Things I Can't Say

Tips and Tales from an Introverted Mom

What to Do with a Bad Pitch

It’s going to happen. You are going to receive PR pitches that you consider awful for one reason or another.  But before you decide to blast the company across all your social networks, let’s take a look at the various problems and what you can do about them.

bad pitch

They didn’t use my name

I hear this one as a PR pet peeve quite often. That a pitch wasn’t personalized- either no greeting or a generic “dear blogger.” And the argument usually goes something like this: if they care enough to want to work with me, they should take the time to at least put my name on this email and show they’ve read me.

And I’ll agree with this… to a point. If I get a pitch addressed specifically to me, I will probably read it a little bit closer. Put my name and show you genuinely have spent some time looking around my blog(and not just mentioning my last blog post), and I will pay more attention.

But, keep in mind that perhaps a company(whether we are talking about a PR company or the actual brand itself) had to get out over 100 pitches in a day, maybe even more. Personalizing takes an awful lot longer. When you consider the percentage of bloggers who either won’t respond or who won’t be interested in the pitch, it’s a much more efficient use of time to send out more generic pitches- at least some of the time.

I tend to look more at the follow up interaction- now that I’ve expressed interest, is their response more personalized? That’s what makes the difference for me.

This isn’t a fit for my blog

I’ve gotten pitches for products that are for baby girls when I only have boys- and that is very clear on my blog, even if they only thing you’ve read of mine is that short bio blurb up there.  Whatever your reason is for the product not being a fit, you can still politely reply. Example: Thanks for your interest in working with Things I Can’t Say. However, I’m afraid that Princess Tutus are not something I’d be able to write about in any meaningful way, as I only have boys! If you ever have any products that would be a fit for 4-8y/o boys, I’d love to work with you! 

They aren’t offering me enough

You get a pitch that you actually like and would consider doing, but the rate is way too low compared to your usual rate. It’s okay to reply with this.  But please be polite about it. Example: I would really love to work with you because we are already loyal Brand X users and I know my readers would love to hear more about it! However, my rate for the sponsored post you asked for is $X. Please let me know if we would be able to work together!

Maybe they do have some wiggle room and can increase the rate and maybe they can’t.  If they can’t, again, a polite response is best- stand firm on your rate and let them know that perhaps you can work on a different project together in the future. Do not go on a rant as to why you are worth so much more or threaten to badmouth them to other bloggers.  You definitely won’t be someone they’d want to work with in the future if they did have a project with a bigger budget down the road.

They’re asking for too much

You’re interested in working with them but you feel that they are asking you to do too much. Whether it’s too many blog posts or too much sharing on your social networks, you realize that the amount of work you’d have to put in it wouldn’t be worth the rate that they are asking. Or it would end up annoying your readers because you would be blasting them with the info way too many times. Totally fair to go back and let them know you’d like to work with them, but be specific about what you would actually be willing to do out of their list.

They won’t pay for everything

This is a complaint most commonly associated with trips. And I totally get it. In most cases, the trips I’ve been able to attend have been the ones that were all expenses paid, not having it in my budget to attend other events where the event was free but everything else associated with the trip was not. Sometimes I wonder if I’m simply on the wrong list and the person inviting me thinks I’m within an easy drive of the event. You can always inquire about trip expenses but in the cases of very large events, the budget is usually allocated towards the event itself, not covering travel of all the attendees. Politely decline and let them know where you’d be able to attend an event.

If your complaint is that they won’t pay for shipment of your review item or a giveaway prize- by all means, go back and explain that is not an expense you are willing to cover. 

They are shady

They ask you to do things you know you shouldn’t like use their keywords without having them be no-follow. Or they don’t want you to disclose that your post is sponsored. Or anything else that is flat out wrong. These are the ones I usually instantly delete. A response that includes Thank you for your interest in working with me! Things I Can’t Say complies with all FTC regulations and as such I cannot accept this opportunity without disclosing that this is a paid opportunity could work, too.

What is this junk?

Press releases where you really aren’t even expressly being asked to do anything, but you know they are hoping you’ll share with your readers. Unless such info is actually something that is useful to you, find the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email or reply and ask to be removed from the list.

A few last tips

When you receive a  pitch (a bad one or even a good one), keep these things in mind:

  • Everyone who reaches out to you is a potential contact. Maybe the opportunity isn’t the right one for you at the time. But you never know what else they have coming up or if that same person will end up working with a totally different brand down the road.
  • Be polite in your responses. That person you chewed out for insulting you with their pitch probably just blacklisted you and won’t work with you ever- and again, you don’t know what other clients they may have or who they will tell not to work with you.
  • Sometimes the money just isn’t there. Even with a big brand- often the people reaching out to you have been given a very specific budget. And while the company itself might have more money, it doesn’t mean that they’ll budge on how much will be spent on a certain project.
  • Feel free to suggest another way to work together.
  • Be polite. I’m repeating this one because it’s that important.

