A Higher Level of PR

From my email this week:

Here's how you EARN someone's attention and respect

I get a lot of PR pitches, will you review my book requests and can you tell people about our conference sort of e-mails.

I appreciate getting them because it helps me make this blog useful to you, the readers. But, what I appreciate even more is when the person doing the pitch actually makes an effort to personalize the interaction which is in direct opposite to what happens most of the time - I get a generic e-mail (no doubt sent out to 100 of my closest blogging friends) and just filling in my name at the top.

This is NOT a post about how to pitch a blogger. I think it's about PR and building relationships, as opposed to the mass production mentality of just doing a mass mailing and wondering why no one picked up the story.

I'd like to tell you a little about two pitches that stood out and the results of those pitches.

John Rosen, author of Stopwatch Marketing

A few months before John's book was released, he started reading and commenting here at the Marketing Minute. He also engaged me in a genuine e-mail conversation about the work we both do, his familiarity with Des Moines and eventually his book.

By the time he asked me to review the book - we knew each other. So when I got his book - I read it right away (my review here) and shared it with my readers within the week. (Keep in mind, I get 2-5 books a week and am always struggling to keep up. Normally, he'd have had to wait a month or so.)

Then, John really proved that he was a savvy marketer. He didn't need me anymore (in terms of his new book) but he continued to invest in the relationship. We e-mail, comment on each other's blogs and stay in touch to this day. When we were looking for giveaways for Blogger's Social - John was willing to donate copies of his book. Having your book in the hands of 100+ smart and vocal marketers is a wise strategy.

John understands the power of relationships and investing your efforts before you ask for the favor. Smart.

Bob Bloom, author of The Inside Advantage: The strategy that unlocks the hidden growth in your business

Bob Bloom is the former U.S. CEO of advertising mega-giant Publicis Worldwide. Suffice it to say, I had heard of Bob's work. Pretty sure he had not heard of mine. I received a pitch to review his book and it came from Bob's publicist. As you might expect, the publicist followed none of John Rosen's techniques, so the book got tossed into the pile and I reviewed it about 2 months after receiving it. (My review here)

I thought it was an excellent and insightful book and said so. Bob is not just a marketing guy, he gets business. A valuable and rare combination, in my eyes.

Fast forward about a month after I posted the review. My desk phone rings and I pick it up. Who is on the line - but Bob Bloom. He called so that we could get to know each other a little bit and to thank me for the review. We ended up talking for about 15-20 minutes and much like my contact with John Rosen - it was genuine. We talked about clients and he told me about his new effort - working one on one with business owners.

Bob went out of his way to listen, comment thoughtfully and I completely forgot what a big deal he was...which just goes to prove what a big deal he truly is.

Two different approaches but some common threads:

• There's no substitute for you.
• There's no substitute for human interaction.
• There's no substitute for being genuine.
• There's no substitute for making the effort to connect and start a relationship.

As we continue to slog through the economic downturn - these truths don't cost much but can yield long-term gains. How can you bring these truths to life in your dealings with customers, prospects and the media?

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