11 reasons your PR pitches suck

A while back, I posted 6 ways to ruin your chances of getting free publicity over at BNET.

If you haven’t read it yet, the background is that I used Help A Reporter Out (HARO) to source a query for BNET.

And O.M.G.

In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t have imagined the kinds of responses I’d get, which is why some of the “ways to ruin your chances” include things like:

1. Be blatantly self-promotional.

I can’t tell you how many pitches I received that were so bloviated, they would have made Alec Baldwin jealous. “I’m a social media expert as seen on <CABLE TV STATION>.”

And that was it. That was supposed to be the story.

By now, everyone is some kind of social media “expert.” So what’s new about you?

2. Be more vague than the Twilight Zone.

My query made it clear that I wanted examples of success, and how it was being measured. But many of the pitches I received included words to the effect, “so and so can discuss ______, let me know if you want to interview them.”