Looking to get started working with brands? Check out Should You Work for Free?

Comments

  1. Ok I have no clue on what I would charge for a blog post. I really don’t. This is definitely something I need to work on ASAP with my offers becoming more frequent.

    • It really has a lot to do with what they are asking you to do and what you feel is fair. I usually have a range in mind. 

  2. Lots of great points. Quite a few PR companies invite me to events either in the US or London not realising I am in N Ireland – when I ask if they can fly me there I usually don’t hear back!

    I sometimes struggle to be diplomatic with a response, but you are right, you never know what other opportunity might lie around a corner.

    • Only certain events have a budget for travel. 

      I know that sometimes it’s frustrating to get pitches that don’t relate, but politeness is a great way to respond- at least initially. 😉 

  3. Great post, Shell!

    As a former PR manager, being on this side of pitches, I’ve been fortunate in knowing how to respond accordingly. Being polite is so, so, so important! 

    • I definitely see both sides of it at this point, being on both the receiving and the sending side of pitches!  If a blogger responds rudely to a pitch, they go on a do-not-work-with list for future opportunities, even if those future opportunities are more in line with what they want. 

  4. Thanks so much for this! I am constantly at a loss for how to reply to some of these emails. 

    I’ve been finding that when I am polite, people come back trying to convince me to reconsider (the crappy offer). When that happens, I just delete! 🙂

    • That does make it hard. At that point, I’d either delete or respond with a simple no thank  you.

    • This is me too! Don’t worry, I’m hoping it’s just a new blogger thing, and that it takes time. Great post though, I’ll have to pin this to my Bloggy board and save for future reference.

  9. I’m pretty bad about just ignoring the ones I’m not even remotely interested in and I guess I’d better stop doing that!
    Sandy

  10. As a PR person myself, I always try to reply – even to the bad pitches. I always am polite and point out why the pitch isn’t appropriate for my blog or why I won’t be writing about it. I always appreciate constructive feedback from journalists when I speak with them.

  11. Awesome awesome advice!!  There is never a reason to be rude or mean, it just discredits you.

    And yes- I get some of those that fit under the “What is This Junk” category– I didn’t even think of being able to unsubscribe- duh! 

  12. awesome tips! And very timely for me as I’ve just started receiving pitches! this shows me how to deal with them thank you so much!!! 

  13. This is some very good advice. I also don’t understand why anyone would ever be rude to someone who’s simply interested in working with them.

    I’ve only received 2 pitches so far. One was for an adult toy company, which I politely declined (cuz, you know, my MOM reads my blog) and the other was from a company wanting to display their ad on my blog. I replied to them asking for some more information, but never heard anything back.

    Oh well! I’ll just keep doing my thing, and hopefully my day will come.

  14. Great advice Shell! I will often pitch back with other creative ways we can work together (if the brand is a good fit for my blog). And you are right, you never know when you will run into them again, or maybe want to work with them.

  15. Oh I love this post Shell. It is a two way street and being polite is SO important. I’m glad that you repeated it twice. I try to respond to everything because you do never know. Mostly, thank you also for sharing how you phrase your responses to some of these inquiries. I know lots of folks, myself included, really struggle with that part sometimes.

  16. *Such* good, important tips, girl! Love!

    Thank you for including examples of your wording, and I adore that you focused on being polite, because seriously, amen.

  17. Solid advice all the way around, Shell.  I especially like the part about not hesitating to suggest what *would* work for you, if the original pitch *wouldn’t.*  Ask and ye shall receive is what I’ve found!

  21. Shell – 

    As a small business owner who pitches blogs I think your list is great. Its really true that we must make so much effort to find individuals who are willing to write about or share our product at a rate we can afford.

    We’ve found bloggers who offer to write about us do so nearly 90% of the time they accept a free sample from us. Most often they discover that our product is something they are happy to have found and share! 

    I’m also looking at your post in reverse. How to pitch better. I’ve fallen victim to the “What is this Junk” in the past. I’ve learned if my pitch doesn’t ask for clear action from you – it really is junk! 

  22. You really allow it to be show up easy using your presentation but I to uncover this kind of matter to generally be genuinely an issue that I think I may under no circumstances have an understanding of. The idea kind of senses also difficult as well as wide for me personally. I am just excited for the next offered, I most certainly will make an effort to receive the hang than it!

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