PR firms, take note. If you've sent me a pitch that I didn't post about, odds are very good that you didn't do the excellent job that Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo have done in promoting their new eBook, Getting to First Base, a Social Media Marketing Playbook.First, they sent me an email with the pic you see to the right attached. Yes they actually made a handwritten note and sent me a picture of it. And they included a link to my own 'personalized' page, which included the video you see below explaining what the book is about. And they offered me a link to download my own copy of the eBook.
I'm guessing it took Darren and Julie an extra 5 mins to customize this pitch for me by writing a note and making an extra page on their site for me.
If they had gone the standard 'Dear Blogger' email-blast route, there would be almost no chance of me ever mentioning them. But in that 5 mins, they elevated the chance of me blogging about them from about 1%, to about 100%. It's obvious that they were willing to take the time to personalize this pitch, and that shows me that they place a value on MY time, since they are willing to put forth a better effort to get my attention.
Again, PR firms, take note. And also take note of a different pitch that Darren aimed at Jordan. Sounds like it was a winner as well.
Tags:The Viral Garden, Marketing
Email Me
7 comments:
Neat stuff. Did they actually send you a handwritten letter...or send you a pic of a handwritten letter?
Glad you liked the pitch! And thanks for blurring ye olde URL (a flaw in our strategy, I think).
To answer the above question, we did send a few actual letters, but it's sometimes tricky to find actual addresses for bloggers. So, we also wrote out and photographed a number of letters. If it's successful, this also spreads the results, as the mailed letters will be delayed by at least a week (we live in Malta).
They are getting smarters these PR chaps ;) JKeep us posted with the follow-up (if they follow up their pitch at all)
Glad to see darren left a comment on your blog - that's also good!
Nice touch. These folks are getting extra sneaky! :)
They gave me a pic of a handwritten note.
Lolly you are right, participation is good ;)
Cam I don't see it as 'sneaky', but think it shows that they are willing to spend a few minutes on the pitch, which shows me that they value my attention. Which is the main reason why they earned it. The only time I blog about a 'Dear Blogger' pitch is to use it as an example of what NOT to do!
Mack -
Does the value of the content change because of the medium over which it was delivered?
For what it's worth, by the title alone, I think the book sounds interesting.
Every campaign these guys do is incredibly creative, and they seem to raise the bar each time.
Here in Vancouver, we all respect "The Blogfather" as he is known, because Darren has been inventing the social media marketing 'game' for years.
I highly recommend that everyone in marketing biz get their hands on a copy of that e-book, toute de suite. (That's Canadian for now, eh?)
Post a Comment