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By B.L. Ochman

Dear PR Peeps – I’ve been on both sides of the desk. I’m a long-time blogger with a journalism degree. Somewhere along the line, I took a wrong turn and spend 10 years or so in PR before turning my attention to Internet strategy in 1995. So I’ve pitched and been pitched. And lemme tell you, the way the vast majority of PR people pitch is astoundingly lazy and lacking in basic people skills. That’s why I’m happy to share a great pitch with you.

But first, a study in contrasts with a recent PR Pitch from Hell: “B.L., I understand you cover topics related to social media.” + unsolicited press release. oh puh-lese. That’s wrong on so many levels. Then there was the one about Samsung’s new viral, released that morning.

If you want to learn how to pitch effectively, please read this pitch from Rob Toledo of Distilled Creative. It’s one of the best I’ve ever received.

Why?
– He’s apparently visited my blog – seen my photo – and not called me “Mr. Ochman”.
– He’s not only looked at What’s Next Blog, he read my bio and thoroughly my recent post, not just read the headline.
– Then he took the trouble to go to my pet blog, Pawfun, and to tell me that he’s also a dog lover who volunteers at a shelter.
– He wrote it in a human voice, not PRese.
– He didn’t say “I know you’ll want to tell your readers about this.” Because, dear PR peeps, you do not tell me what I want to tell my readers about.

Here’s his pitch, followed, of course, by what he was pitching.It’s about social media success.

What he was pitching

Click image to open interactive version (via Simply Business).

Bonus Links:
PR People of Earth – get a clue
10 Tips on how to make your video go viral
How to make a video contest go viral
Can viral be created? Yes, and no