Book Pitch Gone Bad: How to Piss Off Those You Most Want to Befriend

Not long ago, I got the following pitch letter from a book publicist:

Awake At The Wheel

Mr. Jonathan Fields Self Help

For Immediate Release [full press release for first author follows]

It's really rare I get to announce a new book and offer an special opportunity of such importance, quality and pure enjoyment. [Author's] new book [Title], published this coming month by [Big Publisher #1], is so good that I believe that he can change the attitude that many Americans have towards the challenging lives we presently lead and our whole future - for the better.

Please let me know if you'd like to see a copy of [Author #1's] new book.

It doesn't matter where you live or who you are, if you haven't yet reviewed [Title of book #2], published by [Publisher #2], which is still number X on the New York Times Best Sellers List (X weeks in a row now), let me know and we'll send you both.

Please provide me with your best street address and phone number. If you'd like to arrange an interview with [Author #1], please do let me know as well.

[Name of Publicist & Tel #]

I don't reply to generic spam pitches, so I just hit delete. Fast forward one week, the same exact e-mail lands in my inbox. This time I replied:

This is the second time you've spammed me. Take me off your list asap

I figured that'd be the end.

But, annoyed that I expected even a modicum of understanding of how social media works, a hint of respect and wafting of rapport when being asked to do a favor by a perfect stranger, the publicist retorted:

It is the second time I wrote to you Jonathan. I am trying to interest you in perhaps one of the most important self help books ever written. You didn't reply the first time and I thought that you might respond the second time. Sorry if this doesn't appear to meet your needs. I will certainly respect your wishes, but it sure seems an ironic shame that you are choosing this course of action.

I'd have let it go at that, but "ironic shame?" To which I replied:

The "ironic shame" is that as someone who represents the legendary [Big Publisher] and books based on respect and honoring human individuality, you've not taken the time to understand the fundamentals of how to pitch a blogger in a manner that's not insulting and spammy. Show at least a modicum of interest in what I do and what I write about. Show me you've read at least a single post. Build at least a smidge of rapport before you ask me or any other blogger to do you a favor. And, don't address me as "Mr. Jonathan Fields Self Help." That's just piling on. I wish the book only great success. But, I'll pass on it. Not because of the book. Because of your discourtesy.

Much peace,

Story continues below

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Then came his closing shot...

I'm really sorry you feel that way. With all due respect I will try to explain my own personal professional opinion why your position is something that's less than desirable for a someone who is practicing in the world of public relations.

I've been pitching media for over 35 years. It's true I use a news release format and yes, it's a one size fits all approach. But I have to tell you it works. By saying that you need to have the pitch a certain way to me is a fairly close minded way to be. Sure you might like to be edified and maintain that there's a proper way to pitch a blogger so that your ideas make the communications fit your ideals, but actually, it's simply unrealistic to those of us who make a living getting people publicity. I think that you might want to try getting publicity for others before you criticize the way in which we who do this for a living practice it. I only wish you could understand that we can't operate the way you are asking.

I use news releases to offer our opportunities and actually, it's very, very effective. Bloggers are only one of over 25 prime media and online technologies. There are 1700 dailies, 6900 weeklies, 12000 magazines, 8500 radio talk shows, 6500 tv stations and talk shows, 450 news services and syndicates, and 800 plus freelance writers, and that's just the prime media. Then there are the online counterparts to all the above and media bloggers are just a part of them. Then there's the Internet. Web pages, blogs, ezines, newsletters, forums, audio, video, and now there's the so-called social media. While it's true that the formats for production are different the way to ask media if they are interested still come down to a meaningful communication that allows you to communicate.

I have to tell you that most media respond favorably to content and quality, and not to the format of the email. The response to this pitch in particular is as it turns out as high as I've ever seen a media response in all my years of doing this. Even your blogger counterparts are responding favorably. Dozens and dozens of them are responding simply by saying, sure,. Send us the books.

BTW, this is how you are listed in the Cision database. You are just one of over three-quarters of a million journalists listed.

If you don't want to receive any more news releases from me, please click on the link at the bottom of one of the news releases. We're CAN SPAM Act compliant....

I've written a few career books in my time and even have a new book out on how to write effective news releases. If you want to see the new book let me know.

You might learn something from an ol' timer yet.

Hmmm, I guess I just don't know how this silly media game works.

Must be because I'm so "closeminded."

Forget the fact that over the last 8 years, I've landed numerous features for my various companies, ventures and clients in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, Newsday, BusinessWeek, FastCompany.com, Adweek, Entrepreneur, Vogue, Self, Elle, Fitness, Outside, Fortune, Yoga Journal, CNBC, Today, Fine Living, dozens of other national media outlets and thousands of websites and blogs.

