Bad Pitch Blog
FEBRUARY 28, 2007
'Exploiting dead celebrities reaches to the heights. Just this morning a colleague at GMA showed us this pitch. Normally we wouldn’t OUT someone as quickly as this – but such an evil waste of paper and digits is beyond bad taste. Start the day off with a story about AN Smith. Worst part is how badly written the thing is. This is also one of the longest press releases anybody has had to read.
Bad Pitch Blog
FEBRUARY 20, 2007
'We’ve been so busy beating up bad pitches, we forgot to warn you about the “so-called media.” Some call them pay-for-play media. They are trade magazines and cable television shows that really want to do a story on your company, the CEO and their story—for a price. Pay-for-play requests can cause more trouble than they’re worth. Some of the YoungPRPros asked us to unmask these Fourth Estate pretenders so you’ll be ready when you get the call.
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Bad Pitch Blog
JULY 29, 2007
'While I poke fun at social networks, Facebook has been a lot of fun and taught me a few things. The experience has inspired me to create a poorly-produced video series called Facebook Confessional. You can see the latest episode above* and I post all of them on my Facebook profile and archive them on YouTube. The latest episode shows reasons why you should consider joining Facebook.
Bad Pitch Blog
OCTOBER 24, 2007
'Karen Russell is one of several teachers I’ve met online and off that have a passion for social media and bridging the gap between practitioners and students. Yeah, students are digital natives, but that doesn’t mean they’re born with a blog and Twitter account. Via Colin McKay, I saw Karen’s request for “a dozen things I wish PR pros would blog about.
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Bad Pitch Blog
DECEMBER 18, 2007
'As the year winds down, soft news stories fill the air. Some stories are in the news every year -- without fail -- having become more tradition than news. Two of these everlasting gobstoppers include a financial spin on the 12 Days of Christmas and the Word of the Year. ** 12 Days of Christmas: PNC has been adding up the cost of the 12 Days of Christmas gifts for 23 years.
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Bad Pitch Blog
SEPTEMBER 15, 2007
'Everyone wants to know the secret formula to pitching blogs. The secret is it takes more than pitching. You need to get immersed in the topic you’re pitching and be able to expand the conversation. This requires a deeper level of subject matter expertise than media relations folk usually have time to establish. Many agencies have practitioners doing specific tasks across several accounts -- account execs make the phone calls and send the emails.
Bad Pitch Blog
DECEMBER 27, 2007
'As the image suggests, we think annual predictions are, for the most part, a load of crap. But it’s a staple of the year-end, soft news cycle. So when Jason Chupick at PRNewser asked Profnet subscribers for “Industry Predictions and New Year''s Resolutions,” we sent one in for consideration. PREDICTION: In 2008, hard-earned advice, well-written books and forward-thinking conferences will be heaped upon the PR industry.
Bad Pitch Blog
DECEMBER 19, 2007
'Change is upon us. As of this post, Ragan Communications is advertising on the Bad Pitch blog. What might seem like a small ad is a huge opportunity for the Bad Pitch Blog to go places we haven’t been before. In the coming year we’ll do even more to help stop bad PR before it starts. But first, let’s review. The pitches are, slowly but surely, really starting to get better.
Bad Pitch Blog
DECEMBER 11, 2007
'Evidently every single project on your plate after Thanksgiving will self-destruct if you don''t complete it by year''s end. Don''t believe us? We don''t blame you. But we''ve been hella busy with year-end deadlines. No worries though. The Bad Pitch Blog is not resting on its laurels. Far from it. In fact, we have some great news to share with you in just a few.
Journalists receive an overwhelming number of press releases daily, making it hard for your news to stand out. While some news is valuable, most is not.
Bad Pitch Blog
DECEMBER 9, 2007
'Galloping around Manhattan in slow cabs during Christmas time, you see brands treating it like a mini-Olympics. They want to be “the official” Christmas sponsor of every move we make. It’s a little much. With that in mind, the Bad Pitch Award for Tackiest Sponsorship: At Radio City Music Hall, the Rockettes are singing and dancing and kicking and generally making the audience feel Decemberish all over.
