S%#TPR PEOPLEdothat

HATEJOURNALISTS

Breaking News A lot of conventional PR tactics are spammy and frustrating to journalists. We want them to get our name in the news, but many of us PR people go about it all wrong. Instead of building relationships with journalists, we tend to force one-way conversations that go something like this…

Hi, I saw you wrote an exciting piece on Cuba last week and I ate a Cuban sandwich for lunch today and thought you may like to interview me for your magazine. Your readers would love it. I’ll give you a call tomorrow morning if I don’t hear back. Thanks!

To: Journalist JimFrom: PR PollySubject: SANDWICH ANNOUNCEMENT

JOURNALISTS HATE THAT

S%#T

SO, WHAT SEPARATES THE PR FOES FROM THE

PR PROS?

TO FIND OUT, WE DID SOME INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING OURSELVES AND ASKED JOURNALISTS:

WHAT S%#T DO PR PEOPLE DO THAT YOU HATE?

Their feedback was BRUTALLY INSIGHTFUL

“I don't mind being approached by PR people since I need 104 column ideas every year, but I hate it when they are ca"ed, self indulgent, and boring. Make the effort to know my readers and my style, be creative, and by all means please, please, please don't bore me.”

Kevin Daum, Inc.@AwesomeROAR

Period.”When they ca# you on the phone. “

Borzou Daragahi, The Financial Times@borzou

Click to tweetthis quote.

“ALL CAPS. They drive me batty. So many

publicists seem to think that if they PUT THIS IN THE SUBJECT LINE, I'll be more likely to read it. Exact opposite. When I see a subject line in all-caps, it goes straight to my trash. ”Jeff Wilser, Writer@jeffwilser

“One time, a PR person called me on the phone and said ‘my tracking software says you didn't open my email so I'm calling to follow up.’ Thanks, but no thanks.”

Ben Smith, Buzzfeed@buzzfeedben

“Advice: tailor your pitch and have modest goals. If your client is genuinely insignificant, you're not going to get a national outlet to write a story about them. Figure out the broader story they're part of and point out how their expertise might be relevant in that context. And have low expectations:you’re going to strike out most of the time.”

David Lynch, Bloomberg News@davidjlynch

I find the practice of Googling a topic or competitive company, then emailing every single writer whose article comes up, to be a huge waste of time. You know, emails that start “Hi Anthony, I saw that you wrote about [company I wrote about once, a year ago, in an area that I have no interest in but was asked to cover by my editor], so I thought you might be interested in ..."

Anthony Ha, TechCrunch@anthonyha

Sound familiar?

I hate it when PR people explain what an embargo is. I know what an embargo is, don't tell me and remind me twice. I also hate it when people follow up with a phone call to ask if I got their email. Here's the thing about email: it works.

I received your email, I just don't want to do what you're asking me to do.”Alex Wilhelm, The Next Web@alex

“

Click to tweetthis quote.

More an issue with big company PR: being intrusive during interviews/visits, and genera#y ki#ing the human/real side of the story that wants to come out, and making the chat too corporate.“ ”Greg Huang, Xconomy@gthuang

“Good PR people know that some news just isn't a fit and that it's best to let the journalist pass rather than hurting your relationship. Most journalists have a mental blacklist or inbox rule blocking you if you're a real nuisance. In some cases you'll be publicly blacklisted like this and this.

You are a nuisance if you email the same thing 4 times without response, if you call at ungodly hours, or if you block the way to the washroom to pitch your story.”

Dana Oshiro, Code for America@danaoshiro

“Dropping the boss’ name. ‘Oh, Rupert Murdoch LOVES this company so we wanted to fill you in on it too.’ If you think mr. big will cover your crap, let him write the story and leave me out of it. Name dro&ing only makes us crankier than normal.”

Barb Darrow, GigaOm@gigabarb

Click to tweetthis quote.

“Call me repeatedly without leaving a voicemail. This ensures that when I do pick up their call, I’m extra annoyed and oblivious to their pitch.”