And, I guess getting my own book, Career Renegade, which hit the street earlier this year, featured in USA Today, People Magazine, The Miami Herald, Body + Soul, more than 30 major market drive-time radio shows airing in nearly 3,000 markets, FoxBusiness and a torrent of top blogs and social media exposing it to tens of millions of people online was just a lark.

Man, if I only knew how this PR thing worked...

Getting past the fact that I clearly just don't understand how the "real" PR world works, though, I was filled with with warm fuzzies to discover that I'm just one of 36,950 other people and outlets on the pitch list. Yay me!

This whole exchange is an extraordinary example of what happens when you use decades-old, broadcast-driven tools to try to access the conversation-driven world of social media. The very world that's growing increasingly critical in the quest to drive buzz, go viral and get the explosive coverage and uptake publicists and clients so desperately clamor for.

Broadcasting into social media alienates those you most want to befriend

And, frankly, it doesn't work all that well for mainstream media anymore either. Especially when it comes to books. The old-school publicity-seeking world is wracking its collective brain trying to figure out what works in the world of book promotion these days.

Even if your broadcast campaign lands big print or morning TV (which these days is quite rare), you can't rely on that to DO anything for the book anymore. Four Hour Workweek author and blogger, Tim Ferriss, has said numerous times he sold more books from a single post on the right blog than he did from an appearance on the Today Show. Heck, I sold more books from a single review on a killer blog than I did from a 1/4 page review in USA Today and a mention in People Magazine...together!

Point being, if the environment you're operating in has changed in a fundamental way, the answer isn't to keep applying the old rules and expect the same response. Nor is it to rail against those who stand before you and say, "buddy, it's not working." It may be "less than desirable for someone who is practicing in the world of public relations" to have to change your game after so many years. Deal with it.

Rather than broadcasting to a bigger and bigger media list in the hope that the itty bitty percentage of pick-up will yield some kind of decent results, why not step back and say...

"Damn, this just ain't working. Let's go about this a whole different way."

When my book, Career Renegade, came out earlier this year, my publishing team and I sent a lot of advance copies to editors, reviewers and bloggers. I hand wrote personal notes that were included in nearly every copy that went out. Then, I sent personal e-mails, not anonymous blasts, and DMed most on twitter. And, though I have a lot of relationships with a lot of people across social media who write on a lot of different topics, we only reached out to those I knew would be genuinely interested and who knew me and my work.

Was that hours of extra work? Yup! Was it worth it?

Let's see, the book ended up being written about and reviewed on dozens of top blogs, was plastered all over social media, piled up "real" 5-star reviews on amazon and exposed and endorsing it to millions of readers. That locked down #1 in its category on amazon for weeks and kept its rank in the hundreds and low thousands for months.

So, forgive me if I don't really give a crap about the 36,950 other people who are on the pitch list. I care about me, I care about those who are in the conversation, those who'd benefit from joining in...and I care about YOU, my readers.

If that's not convenient to those doing the pitching...GET OVER IT!

We're in the midst of a massive shift in Book PR power.

The world of buzz is changing in a profound way. If you don't wanna change with it, that's your problem, not mine.

In fact, if you're really smart, you'd realize that far from being "less than desirable," it's an outright gift...if you take the time to understand how the new rules work (and commit to evolving with them daily). Because, now you don't have to blast thousands of people, pester them mercilessly begging for a mention, knowing you're bothering 99% and your efforts will be rebuffed by most.

If you truly get how this newfangled social media neural network is built, you'll realize that:

• It's easier than ever to find the people Gladwell calls the sneezers,
• It's easier than ever to befriend and build real relationships with them, and
• If you do it right, you'll need to cultivate real relationships with far fewer people...

Because, if just a few of the uber-nodes in the social media neural networks like what you're selling...and they like you, they'll pass it on. Not just to one person, but to tens or hundreds of thousands. Then a portion of that next level will do the same. And, truth is, in the world of social media, increasingly, everyone's got a chance to be heard, everyone's the right person...a potential source of ground-zero evangelical luminance.

What took 36,950 blasts and constant prodding to the point of near manipulation in the quest to reach critical mass in old-media can explode all over the world in the blink of an eye in social media...with a fraction of the work.

So, no, what I'm suggesting is not "less than desirable" for book publicists.

Done right, it has the potential to make their jobs vastly easier and a whole lot more enjoyable. If you're willing to get out of your own way and invest in the conversation.

Does that mean I'll never use news releases or old school tactics?

Not at all, but I'll use them in a far more limited and strategic manner, for example, to take my message direct to buyers through keyword driven releases that hit millions of peoples' inboxes in the form of google alerts. And those become that tactical strike element of the campaign, not the heart and soul.