Bad Pitch Blog
NOVEMBER 26, 2007
'That headline is too long. OK, maybe not, but PR people need to start pushing their writing skills to do more with less. This whine may appear to be a common vintage, but consider news release headlines. Google recently advised Business Wire to limit news release headlines to no more than 22 words. If a news release headline is any longer, Google spiders will skip them.
Bad Pitch Blog
NOVEMBER 26, 2007
'This is Luke Armour -- PR Blogger, BlogTalkRadio PR guru and fellow Ohioan. Richard Laermer and I hung out with Luke on his BlogTalkRadio show, The Rundown, a few weeks ago. You can listen to the whole thing here. But be sure to check out the rest of Luke’s sound content as he chats up folks on a variety of PR and social media topics.
Bad Pitch Blog
NOVEMBER 26, 2007
'The quick post below does not do the audience response justice. So we’re sprinkling some well-deserved link love on top. The Bad Pitch Blog received nearly 50 comments across this blog and Facebook about what NOT to say to the media. This pdf file serves up sage advice from Zena Weist, Gavin Heaton, Donna Papascosta, Jay, Brandon Carter, Becky Mochaface, Jen, Griff, Mike Keliher, Celeste, B.L.
Speaker: Michelle Garrett, PR Consultant, Author, Speaker
Yes - press releases are still relevant in the world of public relations! 🎯 Ever wondered how to write a compelling press release, or what are current best practices for pitching your news to earn media coverage? In this exclusive webinar with Michelle Garrett, PR Consultant, we’ll cover tips and advice to help you get the most out of each piece of news you pitch!
Bad Pitch Blog
NOVEMBER 13, 2007
'A proper post is forthcoming, but be sure to download the long-awaited Top 10 Things to NEVER say to the Media. And be sure to tune in to The Rundown at 1:30 pm today. Richard Laermer and I will be talking with Luke "Under" Armour and answering your questions as well. More details here. We''re looking forward to talking with you!
Bad Pitch Blog
NOVEMBER 2, 2007
'OK, the Chris Anderson post has been covered, hashed out, rehashed and gotten stupid , er, ugly. But Seth Godin brings us the bottom line on mass pitching. "The processing of 100 press releases the old-fashioned way cost more than $100. Doing it to 5,000 people was out of the question. Email means the cost of adding one more name is zero. Email means that lists keep getting bigger and bigger and once you''re on one, you''re on em all.
Bad Pitch Blog
OCTOBER 30, 2007
'Author and Wired editor Chris Anderson caved under the weight of endless PR spam -- more than 300 emails a day. So he published 328 email addresses – the latest batch of offenders – hoping the spam bots will teach these folks a lesson. And you thought Slick was a pain in the arse. Whether or not you agree with Anderson’s approach, I’m here to tell you the problem is JUST.
Bad Pitch Blog
OCTOBER 29, 2007
'10) Busy Holding Vigil For Britney/Paris/Lindsay And Even Ellen 9) It’s Still With Legal For Approval 8) E-Mail Was Down All Day 7) Our Phone/Laptop/PDA Batteries Died 6) We Were At An Offsite Meeting/No Coverage Where Our Offsite Was Held 5) We Were Out Sick/On Vacation For A Few Days 4) Creative Director Pushed Back And Is Exploring a Different Direction 3) We’re Still Futzing With It, er, Making It Even Better 2) We Misunderstood The Deadline/Deliverable 1) Our Day Jobs Keep Getting In The W
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Bad Pitch Blog
OCTOBER 25, 2007
'The Bad Pitch Blog will be on the BlogTalkRadio program "The Rundown" with Luke Armour. Armour is one of a handful of Ohio-based PR bloggers, which is just one reason I’m looking forward to this internet radio show on Tuesday, November 13 at 1:30 PM ET. The other half of this blog, Richard Laermer, will be joining us. And, best of all, you can join in too.