J.J. Colao, Forbes@JJColao

“My favorite quote from a PR guy:

This struck me as counterintuitive. Wasn’t he supposed to be nice to me? Was this some new tough-love public relations strategy? Scratching my head over the unpleasant exchange, I walked away thinking: Why yogurt?”

‘If you print that story you’# be kn(-d(p in yogurt.’

Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times@JeffreyLAT

“Trying to dictate or get involved with editorial decisions. When will your story run? Can I review your article before it's published? Will you agree to publish this story in a certain manner of my preference? The answer to all of the above is ‘That's betw(n me and my editor, and f#^& you for asking.’”Curt Woodward, Xconomy@CurtWoodward

“I honestly can't wait for the day when companies realize that they're a# publishe* now, and just publish what they want to put out there rather than trying to pay someone to ‘place’ a story.”

Curt Woodward, Xconomy@CurtWoodward

“Just FYI,sending a follow-up email flagged as high priority after I ignore your first PR pitch gives me a legal right to harm you.” !Zach Epstein, BGR@zacharye

“Just FYI,sending a follow-up email flagged as high priority after I ignore your first PR pitch gives me a legal right to harm you.” !Zach Epstein, BGR@zacharye

It’s a law. More or le,.

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So now that we've listed out the things that really drive journalists batty, what's a marketer to do to be smart and lovable in their PR efforts?

Go Beyond Google: We heard loud and clear that a quick "I saw that you wrote about X company, want to write about Y company in their industry tomorrow?" never works, so invest the time to understand a reporter's beat and recent coverage before hitting the "send" button.

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Go Beyond Google: We heard loud and clear that a quick "I saw that you wrote about X company, want to write about Y company in their industry tomorrow?" never works, so invest the time to understand a reporter's beat and recent coverage before hitting the "send" button.

Put Down the Phone: If a reporter doesn't respond to your email or social media interaction, adding a phone call, telegram, fax, or carrier pigeon to the mix likely isn't going to break through the clutter. Leave the phone calls for reporters you know well or requested follow-ups for information -- cold calling is highly unlovable.

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Go Beyond Google: We heard loud and clear that a quick "I saw that you wrote about X company, want to write about Y company in their industry tomorrow?" never works, so invest the time to understand a reporter's beat and recent coverage before hitting the "send" button.

Put Down the Phone: If a reporter doesn't respond to your email or social media interaction, adding a phone call, telegram, fax, or carrier pigeon to the mix likely isn't going to break through the clutter. Leave the phone calls for reporters you know well or requested follow-ups for information -- cold calling is highly unlovable.

Don't Act Desperate: Exclamation points, all caps, and high priority notifications signify that the email is HIGHLY IMPORTANT to YOU, not to the reporter you're sending it to. Skip the theatrics and focus on a clear, concise story to drive engagement.

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1Go Beyond Google: We heard loud and clear that a quick "I saw that you wrote about X company, want to write about Y company in their industry tomorrow?" never works, so invest the time to understand a reporter's beat and recent coverage before hitting the "send" button.

2Put Down the Phone: If a reporter doesn't respond to your email or social media interaction, adding a phone call, telegram, fax, or carrier pigeon to the mix likely isn't going to break through the clutter. Leave the phone calls for reporters you know well or requested follow-ups for information -- cold calling is highly unlovable.

3 Don't Act Desperate: Exclamation points, all caps, and high priority notifications signify that the email is HIGHLY IMPORTANT to YOU, not to the reporter you're sending it to. Skip the theatrics and focus on a clear, concise story to drive engagement.

4Be Prepared: "Be Prepared" isn't just for Boy Scouts. Like the rest of us, reporters don't like rushing around for an embargoed story because your materials weren't ready in time. Give reporters adequate time to respond to, act upon, react to, and file a given story.

WHAT’S YOUR MOST effective PR tactic?

Leave a comment here, share your thoughts on our blog, or tweet at @HubSpot. We’d love to hear how you work with journalists.