There’s a very revealing guest rant by professional ’lifestyle’ blogger Krizia in Pro Blogger: PR People Getting Pushier with Bloggers Since the Recession.
Krizia is perturbed that PRs are now asking questions about the value of all their free giveaways; the cash, the swag is drying up for product placement on Krizia’s EatSmartAgeSmart blog. Before bestowing gifts and favors PR people are asking pesky questions like:
- “How many unique users?”
- “How many page views?”
- “How fast can you get our review on your site?”
- “Have you won any awards in the past?”
- “Send us links to past reviews you’ve written.”
- “What angle will you take with this feature?”
In other words, publicists were getting hip and demanding the same standards they apply to legitimate media. When we get a hit inthe Daily Newswe know the circulation, target readership, ad equivalent value – in print and on the web. Why not with bloggers?
EatSmartAgeSmart has all the markings of a commercial enterprise that treats ‘content’ like ad-filler. Where’s the PR value in editorial in an outlet that obviously crafts stories as thinly-disguised ads to pump individual blog traffic and ancillary business for a larger blog network? (see Glam Media description below).
I know this is beauty/fashion/lifestyle blah blah, and that’s the way it’s done in these industries. But these sprung-up-on-the-web media properties are competing with established, verified, legitimate media outlets that are converting their readers to the web. If you’re a publicist you’ll choose mass media or Trade pubs before spending billable time on corrupt bloggers who publicly kvetch about the lack of swag coming from PRs.
Blogger Relations – a credible pitch
A few days ago I got a perfect pitch. I hope Alex doesn’t mind if I reprint it verbatim here:
Hi Mark,
My name is Alex King and I’m the Director of Marketing at a small MIT startup called WebNotes. Thanks for your post on Mandy Stadtmiller- I just read her column and thought it was hysterical!
Anyways, my firm is building research tools for PR firms to help out with the daily news scan process and I was curious if you might be interested in writing about us. I’d love to show you a demo and even give you access to the software.
I hope all is well,
Alex
We did a Go-to-Meeting Demo. I asked questions and I signed up for the same two week free WebNotes Demo vailable to everybody. No free giveaway. No PR. No hustle. No quid pro quo. No money changing hands.
A couple of days after the Demo Alex followed up with email to see if I needed assistance. Be professional, be personal, be persistent. In PR, media relations, blogger relations, bottomline, that’s all you can do. If you do that, you’re way ahead of the game.
EatSmartAgeSmart is in the Glam Media network.From the Glam Media site: Glam Media is the pioneer and global leader of Vertical Media—a revolutionary new media model that connects premium brand advertisers with millions of consumers with like-minded passions online through large and growing vertical content networks. With more than 1400 publishers worldwide, we cover the topics people are passionate about. We know how to find and engage these audiences with the right content at the right time—and brand advertisers are taking note. In the past year, 23 of the top 25 brand advertisers have engaged with passionate consumers on one of the Glam Media Networks. With a reach of 55 million unique monthly visitors in the US and more than 125 million uniques globally, it’s no wonder Glam Media is in the comScore Top 20 Web properties and a Top 10 AdWeek Display Ad Publisher.
Twitter scams are proliferating like wildfire on the Net- 100FOLLOWERS A DAY! they promise – and this one, 
Chevron is throwing down the gauntlet – conducting a bare knuckle PR campaign the likes of which we have rarely seen. At stake is a $27 billion judgement in an Ecuadorian court that, if leveled (a decision is expected this year), and if it sticks (it is not clear if an Ecuadorian court can extract payment from an American company with no current operations in its country), would be 
perspective. The video, 
This is a difficult and confusing time to break into the public relations business. As traditional media continues to disappear at unprecedented speed, and the acceptance and use of social media increases exponentially, the PR landscape becomes radically altered. How do you promote a service, product or person in 2009 when the rules of engagement have shifted so far that nobody can say for certain what they are? How do you judge success when you have no verifiable way to measure it? Why on earth would anybody want to break into this business now when there are no jobs and nobody can agree what public relations is anymore?
Precisely the minute Barack Obama was sworn is as the 44th President of the United States (noon, Jan 20, 2009), Macon Phillips (left), Director of New Media for the White House, published his first blog post, titled 
It was the week of the swindler, the thief, the profane, double-dealing Governor, the blood sport of Illinois politics and the sociopathic Wall Street money manager. Marc S. Dreier, “one of New York’s most accomplished lawyers, brazenly swindled some of the city’s savviest investors,” (
Kowalski personality. In 2007 Feldman was making his mark in a tight little circle, and then he unknowingly picked a fight with the Frenchies and took the whole thing to a higher level.
Loic made two critical errors: he thought Loren was racist and he thought he was serious. And because of that Loren decided to get real serious and to taunt and antagonize and mock and humilate the French. It was amazing how many others wanted to join in. 1938Media attracts a sometimes rabid gang.
Baby faced Greek thumb sucking serial entrepreneur and dog face licker JasonMcCabe&Mrs.Miller CalacanisOuzo III (left, at NYC dim sum orgy) 
really Brian?” somebody asked me, perturbed by the various genders and shadings of Brian. “Actually,” I said. “That is one of Brian’s personalities. And then Brian himself has several personalities. These days it’s best to keep a scorecard before responding.” One of Brian’s personalities likes to confront adversaries in postings, email and on the phone. That is the Brian that over-thought 
