Karen lives in Canada: Relevance Revisited

Relevance.

It’s probably the most important element in blogger relations. Respect, which we revisited a few weeks ago, is important. Relationships, which we’ll talk about again in a future post, are certainly the grease to the wheels.

But your pitch won’t bear fruit unless it is relevant to the blogger. It may be a great offer or a wonderful program or a great product. But if it doesn’t match up to the blogger — her interests, her family, her location, it’s a bad pitch.

Let’s have some examples, shall we. These are all pitches sent to my friend Karen who:

• lives in Canada;
• has two boys, four and nearly 10. No babies, girls or teens;
• no longer writes a personal blog, although she did at one time.

She also has a dog and has attended more than one BlogHer conference. Her most recent project is the Craftastrophe blog. All of this is publicly available information.

Here are just a few of the pitches she has received since October.

Verbatim subject lines with company and product names redacted:

• Editorial Pitch: The Newly Redesigned XXX Cup Helps Toddlers Learn the Mechanics of Drinking from a Cup for Only $6! (with two jpg attachments)
• 5 Crazy Ways to Get in Shape (received twice)
• FW: Keep New Year’s Resolutions with XXX fitness DVDs – Weight Loss and Dance and Be Fit lines, Exhale, Shiva Rea, and Hemalayaa – Experts/DVDs available
• [MOVIE NAME] on DVD 12/26 – DVD Review?
• Research Project–Your Help Needed (a noble effort by university undergrads. Unfortunately the contest was for a Target gift card. No Target in Canada.)
• [Product] Nourishes Frazzled Parents (sent November 26th with the salutation Happy Thanksgiving. Except Canada celebrates Thanksgiving in October…)
• GIFT OF SAVINGS HOLIDAY PROGRAM THE LATEST IN WAYS TO SAVE AT ALL XXXX STORES (US store chain, none in Canada)
• Special Blog Savings from XXX (free shipping offer from a company that only ships within the US)
• Branching Out: A Christmas Tree for a Jewish Family? (Umm, I’m at a loss here…)
• XXXX Keyless Entry Perfect for Runners (with attachment)
• Story Idea: Products that Promote Self-Esteem to the TWEEN GIRL MARKET by [TOY COMPANY] Tween Expert and [XXXX] Friendship Bags Exclusive to Tween Girls (no explanation necessary I think)
• FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: [XXXX] brings Eco-Luxury for Babies
• PTA & XXXX Offer Parents New Family Entertainment Options at Retail (in the United States)
• XXXX Helps Expecting Parents Set Up Fast!!! (apart from the fact that Karen isn’t expecting, nor is she expecting to be so, this was also geographically focused to Los Angeles)
• New Fun, Fizzy and Delicious XXXX Multi-Vitamin & Multi-Mineral Supplement ( a short pitch note with a LONG press release about a PAST US contest)
• XXX Invites Americans to Anonymously Voice Their Political Opinions and CDC selected you to participate in our flu webinar for bloggers! (umm…)

And here are are few that you have to see to believe.

I’m all for brevity but you really need to give a reason. One is enough!! (emphasis intentional)

This one just cracks me up. Everything the PR rep has to flog, except possibly the kitchen sink.

No subject. No salutation. Canadian citizen ineligible for contest. Fail.

Some of these were decent offers, for the right audience. Some are dumb, full stop. But none were relevant to the blogger who received them. That makes them bad pitches.

Take the time to research the blogs. You do stand a better chance of cutting through the clutter if you have made the effort to develop a relationship, but it’s okay if you haven’t had time to get to know the blogger personally if the pitch is relevant. Even better if you add value.

What’s value? To quote a previous post:

“A personal blogger writes about things he is interested in, generally from the perspective of how they impact him. He’s telling his story, and you need to give him a good reason to include your story in his. That means putting your product or service into his context, not talking at him from yours with a press release, list of features or carefully crafted message point.”

The post where that paragraph first appeared has some specific suggestions on how you can add value.

I know we can’t always do as much with a program as we’d like; sometimes the client or the boss just can’t be moved from the idea that the product is intrinsically wonderful.

But really, we ought to be able to do better than the examples I’ve brought you today.

Be relevant.

Or be one of my next examples.