Listen, I help a ton of people all the time.

I start out every morning on twitter asking "who can I help today?" And, I help people I've never met who raise their hands and say, "me, me, me" nearly every single day. But, you've got to have invested in being there when I ask to be positioned to raise your hand.

One of the first rules of pitching anyone on doing a favor, especially in the world of social media, is you've gotta join in the conversation first. You've gotta give a little first. And, at a bare minimum, pretend you know who I am, who my audience is, what I care about and what I write about.

I owe my readers that much...and so do you.

I am very protective of you guys. I've worked hard to show you I'm here for the long haul, I respect your time and energy and if I review or pitch something to you, it's because the person who's pitched it to me has shown me they care too.

Again, if that's perceived as "closeminded" or "inconvenient" for the pitchers...

Not my problem.
There's a new world order in arena of buzz and it's called conversation.

Ignore it at your peril.

Comments

[Darwin Stephenson]

I think we're at a cultural crossroads. What is likely to happen is publicity hounds will now subscribe to a blog, post a few somewhat relevant comments and then pitch the blogger with a personalized pitch. But the nature of the approach is still spamming; just in the new social media language.

As an author, I have to say that getting attention is really tough. Even on-topic, highly relevant pitches to bloggers in a genre similar to the book often get little play. Let's face it, this is a numbers game.

There is an interesting social experiment angle here. Pitch two similar books from first time authors using the old school and new media approaches and see which one gets more coverage. If the prescribed method works better then the industry will naturally follow suit.

Darwin Stephenson
Inspiration Divine

[ToniChicago]

Great piece! I have to say as a fairly prolific blogger (Expat Mum) I am inundated with requests to review or post about anything and everything, despite the fact that my blog is fairly subject specific. In addition, I am usually addressed as "Hey", which adds insult to injury. I used to send a polite reply declining their "offer" to basically help do their job, but these days, if I'm just "hey" then my answer is "no way".

[PI Barrington]

Wow. Thanks Jonathan! Now I'll know what to look for if my PR person isn't getting results! This is really a great post for newly published authors like myself who are still finding their feet with social media. Again, thanks.
P.I. Barrington

[Suasoria]

I see critical thinking faux pas from both sides. No PR person should take such a ranty, sloppily worded, defensive stance, nor should they have the time on their hands to do it. They're also violating a couple of key rules: don't drink your own kool-aid, and don't pick fights with people who buy ink by the barrel.

But the writer errs in thinking that 'old media' has no importance or that a single blog sold the lion's share of books. Unless his book included a tear-off card asking buyers to check a box indicating what media outlet first turned them on to his book, there's no way of knowing what inspires someone to make a purchase. To hedge one's bets, a campaign has to involve multiple media platforms, from peer-to-peer social networking to 'new media' like blogs to 'old media' like national TV and magazines. Call it the Long Tail of content.

I also do PR, and most journalists are very understanding about how difficult it is to work with themselves and other journalists. It's why they appreciate good PR people - we make their jobs easier. Bloggers and citijo types are a little more sheltered and sensitive, and a bit more insecure about their place at the table (evident by the writer's engaging the publicist in an ongoing battle rather than clicking the "mark as spam" button). Knowing this, the onus is indeed on the PR person to be careful about their approach.

[kcgaggle]

Someone needs to show this to the people buying the books then because the change needs to be industry-wide. Right now, sorry to say, in-house publicists don't really have time to research every journalist and read their last ten stories, on top of everyone's twitter, blog, media databases, facebook, etc. When you're working on 5 big hardcovers a month and even more paperbacks--and all day long you have to answer emails from authors, publishers, agents, marketing people saying "did you try this?" "oh, maybe send to Oprah, this is right up her alley" sometimes it's easier to have covered all your bases. I'm not saying it's right, but everyone in publishing needs to understand that times have changed as well and work together with publicists to more finely tune communication instead of trying to create the biggest blanket effect. Authors, agents, and publishers need to understand this.

[BlackJAC]

Unfortunately blanket effect is where the sales lie, not niche markets. I get this screenwriting E-mail newsletter with sales leads, and the companies are specific to the point of absurdity: they want Subject Matter X in Setting Y for actor of Gender/Ethnicity Z, don't send anything that can be adapted to fit these requirements, budget will not exceed $1 million. Chasing trends never works, for the trend has run its course by the time your stuff hits the streets.

Lisa Scottoline writes mysteries; the agent that got her published the first time handled cookbooks. Nicholas Sparks intentionally deviated from the genres that the instant-bestselling authors worked in so he could make his own name. If the Guardians Of The Money knew what they wanted, they'd write it themselves.

[Lisa Earle McLeod - Huffpost Blogger]

Every author who is dependent on an in house publicist just threw themselves in front of a bus.

