The other night I apologized to an editor in chief of a major magazine - the intern had pulled her name from Cision and I didn't notice before we started pitching. My apology turned into an opportunity for this editor (who was working at 10pm her time, by the way) to start a rant on how pitches came into her email "like weeds". Many people doing their own PR look at the masthead of the magazine, screw up their courage and pitch right to the top. That might seem like a good idea, but in reality, most unknown people get into stories through a freelancer, who isn't listed in the magazine. Or an associate editor. Or through HARO. NOT by sending their "amazing, creative and compelling" pitch to an editor in chief.
I realize that everybody can't afford to hire a PR person. But I really wish these DIY publicity "teachers" would teach something other than "how to write a fantastic pitch for the Today Show" that ends up in the email of a top producer who never works at that level. There are relationships that need to be developed, protocol to follow and a natural hierarchy of media that virtually no DIY teacher is teaching. Basically, people are learning how to be salespeople to the media...which the media HATES. You can't just pitch holiday guides and magically have it turn into "thousands of dollars in sales". Or send to 10 or 20 people and
get 2-3 feature articles! Or how about creating a pitch the media can't resist! Or better yet, buy this book and get into O Magazine to
become an overnight sensation!
