PR means relationships (AKA how to really tick off a blogger)

As a professional blogger, I get a ton of pitches. (And even welcome them!)

But I recently got a pitch I responded positively too from  PR person over at DittoePR. They seem to be a great firm, but I think this practitioner forgot the basics.

She did the pitch right by sending a specific letter targeted to me and for my audience. I responded positively. She followed up with a request for a phone meeting that day, plus additional info. Perfectly done.

But when I said I couldn’t make a meeting that day, it seemed to fall apart.  I offered other days that I could be available, and mentioned today was a good day for me. I didn’t hear back by days end (which was Friday), and moved on to enjoying my life at home.

She did reply, but after ‘regular’ hours on the East coast. But her reply was more of a demand. She gave me a phone number to call on Monday at a specific time. OK, I thought, a little pushy, but I’m open at that time.

So at the designated hour, I called. No answer. I waited a few minutes and called again. Still no answer.  After a third attempt, I sent this woman an email asking what’s up. I got a response a couple of hours later saying that she called off the meeting because I didn’t confirm.

First, she didn’t ask for a confirmation. She just TOLD me to call. Second, hello there? Even if she did ask me to confirm – and I didn’t, isn’t it her job to find out from me?

So why am I telling you this? Partly to vent… but there is another reason:

PR is about building relationships first. That’s why you don’t always NEED a publicist to help you – because if you’re good at the relationship part, the rest will be easier.