If the email mention anything about my site, instead of being address to a “Mr/Mrs,” then I usually would scan it quickly to see if it is something I would be interested in.

I think it actually depends on the blog and the subject. For example, on my blog Entrepreneur Interviews I’m getting contacted mostly by PR companies. They contact me for interviews with the entrepreneurs they represent, so it’s actually beneficial!
The only time I’m getting frustrated is when they get in contact, I’m preparing the interview, then they never reply my emails :(

Like others have mentioned, when I do get a message addressed to me, about something that pertains to my site and topic, I read it and often respond. That has often resulted in my highlighting a product or book on my blog (or book), which in turn is good for sales and provides a service to my readers if I think the book is good.

If you’re going to do something, you should do it right if you want to get results. An excellent article about how to do that is Do’s and Don’ts of Marketing To Bloggers by Elise Bauer.

One question though; what about highlighting and implementing the social media release? Rather than a flat press release a social media release at least tries to “empower” (sorry for the buzzword) the blogger/writer, so there’s more chance of a post or article. Obviously depends on the industry and the product, but I’ve found they tend to work much better.

Give me a f’ing break. How about you take some time and actually read my blog before pitching me? It is a two way street. PR people acting like half of the information they send out is worth writing about is laughable. Half of the pitches I get aren’t even remotely connected to what I write about on a daily basis.

Also um, I should consider if this information is valuable to my friends so I can pass it along for you? Do you want me to write the press release for you while I am at it?”
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I am soooo with you Kevin! WTF? Why should I take the moment when you have just shown that YOU didn’t take the moment??
I’ve been on both sides of the fence (not just writing onine) and have been for the past 8 years. I think most companies just realize they have to get into “this blogging thing” but have no idea how to do it and everyone comes off looking bad. It has to get better for both sides though as it can’t get any worse!
Stacey

Last week I linked to a source I was discussing in a post. The next morning in my Inbox is an email form a well-known name around the internet. The name, provided it is in fact the actual person, is not the problem. The problem is that subject line does not reference the post topic or why the person, to whom I did not link but rather one of their affiliate channels, is writing to me. The subject line was their own recent guest post title on a feed which I unsubscribed from months ago.

This is counter to permission marketing. If you are interested in my writing and my audience talk to me about me and/or us, don’t talk to me about you until you have earned permission to do so. So don’t swamp me with essentially spam and then tell me I’m an ungrateful wretch. I’m not the one behaving badly.

This is the difference between buckshot and birdshot. One is designed to bring down a trophy the other settles for winging anything in range.

So, usually i avoid emails from unknown persons.i just delete it ,i will never open it.

Compare the strategies from the last decade and before to those used now.

Give me a f’ing break. How about you take some time and actually read my blog before pitching me? It is a two way street. PR people acting like half of the information they send out is worth writing about is laughable. Half of the pitches I get aren’t even remotely connected to what I write about on a daily basis.

Also um, I should consider if this information is valuable to my friends so I can pass it along for you? Do you want me to write the press release for you while I am at it?

Sangesh: Sorry to hear about how frustrated you are. My primary motivation for writing this entry was to help bloggers better understand how we work. Hopefully, with this increased understanding, we change from an irritating gnat to, erm, a potential snack!

Consider writing back to the people who are writing to you with irrelevant information. Ask them what other companies they represent that might be worth your time. And don’t hesitate to write back to ask them to unsubscribe you — they just have to take your name off a spreadsheet, for the most part!

Shanel Yang: One blog post isn’t going to tip the scales, I know, but the journey of a hundred miles begins with a single step, ya?

Melanie, Nancy: Your examples and attitude regarding PR people is exactly what I was hoping to foster with this blog post. I think we can all work together for mutual benefit — the spam will decrease as a result.

Please don’t hesitate to drop your questions in here folks — I want to help!

I’m a blogger and, as luck would have it, I just wrote about this, so if you want to see the world from my point of view and maybe gain a tip or two on how to speak to bloggers so you get results, you are welcome to drop by my site: http://almostvegetarian.blogspot.com/2008/06/how-to-talk-to-blogger-so-you-get.html

Cheers!

What I do not care for is the PR person who writes and asks me to promote their products and is not willing to give anything in return. I am not cheap advertising for free. I would expect that person to buy ad space or offer something for my readers (which, in turn, boosts my traffic: win-win-win). I don’t like to be asked to do something for nothing; it implies that I don’t add value in the long run. If my blog is truly in your niche, partner with me equally–otherwise, don’t waste my or your time.

Check it out. I get lots of mail and if the PR folks have missed the target, I just skip it, hit delete, and move on. That’s fine, I don’t mind because the successful communications more than make up for the spam… still. (That could change.)

What REALLY bugs me is when PR folks don’t close the loop. They send me the mail, I answer it, and then… NOTHING. Typically, what happens is I’ll get mail telling me that such and such a product/service is available and I say, yeah, maybe my readers WOULD like to know about that. Hook me up, I’ll review it, sure.

And I get nothing in return. No response. Nothing. It’s not like I can’t take no for an answer. But YOU mailed ME, remember? So why don’t you answer when I respond? THAT makes me crazy.

On the plus side, over time I have established some nice relationships with PR folks. They know who I am, what interests me, and we have a conversation. I vote yes to that.

How do I get in touch with you? I’ve looked at your company’s contact page and didn’t see you listed.

I find I have much better luck when I contact the PR people of products I want to work with. I have a standard letter that goes out that has stats for readership and RSS subscribers (with links to my open Sitemeter account), a list of high-status blogs that have linked to me such as BoingBoing and HuffPo, and my Technorati and Google Pagerank ranking. I find that approaching them with a good solid collection of data that shows the value of working with me gets my foot in the door much easier.

And when a good PR person is working with you, it’s amazing what kind of swag you can get for yourself and your readers. I’ve received boxes of books for giveaways on multiple occasions, and a few times I’ve been able to run contests where the company even does the mailing and does a cross-link to me on their company blog, driving traffic.

My wife wrote an article from the other side of the fence:

How to Pitch to a Blogger