The saddest part of this whole thing is that it was the publicist who didn't have a clue, and the poor author is left wondering why they're not getting any web hits.

Note to every author on the plane:, You can hire people to help, but if you yourself don't understand PR and the way the new media works, and you're not willing to bust it, you will never sell any books.

Unless you're a rogue governor who looks great in a sweatshirt.

[craigmc]

It seems like a no-brainer--
Why reach out to a low percentage of a very high viewership vs. a higher percentage of a very dedicated, engaged, and self-identified viewership. Marketing effectively to popular/well-read blogs should be a crucial starting point of a PR campaign. Where else are you going to get to speak directly to an affinity community about a topic that they've self-selected as already important to them.

(smacking forehead)

Doesn't seem like rocket science to me.

[BlackJAC]

Because that only gets the people who have Internet access in the first place. Further, it also supposes that out of the 2.5 billion hits Google generates just from the search term "blog" has what you're looking for in the first place.

http://www.seattlepi.com/dayart/20090610/Cartoon20090610.jpg

[BlackJAC]

The problem with social media is that it requires people to subscribe to you, which means you have to essentially spam everyone in the system to get those followers in the first place. Otherwise you're the electronic equivalent of some bum on the sidewalk muttering something about the cops stealing your brainwaves.

[craigmc]

Your comments seem predicated on bad search practice. Although it definitely depends on who your target affinity group is, no one is going to Google and searching "blog" expecting any kind of reasonable result. Specific searches, as would come from a self-identified consumer, yield specific results.

That said, I think that the more clearly defined a blog author's focus, the higher the keyword density in their written materials will be, and the higher they will place on Google rankings. That, combined with informative posts that cause more people to select them over their competitors, will increase their ranking on Google (if people are choosing them over their competitors from a search results page).

When you put something on a general media outlet-- sure, there's tons of "readership", but the number of people specifically interested in your informatio­n/book/pro­duct may be low. In some ways, your "bum on the sidewalk" analogy is more appropriate here-- bum is muttering on the sidewalk, hand out, and may catch the attention of a few people. A smaller subset of those will actually donate some food/money.

What if the bum were standing outside a food bank? Or a meeting of volunteers dedicated to fighting poverty?

Embrace the community dynamics of the blogosphere, and treat the platform as a means of discussion, not a soap box. People interested in your thoughts will come to you, both from other sites they read (and you comment on) and from external searches.

[BlackJAC]

Google kicks back 227,000,000 hits from searching "book blog." How do you determine who's a real player versus a smoke-blower refreshing his own page just to jack up the hit counter?

http://www.seattlepi.com/dayart/20090610/Cartoon20090610.jpg

Your model is more akin to the Ultra-Trendy Underground Nightclub: so exclusive that nobody knows where to find it because they don't advertise their existence to the rabble. Consequently they're out of business within a year because word-of-mouth between trendoids only goes so far before you have to take out some ad space in the local newspaper's A&E section. Consider the new STAR TREK movie: it exceeded the complete unadjusted take of the previously most successful TREK movie in its second week of US release alone because it was aimed at everybody, not insular afficionados who appointed themselves tastemakers.

Bottom line: you'll get more buzz on your book if some celebutante uses it to deck a stalkerazzo than from a blog.

[Saket]

Its hillarious that someone in PR for 35 years survived with those skills. This person is at least totally unsuited for social media marketing.

Here's a way I stop spammers on their tracks. Try this next time - the reaction might be entertaining:

This is the second time I'm asking you to remove me from your mailing list. Please note that if you do not stop, then within ten days you will be in in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. I will be notifying the FTC, and you may also need to pay penalties of $10,000 for these emails.

I haven't had any trouble with this one-size-fits-all response to these marketers :-)

[prleads]

As a former reporter (and an award winning one at that) and PR person with 30+ years standing, I agree completely with Jonathan. If you are going to pitch a reporter, make it personal. Show her that you know her readers interests and her interests. That will make you stand out from all the sorry mess of pitches that crossed my desk as a reporter!

Media databases can actually help you accomplish that. At BullsEyePu­blicity,co­m, for example, the media databases include information on reporters' interests and lets you find their recent articles so you know what they are interested in. I'd strongly suggest that you Google any reporter to find their latest articles and get to know them so you can pitch to them on their terms.

Of course, the hardest part of this is finding the right reporter, and that's where a good media database comes in. But, as Jonathan suggests, use them to build a relationship, and not spam the marketplace.

[BlackJAC]

At http://www.everybodywhosanybody.com , one agent listed therein told the site's webmaster to take down his contact info because he was inundated with unsolicited queries. The webmaster replied that receiving unsolicited queries was part of the agent's job description and kept the contact info up.