Bad Pitch Blog
OCTOBER 18, 2007
'The post below inspired us to create a Top 10 List of Things You Never Say to a Reporter. We''re getting some great entries so far and want to encourage everyone to keep them coming. Post them in the comment section of this post or the BusinessWeek post. Tomorrow I head to The University of Georgia to present at Connect. So the Top 10 List and the winner will not be posted until Monday, October 18.
Bad Pitch Blog
OCTOBER 17, 2007
'If you haven’t seen the BusinessWeek redesign, head to your nearest news stand this afternoon and grab one. Homework from the Bad Pitch blog? On top of all the other reasons to buy this national business magazine, it’ll give you something new to discuss with your BusinessWeek reporter. BusinessWeek''s Stephen Baker is wishing some PR folks took this advice.
Bad Pitch Blog
OCTOBER 10, 2007
'It’s happened to a lot of us. You’re told to start pitching a topic in earnest. Your pitch gets a reporter’s attention. After the usual exchange, you set a date for the media interview. The adrenaline begins pumping as you e-mail your client the details. Then suddenly the client bails on the hard-earned media opportunity, leaving you in a tough spot.
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Bad Pitch Blog
OCTOBER 5, 2007
'This may fly in the face of Richard’s Pepto-Bismolic plea, but before everyone gets all Shiny Happy People, I must vent. Someone sent us their second bad pitch. Both pitches start with the salutation: To Whom It May Concern. TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN!? First of all, this isn’t a salutation. To Whom It May Concern reads more like “F&!k it, I can’t find the remote so could you just publish this for me so I don’t have to get up and walk all the way across the room?
Bad Pitch Blog
SEPTEMBER 24, 2007
'In a post at "that other blog," I stress the importance of surfing the web for your job. If I had one suggestion for Bad Pitch Blog readers, outside of media relations, it would be to play. We get so hung up making sure every question is answered that we never get started at all. Want an opinion on something? Try it out. Overwhelmed by all of it? Check out one small piece of it.
Bad Pitch Blog
SEPTEMBER 24, 2007
'1) Charlotte Observer business section pitching tips The Publicity Hound So many editors take the time to give tips like this, have you tried searching for pitch tips on your top outlets and editors? 2) How a Simple, Powerful and Persistent Message to the Media Gained Client, Alsbridge, Coverage in "The Wall Street Journal", "BusinessWeek, "CIO Magazine" and Many Others Alan Weinkrantz PR Web Log Alan’s follow-up notes on achieving national business coverage.
Bad Pitch Blog
SEPTEMBER 14, 2007
'PR professionals, educators and students should attend Connect on October 19 and 20 at The University of Georgia. Karen Russell from The Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication asked me to kick things off Friday evening. This is no small task considering who else is on the dais. Josh Hallet, KD Paine, Constantin Basturea, Paull Young and Dr.
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Bad Pitch Blog
SEPTEMBER 8, 2007
'“Fear is the path to the dark side” - Yoda “Speed and sloth are (two of) the paths to bad pitches” – Kevin Dugan Wow, it’s (really) bad when we start ripping off quotes from Star Wars. Would you prefer LOL Cats? Sorry, we’re dog people. There’s been an up tick in the number of pitches being sent to me twice. Are over-caffeinated PR people making with the clicky?
Bad Pitch Blog
AUGUST 11, 2007
'As this picture suggests, your story sometimes has unique elements that you simply MUST play into. My experience with this was promoting the Iams Company’s sponsorship of an Iditarod sled dog racer. The racer fed his team Eukanuba. My pitch used Iditarod, Iams and Eukanuba to create curiosity. And if my racer had won the race that year, he would have appeared on The Tonight Show.
Bad Pitch Blog
AUGUST 11, 2007
'1) Pitching (And Getting Coverage in) "The Wall Street Journal" Takes Time, Creativity and A Willingness for Patience Alan Weinkrantz For most privately-held companies, the adage “the bigger the hit, the longer the burn” holds true. Alan details this for one of his clients. 2) Two Techniques That Help You Embrace Brevity Copyblogger Less is More 3) Pitching Breakfast Television in Toronto PR Works David Jones serves up a dish of media relations insight on pitching TV. 4) Blogger Relations - It'
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