Careful, you could be next

If you have not yet read Chris Anderson’s post on his blog, The Long Tail, you should. It’s a must-read for PR people.

I have to admit, after I read the post I had mixed feelings. I wasn’t sure if I cared that much about it, but the more I thought about it the more I realized what a joke these PR people are. I realized that some day, if I’m not careful, that could be me.

I am still a student but even as an undergraduate in PR I understand that no one wants or is going to read 300 emails from people they don’t know. I can barely read all the emails I get each day from people I know. It should be common knowledge not to send a generic press release to the editor in chief of a major publication. It should be one of those situations where you stop and think, “Would I want an email from someone I don’t know that has nothing to do with me or my work?” As PR professionals this just should not happen.
I liked what Seth Godin had to say about the mass emails of bad pitches. If you are not going to make the effort to figure out who the email should go to or if it even pertains to that person or company, then why should that person even read it? Everyone these days is strapped for time and a good PR practitioner knows this. A good PR practitioner will figure out who the email should go to and tailor their message accordinly. If the message pertains to that person, is tailored specifically for them, and is clear and concise, the pitch is more likely to be a successful one.