Pitch of the Week: What Would Jesus Do?

by Fadra Nally on January 12, 2012

pitch-of-the-weekI love when I get good pitches. I get annoyed when I get bad pitches. But I get steamed when I get spammy pitches. Here’s why.

It usually doesn’t come into my Inbox once or twice. Usually, I get the same spammy pitch at least three times. I’d love to be able to respond to the first one and simply say no thanks but often it’s easier to just hit delete and hope they never contact you again.

I also recently had someone contact me about a pitch they received that was very similar to one I’ve received multiple times (most recently being TODAY). They wanted someone (me) to help them determine if it was something worthwhile to consider. I didn’t mind because I seriously love this stuff.

Her particular pitch came from a Catholic dating site. My spammy pitch came from a Christian dating site. The premise and language is almost identical.

The Pitch

name withheld via wufsd.org
to me
Hi,I’m name withheld, and I own Christian dating website name. I see you’ve accepted guest posts on allthingsfadra.com in the past–would you consider allowing me to also write a guest post for your website?

I’m happy to research and compose an original article specifically written for your site, on any topic of your choosing. I hope you’d let me put a discreet link to my own website, Christian dating website name, at the end of my post.

All that would be required of you is to review/approve my completed article to make sure that it coincides with the theme of your site.

Please let me know if you’d like to see samples of my work or accept my offer.

Thanks,
name withheld
Blogger | Owner
website link

The Good

  • She got my blog name right.
  • She has correct spelling and grammar.

The Bad

  • Look at the email information. See where it says “via wufsd.org”? That’s most likely a third party email service which simply confirms this is a generic email sent to hundreds or thousands of bloggers.
  • No personalization in the header. My blog name is all.things.fadra and I pretty much have my name plastered all over the site
  • The email subject (which you can’t see here): “Free Guest Post?” I wouldn’t pay for a guest post. Ever.
  • Lack of research. My blog does not, nor never has, accepted guest posts.
  • The theme of my site is me so unless she knows me personally, I doubt that any theme she researches will add value or interest to my readers.

The Ugly

  • Christian dating sites have absolutely no relevance to me or my readers
  • This is what I would call anchor text spamming which I consider unethical
  • If you proclaim yourself as a religiously affiliated site, I just might hold you to a higher standard of ethics

Yes, I know this one was brutal but as I mentioned in the beginning, this kind of “pitch” really steams me. I did actually respond to the email this time telling her pretty much everything I mentioned in the bad and the ugly.

I also asked her not to contact me again and that I would be advising other bloggers out there to avoid these types of “pitches.” Consider yourself warned.

Tagged as: brutal pitch critique, christian dating sites, free guest post, pitch of the week

  • http://twitter.com/AmeenaFalchetto Ameena Falchetto

    Ha! I usually get emails which are spookily similar but offering to write about ANY topic of my choosing … #FAIL

    • Anonymous

      Good point. I should have had fun with it and asked her to write on the meaning of life and why Einstein’s theory of relativity might not be accurate.

  • http://twitter.com/LadyAnne525 Anne Hogan

    Ooohhh… I would have let her have it!  I usually respond to those spammy pitches with something slightly bitchy and sarcastic.  I can’t help it.

    • Anonymous

      I wrote a “strongly worded memo” as a response to her (that’s an SNL/John Kerry joke) but I’m pretty sure I won’t be hearing from her again.

  • http://twitter.com/Write_A_NewSong Philip Quintas

    Spam does absolutely nothing to build relationships.  It is an offensive activity because it steals the most valuable resource we have as individuals…time.  I do hold religiously affiliated sites to a higher standard of ethics because they claim to represent the highest standard of ethics and morality.  I make it a point to avoid confusing religion with an actual relationship with God, in fact, the two frequently manifest as separate entities.

  • http://genieinablog.com. Leigh Ann

    These are hilarious. I get the same one from Catholic Dating Sites, Christian Dating Sites, Gay Dating Sites, you name it. I think I responded to the first one and that was it.

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  • http://thekoalabearwriter.blogspot.com/ Bonnie Way

    I’ve seen pitches similar to this one, where a blogger offered to write a guest post for me.  While I do use guest posts, I reserve the right to request them from people whom I know well, who will write on the topics that I blog about.  I’m not going to accept a guest post from a random stranger.  And, as you say, I’d never pay for a guest post.

  • http://www.littlehomesteadinthevalley.blogspot.com/ Jen

    Ha, I just go this exact same email today.  Just going to junk it.

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