Since I debuted the “Pitch of the Week” feature two weeks ago, I’ve had several people be so kind as to forward some of their latest and greatest pitches. I appreciate seeing the variety in companies and styles that we get as bloggers.
As I mentioned before, my goal isn’t to bash the company that sent the pitch. It’s to spend some time analyzing it and talking about what they did right and what they did wrong. (Note that any text that is italicized has been changed from the original to keep this as anonymous as possible).
Today’s pitch comes courtesy of Natalie from Mommy of a Monster. Natalie is fortunate enough to receive a lot of pitches and unfortunate enough to receive a lot of bad pitches. She shared one with me recently that I just couldn’t pass up.
“Hi Amazing Blogger,
My name is (name of Customer Relations Rep) and I work at Company. I love your blog and what it stands for! We would love to work with you to do a review and giveaway with Company for the month of January. I have included a PDF of our amazing Products, because we do not have them available online just yet.
Love and Friendship will definitely be in the air come February. Our Product is jam-packed with product feature and as a bonus we are including a Free Product Sampler pack as well which includes similar product feature for your child’s friend. These Products were such a hit with many of our bloggers last year, such as Blog Site 1, Blog Site 2, Blog Site 3 and much more.
I would need the following information:
For Example:
(boy) or (Girl): Boy
Name on Product (up to 25 characters): Name
Icon: 18
Is the Product Sampler for a boy or girl? Girl
Name on Product sampler (up to 25 characters): Name
Icon: 22
Full Name & Address: Name, Street Address, New Market, OH xxxxx USA
To check more of our products, our website is (hyperlinked website) I look forward to hearing from you.
Best Regards,
Name Withheld
Customer Relations Representative”
Let’s get started with the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good
- Natalie tells me this is the second email she has received from this company. I strongly believe in follow up on both ends of the Blogger-Brand relationship. Emails slip through the cracks or get buried in the Inbox. Follow-up is always a good idea.
- This rep included references of other bloggers they have worked with. I like to check references.It gives me some idea of their credibility and their ability to choose an audience.
- The company is providing an offering of products that are not even available online yet. This gives the blogger a chance as some relatively exclusive content.
- The attempt is made to tie the product in with a specific time of year (implied here is Valentine’s Day in February) which helps the blogger with positioning the content.
The Bad
- This follow-up email made no indication that it was a follow-up email. It was the exact same pitch sent a second time. I usually like to have my memory jogged with a simple note saying, “I just thought I would take the time to follow up and see if you received my email last week. I’d love to hear if you have any interest or questions. For your reference, the original email copy is listed below.”
- When providing blogger references, it’s a good idea to include hyperlinks to the blogger’s specific post where they reviewed the product. If you simply provide me a name without a URL, it’s going to make it much more difficult and much less appealing to go on a hunt for their work.
- The attached PDF mentioned that the offer ends “Feburary 29th.” Spelling counts. In fact, it counts a lot in my book and says something about your professionalism (that goes for bloggers too).
- The request for information asks for icon numbers but in fact the attached PDF only shows figures with no names and no numbers. That leaves a lot of room for error.
The Ugly
- Let’s start with the obvious. “Dear Amazing Blogger” just feels a little too generic to be taken as a genuine compliment. We’re professionals. Take the time to learn our name (Bloggers – please make it easy for brands to contact you) and address us by it.
- Using phrases like “I love your blog and what it stands for!” tells us that you most likely have not read our blog and this statement, therefore, feels very much like a lie. Not a good way to start a relationship.
- Colored fonts!! You can’t see it here but selective text was written in purple. I like color just as much as the next person but this isn’t a marketing email for consumers (which would still be horrific, in my opinion). This is a business pitch to a blogging professional. Please make it look professional.
So what did we learn today? Once again, generic pitches are bad. Follow up is great when used appropriately. And finally, this is a business proposal and should be presented as such.
***
Did you agree with me on this? Would you have responded? Send me your best and worst pitches whether from a brand to a blogger or from a blogger to a brand. Anonymous is okay! Email fadra@socialdialect.com.
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