PR Wish List
Dear Blogger...
Recently I received a pitch from a PR that started “Hi Alison…” Hmmm. What’s wrong with that greeting? The “Hi” was a very nice, personal touch but something about the “Alison” made me very reluctant to continue reading. For starters, my name is KARIN. Now, trying to give the PR the benefit of the doubt, I have just checked my “About” page and “Contact Us” page on my site. The first line on the “About” page includes my name (Karin…in case you forgot) and on my “Contact Us” page this is what the final paragraph says (of 2 mind you):
Just so you know…Café Bébé is comprised of Mummy (Karin-age late 30’s), Hubby (Mark-age early 40’s) and Little Miss (on her way to 2 years old). If you are wanting to appeal to me, try to get this information correct.
That’s fairly clear, I would say! Now the rest of the pitch from this PR went on to ask me if I was interested in promoting an app for a product which I don’t own but she wouldn’t have known that so I continue to give her the benefit of the doubt. I was very appreciative of this PR’s email and I did send her an email back thanking her for her interest in Cafe Bebe but correcting her on my name and letting her know that as I don’t own the particular piece of technology to trial the app she was promoting I couldn’t really promote it on my blog. I was very nice considering that the email started out “Hi Alison”.
What I would like to know, from my fellow bloggers, is…what would you like to hear from a PR when they contact you? We have to keep in mind that these PR’s have hundreds of bloggers/media/etc that they are contacting every day to promote their clients. They don’t have the time to read, in full, all of our blogs. They are trying to get information and pitches out there and I would guess that for every 100 emails they send out only a very small percentage are replied to. There are now thousands of bloggers for the PR’s to approach…there just isn’t time in the day.
So, what would you, as a parent blogger, like to hear from a PR? Do you expect to get a “freebie”? Will you write a post just because you’re asked to promote something? How many pitches do you get in a week and how many of those pitches are totally inappropriate? What, in a pitch, makes you sit up and take notice? How would you LIKE to be approached, in an ideal blogging world? Just for fun, maybe you can share one of the BEST pitches you ever received (what made it best?) and one of the WORST pitches you ever received.
Now, lets see about the PR’s! Those PR’s who are bloggers and might be reading this…what do you look for in a blog/blogger? What makes you sit up and take notice? What do you HATE to hear from bloggers? What would make your life easier in regards to pitching to a blogger?
Over to you…let it all hang out!
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If PRs’s want to use us then they need to get their details right!!
Also, I don’t like it when PR’s send you emails (recent Haven debacle) and then don’t reply!
On the other hand , I will review things I’m interested in but if I promise to review something for you please don’t ignore me when I haven’t received it eventhough you (PR’s) say you have posted it!
That’s just me, I will put my name down to review things if I feel that they are right for me, support my feelings e.g recent blogpost on Wilko sun cream because Wilko=budget=what we need in this house!!
BNMx
I would definitely expect some form of compensation for the time I spend on their product! I don’t see the point in advertising for free, especially when it uses my time that I could be using to do something that makes money.
I hate to receive a pitch that has more than one font (cut and pasting with no effort to make it look like one doc), where they haven’t used my name, or worse, where they use the wrong name(!), or where they are suggesting a product that has nothing to do with my site.
I also hate it when I reply but get no answer in return. That’s just rude.
Very interesting post. When I first started getting PR pitches I was *so* flattered! Now, I’m a bit more savvy about it all.
I get about 20 PR pitches most weeks – and the ones I dislike are where they just send information about a product, with nothing else – no request about whether I might be interested in it; and it gets sent with an instruction for me to review it. Well, no. I don’t do free advertising unless it’s for a charity or service that would be useful for parents.
In return for reviewing a product I expect a sample for either my use, or to use as a giveaway. I don’t see the point otherwise. How can I endorse something I have no experience of?
The pitches that get my attention are the ones where they have obviously read my blog, and know a little bit about me and why their product might be of interest.
Quite often they are not relevant to me, but I always reply to these types of pitches to thank them for their contact and explain why I won’t be reviewing their product.
My name is notSupermum and not notSupermu as in the above post!!
So, starting with getting “notSupermu” for one would be good, eh??
Thanks notSupermum- it does take a while to get PR savvy and I agree about having a sample. I have written a few posts about a programme or service that I found very worthy for no return but I don’t make a regular habit of it. I find that posts like that tend to go relatively unnoticed as well.
Michelle-
I agree with the cut and paste but I imagine that’s just down to lack of time and need to get out as many as possible. Still, it’s nice to THINK that you’re getting a personal appeal. Also, the not returning the email…not professional at all! Excellent points…thanks for commenting!
Excellent points BNM! It’s not very nice to get a pitch, reply and never hear back from them. At the very least they could dash off a quick email saying, thanks but no thanks. On the other hand, maybe they feel the same way when we don’t respond? Doubtful but it is possible I suppose.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I’m interested to know about the Haven debacle…I didn’t get that one! 
One of the best emails I received recently was from the sales manager at Office Pod when I asked for a quote on one of their garden offices. As it happened, it was way (way waaaaay) too much but I loved the bit at the end where he said “I hope Archie is well”. It showed he had actually visited my blog before quoting me back.
