Setting Up a Pitch Me or PR YES page and How to Deal with Pitches

When setting up your blog there are certain informational pages and copy that you must have like copyright or a contact me page. This post is about setting up a page to attract and respond to pitches and press releases from publicists, PR firms and company marketing departments.

If your blog gets any sort of traffic, you’ve probably been pitched to, and like most mom bloggers, you’ve receive a mixture of bad pitches, some so-so ones, and hopefully a few gems. However, while much has been posted about how companies should pitch to bloggers (see Susan Getgood’s blog, Marketing Roadmaps) not as much has been written about how bloggers can make the pitching process easier.

One exception is Todd Defren who blogs at PR Squared. His “Bloggers: Be Proactive in Educating PR Pros” post suggests that you use a badge on your site to state your preference – yes, no or maybe with stipulations. They’re cute, but like most badges, they could easily get lost in your sidebar clutter. Instead, combine the badge with a page on your blog.

Putting your pitch preferences on your about me page or as a blog post won’t do. Your pitch me page must be as obvious as possible. A good example is on the Jake McKee’s Community Guy blog. A link to his pitch me page is plainly displayed in the upper right hand side of his blog.

On his page, Jake clearly explains exactly how he wants PR professionals to approach him. He hates form letters, likes to review products, and asks that you learn about his interests before sending him an email. Interestingly, he also wants to learn something about who is contacting to him because he likes working with people he knows. He also links his pitch me page to his contact page, which lists his email address, phone number, Twitter page, LinkedIn profile, Skype number, and AIM screen name.

What to put on your pitch me page
I happy to see that more and more Mom bloggers are creating PR YES (or NO) or Pitch Me pages of some sort.

On your page, decide how you want to be contacted. One blogger I know wants to only be pitched via her Facebook page and clearly states this. At the bare minimum, put your email address on your pitch page. You may want to create a contact form on your blog instead, so you can capture some marketing information of your own. However, think twice about putting your phone number on your blog. Between your spouse, your Mom and your best friend, you get enough phone interruptions as it is.

The problem with so many pitches is that they’re too general or miss the mark, so be specific in explaining your needs. Tell publicists what products or subjects you’re interested in. Include the ages of your children since it’s annoying to get pitches for baby products when you have teenagers. If you’re a vegan food blogger tell them you’re interested in vegan food products. Sometimes you have to state the obvious!

Do you do product reviews or run giveaways or contests on your blog? Let them know. If you sell advertising space or do sponsored posting – and give preference to those paying you to plug their product or service – mention that, too. There’s nothing wrong in selling your services if that’s what you want to do.

Then tell them about yourself, your audience, and your blog. Link to your about me page. Give them your readers’ demographic information, your traffic numbers, and Google page and Alexis rank. (Sign up for Quantcast to get demographic info – it’s free.) Don’t forget to include links to your LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter profiles. Also, add those little chicklets that give your RSS and Twitter reader numbers to your page. Finally, if you have an e-newsletter list, give those numbers, too.

How to respond to a pitch
Remember, you are under no obligation to answer a pitch. You can treat it like junk mail and toss. But don’t burn any bridges. If the pitch is from a PR agency or company that you would want to work with in the future, answer them politely and professionally. Tell them you’re not interested at this time, but to keep you on their emailing list for future campaigns.

If something intrigues you, email them back sooner rather than later. You may want to create a standard reply to save time, especially if you’re going to send them a mailing address.

Then be a good business person. If you promise to write a post or do a review, do it, especially if you’ve received a freebie. After you post, email the publicist the URL and thank them for sending you the information or product sample.

Remember, it’s all about relationships. If you set up a solid pitch me page and present yourself professionally, you’ll be treated the same way in return.

If you have a Pitch Me or PR YES page that you’d like to share, leave a link below.

Anne-Marie Nichols is the Social Media Mangaer at Mom Central Consulting. You can also find her blogging up some healthy recipes at This Mama Cooks!

Anne-Marie Nichols