For the record a couple of other posts on this snafu:
Phil Gomes points out the issue was that people were using her PERSONAL e-mail address. [I hadn’t spotted that myself]
Jeremy Pepper pipes in on the same factoid, but makes a broader point about PR people not being trained in good practice in this area – and like Damien bemoans the lack of focus on relationships.
Susan Getgood suggests that blacklists just don’t work…
Damien Mulley has posted a very interesting and thought provoking comment on my post regarding PR spam.
I think it raises some interesting points….
The sheer arrogance from PR people on this matter speaks volumes. If what you’re pitching is so important to this blogger then shouldn’t they be coming to you?
Just because you have done some research and you are now highly targeting someone does not mean it’s not spam. It’s targeted spam. See? Still spam. It’s also a bit arrogant, yes you worked harder for that pitch, your work has value but it’s rich if you think you deserve respect and airtime from a stranger just because you worked hard.
Would you walk up to someone that just gave a speech and shove a press release into their hand or would you introduce yourself, say what you do, hand over a card and ask permission about sending something to them that may interest them?
Don’t pitch if you contact a blogger, ask can you pitch and explain why the pitch could be of value. No sell at all in an initial email/intro. “Hey Gina, this is what you do, this is what we do, any interest if *I* send you on some stuff from time to time or maybe you can dip in and out of my blog where I talk about these things?”
So PR community. What’s your view?
Update:
Jeremy Pepper makes a similar point.
Murphy's Law 