I have been getting contact from PRs because I am on the MADs finalist list and I hate the generic nature of these emails. I mean, it’s not a trade secret what my son’s name is and roughly how old he is.
I don’t mind how many emails someone is sending out, if they don’t know who I am or what I do, they shouldn’t be contacting me as they simply cannot know for sure if I would be interested in what they are writing to me about.
Do I sound like a fascist?!
Nick- You don’t sound like a fascist at all. You sound like a blogger!
I do appreciate it when a PR actually uses says “Little Miss” or mentions my name & if they manage to get Mark’s name in, all the better. It doesn’t take much does it?? 
As a relative new blogger on the block, I haven’t overly been contacted by PR’s have only had a couple. But I would not be impressed if they got my name wrong that is rude I can’t believe she did that.
Have found it very interesting reading this post though thanks xx
Thanks very much Kerry. The world of PR is a weird, weird world. I’m hoping to get to the point of offerring some tips to bloggers as well so stay tuned!
The ones where they have obviously flicked through the site are appreciated, oh and getting my name right (I have a thing about it being spelt right given people get my first name wrong about 50% of the time)
I’m quite picky and don’t do a lot of reviews so it has to be something that appeals to me, that I’m interested in and where they are willing to understand my schedule and time constaints
That said I don’t know if PRs want us to reply and say no thanks or rather not to clog up their inboxes
I have to say that I am not expecting every PR to know all about my blog. I totally understand where they are coming from and what their job is all about. I am happy for them to look at my about page if they don’t look at anything else. On there they will find what they are interested in regarding the number of children and their age and who I am. They are trying to promote a product and what they want is a mean to do it. Let’s face it, we are a “mean” for them. As you say there are so many bloggers out there now that they can’t honestly sit in front of their PC all day and become friendly to every single one of them.
I have just been sent an email from a PR saying: “We’ve noticed on your blog you’re a mother of 3 (who have the most endearing nicknames!)” this one is obvious that they haven’t read my “About” page. Do I hate him for that? of course not! He probably did copy and paste and forgot to change the content. That’s fine it makes me laugh that’s it really.
This conversation has just inspired me a blog post, so I am not going to fill up your comment page Allison, because I am sure you are very busy looking after your 4 children and you have very little time reading my blah blah…
xx
Oops sorry it is Alison with one “L” of course!
HI Karin
I love your blog, the content, the way its laid out etc. I am really new to this so still learning! I am a PR but on maternity leave at the moment and read your post with great interest and its actually inspired me to do a post of my own on this subject. I’ve linked it back to your site and this post. I have got people’s names wrong in the past and have felt so dreadful once I realised what I had done, its the worst feeling. I am a PR with a conscience! I always go back straght away and apologise if it happens and luckily its only been a handful of times in the 10 years i’ve been doing PR. I’m going to make sure my office sees your post to keep in mind they must do their research before they contact people.
Rock N Roll Mummy- Thank you so very much. I am pleased that I’ve inspired you! Feel free to pass on my details to your office!
I actually am working with one PR agency in London to help understand Parent Bloggers. I’d love to work with you (and provide you with any clues to this blogging malarky!). Feel free to contact me if you’d like to talk more! And thanks for being a good PR! 
Peggy- Loved your post. It is true, we do need to lighten up on PR’s but I’m hoping to help bridge a gap by working with some agencies to understand Parent Bloggers.
We’ll see if I help at all. Thanks for taking the time to comment. As always, you’re always welcome! 
Yes, Muddling Along, getting the name right is always a good start. I would like to know about the emailing as well. I’ll ask some and let you know!
Thanks for stopping by my dear…
I never imagined that anyone would like to ‘give’ me anything to review, and my blog was never intended for that purpose. I consider myself very new & quite low radar, but have had some lovely products gifted in return for honest feedback. These have all been from very friendly people or the business owner themselves. I’ll be ready for any crazy pitches now, with your helpful insight. Thank you Karin
I actually believe that this blogging and PR stuff is in its infancy and yes, some people make mistakes, but we are all only human. I dont get to many pitches, but can pick out the unsuitable ones pretty fast. I think that we need not to expect too much from people and I am very wary that of a few spoiling it for the many IYKWIM. Sometimes it seems to me that PR’s are becoming the new Estate Agents!
I have had some great experiances with PR’s and some bad, but I always feed back, as that is how things change and improve. I also expect feedback from PR’s too. I dont expect something for nothing, not in the slightest
Shit…. was that me Karin? See I know your name… and you know where I live and you have shared hot beverages made by my own said kettle…. my girls would like LM to be their own special little adopted sis – so if that was me calling you Alison and I can put my hands up to say that a fair bit of copy and paste does go into my average day – then I am truly sorry.
If it wasn’t me….. dont freak me out like that!
Sian- It wasn’t you, you nana! You’re ONE OF THE GOOD ONES! I do know where you live too…;) No Sian…you’re always tops on my list of brilliant PR’s!