Comments on: Blogger Manners Must: Responding To Unwanted Pitches & Invites

By: Tamanisha John

Tamanisha John — Sun, 18 May 2014 23:30:26 +0000

Great post! I just wished more bloggers thought this way ore read this post. I’ve emailed a few and never got any responses, no matter how many pitch advice videos or articles I read and their “how to contact” advice. I don’t even mind if their response was just rejection, but the lack of response makes me wonder…especially since I’m subscribed to them.

By: taylordavies

taylordavies — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 21:18:54 +0000

In reply to Joanne Mallon. You definitely make some good points Joanne. It can be really time-consuming when the numbers get really high. I've never had an issue getting myself removed from a mailing list, and while it's a small step in de-cluttering my email inbox, it's one that I've found to make a big difference over time. So yes, sometimes you just want to press delete and move on, but it can be depressing to just keep pressing delete over and over day after day until the end of time... haha! Thanks for the thoughtful comment!

By: Joanne Mallon

Joanne Mallon — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 20:56:59 +0000

I think you make some valid points, although (respectfully) I am going to have to disagree with some of them.

Yes an email only takes around a minute to reply to, but multiply that by 50+ per day and it becomes a big chunk of your time which I as a working mother just don’t have to play around with.

You refer to fielding emails like a professional, but a professional journalist/writer is much more likely to simply delete irrelevant emails straight away, and only respond to those of interest. I see so many bloggers getting all heated up and angry with PRs who send irrelevant emails, when really the most straightforward thing to do would be to just delete and not think twice about it.

I wish I had your faith that we could be removed from email lists on request. Sadly this is not the case in my experience. Contact lists get shared around PR firms and even if you get yourself off one, another three can still spring up in its place. Again, it’s what your delete button is there for.

But I do agree that a personal message deserves the courtesy of a reply, and I always aim to do this. It’s all the other guys with the merge mail and the cut ‘n paste which I have (literally) no time for.

By: Troubles Mum

Troubles Mum — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 20:48:25 +0000

Just today I got an email from a large brand wanting to work with me for some free clothing and some activities for my children. They wanted me to use pics of the children playing with the stuff on the blog. Instead of deleting it, I replied thanks but I don’t do pics of the kids because I write anonymously, so as much as I like the sound of their campaign, we couldn’t take part. I got an email back saying that, actually, they would still like to work with me and if I didn’t want to use my own pics, that’s fine but they would like me to do it, but without the pics if it made things easier for me. This was brilliant, and I am pleased to be part of their campaign – it wouldn’t have happened if I’d hit the delete button just because there was something in it that didn’t sit quite right with me. Completely agree with all of the above, and unlike many people I talk to online, I don’t have very many bad PR stories to tell.

By: Krystal

Krystal — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 14:31:35 +0000

I’ve had brands that could possibly fit well into my blog content except they only want me to use their pictures and insert specific keywords. I tried to explain a product sample or review would be a more beneficial post, but they didn’t get the message. At that point, I had to tell them a polite “no thanks.”

By: Hayley

Hayley — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 12:18:30 +0000

I also like to point PRs in the direction of someone that might be able to work with them – I like to do this even if I am going to accept something, because it’s good to share some blog love! I don’t think anyone is going to say “sorry, we know all the blogs we ever want to deal with”!

By: Deborah

Deborah — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 08:52:27 +0000

Great post – this made me go straight to my inbox and send some polite no thank you’s – so thank you very much x

By: ...love Maegan

...love Maegan — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 06:23:12 +0000

Brilliant! 😉 as usual.

By: Gabby

Gabby — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 03:42:45 +0000

Not only Fashion Bloggers, but everybody should be polite a write a “no-thank you” note/email. I was once asked to collaborate with someone, but when I replied (that I was interested), I never heard from them again. Even when I tried to reach this person on Twitter, this person just completely ignored me, and that was mean. Since then, every time I decline I proporsal, I try to send them an email. Great article!

By: goodbadandfab

goodbadandfab — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:27:48 +0000

The relationship between bloggers and PR companies can be greatly symbiotic. I appreciate their invites and pitches as they cultivate channels of information distribution. I personally prefer not to unsubscribe from any of their mailing lists. Even if their roster of clients are not relevant to my blog topics NOW, PR firms, like blogs are constantly growing so why eliminate the possibility of working with great fashion brands down the line?

www.goodbadandfab.com
personal style and fashion musings of a LA fashion lawyer living life in the fab lane