I seem to have been put on some list by a Nancy Hendrickson at Author Marketing Experts (blog), who may have noticed that I review most books that I read (including some on my personal blog).

It’s always wonderful to get an email addressed “Dear ______ ,” with a tagline saying Powered by Campaigner, an email marketing package. It’s even better when I notice that the email says “You are subscribed as john.koetsier@gmail.com. To unsubscribe please click here.” Naturally, I have no recollection of having subscribed to any such list, nor does an email to Nancy result in any reply.

(I wonder how many of you will click that link to unsubscribe me.)

Phil Gomes – a lawyer at Edelman – started having this problem in 2005. In response, his pitch policy includes:

• The email you send is clearly sent to me and not to a list.
• You yourself (or members of the company you represent) actively and thoughtfully blog.
• You are a blogger or member of the media and you’ve written/posted something interesting that might have missed my watchful gaze

That’s a great start. Here’s when not to contact me. Don’t even bother trying to contact me when:

• you don’t blog
• you don’t “get” blogging
• you don’t answer to a reply
• you use email list software to talk to me
• you haven’t even taken at least a cursory look at my blog
• you aren’t going to follow through on the things you say you’ll do

I don’t mind getting email from fellow bloggers. I don’t mind getting a link and a request to check it out, or to add it to my SLOB hall of fame.

I do mind being used.

[tags] marketing, pr, blogging, advertising, john koetsier [/tags]