No, It's Not Fun...in the Fun Sense of the Word Fun

by Guest Blogger, Lena West 

I recently completed an article for my WomenEntrepreneur.com column about technology gadgets.

Because there are sooooo many cool gadgets out there - and to make my life infinitely easier - I issued a 'call for gadgets' to my sources.  I gave a general overview of the article and specifically asked for two things:

1) The gadget had to be fun yet get work done.

2) Absolutely no phone calls.

So, yesterday, I got a PHONE CALL (yes, a phone call) from one of the PR agents for a gadget that was submitted - a CardScan device. (No link love on purpose.)

She was following up to see if I had used the product in my story. (!!)

I was cordial and told her that I had opted not to include the CardScan. She asked me why and I explained to her that a CardScan is not fun - not in the fun sense of the word fun.

Her reply? And emphatic, "Yes, it is!"

Listen, I'm all for pitching your wares and the wares of your clients - hey, everyone has to make a living - but there is no way in Hades that a CardScan is fun! Not in the same way, say, that an iPod can be fun and entertaining. And, in fact, after two or three times of her insisting that her gadget is fun, I told her as much and ended the call.

Do I like the CardScan product? Sure do. Will I ever mention it as a 'cool tool' on this blog or my Entrepreneur.com blog? Probably not.

Another one of the PR agents pitching another product, added me to her media mailing list without my permission. Like, since when is THAT legal or ethical? Oh, but, because it's for PR, it's OK? Ahh, no.

I asked another PR agent to explain his product in plain English because I was genuinely interested and I never heard back - opportunity lost.

I wonder when companies will realize that they have to rigorously screen PR firms before they hire them?  I don't think the folks over at Newell Rubbermaid would appreciate this PR agent's pushiness - not if it's resulted in alienating a technology expert, speaker, blogger and columnist.

And, when will PR pros recognize that there is a METHOD to engaging bloggers and online columnists? The old rules of no-holds-barred, get-the-word-out-any-way-you-can pitching  just don't work online - or anyplace - anymore. If I ask you not to call, don't call. If I ask you not to send attachments, don't send one. I don't like being near - or talking to - people who'll sell their soul for a media placement. Bad energy. If you want your client's product to have snowball's chance in hell of being included in anything I write, don't do things to intentionally piss me off.

I am a living, breathng person not a walking media opp. Engage me. Take the time to find out what I like. Read my blogs and columns to see if what you're planning to pitch fits. If you examine my tone in my posts and articles, you'll see that I'm a straight shooter - that means you need to be, too. No superfluous synergy talk. (Don't try to socially engineer me on these points either. I'm a New Yorker. I have a nose for rats.)

Bottomline: If you're given the rules of the game ahead of time and you decide to ignore them, you have succeeded in bringing the rope to your own hanging. Don't blame me.

Comments

[Lena West]

Donna:

Yes! You've found my secret. The key to using Craig's List effectively and weeding out all the 'unstable people' and bad apples is to give them a little 'assignment' to do in order to apply. Anyone who doesn't follow those exact directions doesn't get considered. I've found that if people don't follow directions, they don't know how to listen when it really counts.

Thanks for reading!

[Donna Cutting]

Funny, Lena. I just went through a similar experience when I was hiring an assistant. Got over 70 resumes from a craigslist posting - and although I had asked that they either just fax or email their resume, some people found my phone number and called. Couldn't decide whether to be impressed with their initiative or annoyed that they didn't follow my directions. Ultimately, I hired someone who emailed me her resume.

[Lena West]

Mary:

You know, I never factored in the "bench" element in all this. I have to say you're absolutely right. It makes sense certainly.

Thanks for chiming in and offering another perspective. This makes the idea that Michele gave me even more relevant. Brilliant!

[Mary Schmidt]

Based on my experience with big (and not-so-big) PR firms - the problem is often that they land the account with the first string, and then hand off the actual work to the third string. So, you get emails and calls from - say - "Tiffany" who between touching up her makeup and refreshing her gum supply - goes through the textbook motions of PR.

(And, note to all clueless PR firms - I delete your emails unopened if it's obvious it's a cold pitch. And, it's really insulting you don't even go to the trouble of crafting a semi-warm subject line for your email!)

[Lena West]

Michele:

Heyyy! I'm a proud Wizard Academy Graduate - Magical Worlds class of Feb. 2006!

And here I thought I was being a...well...not so nice. :)

This whole thing makes me think of a really great idea though. Isn't it funny how annoyances can be the mother of invention as well?

Thanks for reading and chiming in!

[Michele Miller]

Amen, Lena! I can empathize - I even blogged about the same topic last week, giving a big promo push to a jewelry designer who's never asked me for anything, yet is always sending relevant articles my way, just out of blogger friendship. It seems the more rules you put on the PR list, the more folks think they can break them. Gonna be a long learning curve in getting these people to pay attention! AND leave us alone!