The client was horrified and fired the firm on the spot. Ironically, when we spoke I learned he actually did have a fitting story. But in the hands of the agency, I’d never have known.
In another case, I received nine off-base pitches over a course of weeks from members of a single agency and requested each time that they either read my columns and take a look at the masthead or stop sending mail. Finally, at wits end, I found and copied the agency’s owner and suggested that since I write about PR, perhaps this situation should be my article focus. She was mortified. It makes my head hurt to think of the money these clients have spent.
As for massive rejection, the risk of poor writing and social media gaffes, let’s break it down point by point:
Rejection.
I reject this idea completely. An entrepreneur is someone entirely comfortable pitching and selling their wares every day. They have learned to hone their messages. They’ve learned to study their audience and tune their “ask” to align with the listener’s needs (in this case, the reporter with ways to add meaningful value to the readers they serve). Where do the synergies lie? And how can they help? So in the hands of an entrepreneur, the fear of sending hundreds of messages and receiving just 2–4 responses — or no responses — goes away.
Instead, a message might say something like, “Your article about social media rang especially true. We’ve conducted some research on the things you talked about that produced some surprising results. Would you like to hear more about it?” Not every reporter will be able to respond to your ideas. But if PR activities lead to mass emails with hundreds of “ignores” or rejections, I’d offer up that it doesn’t mean you’re improperly steeled for rejection. It means you’re approaching things wrong.