A PR fail...

While a hot strong pitch from a PR is what I want landing in my inbox (and I'm thankful when this does happen), unfortunately my inbox is more weighed down with irrelevant emails. Utterly unusable pitches and press releases on all kinds of subjects that I wouldn't cover.

One particular PR who persistently pitched me with stories I don’t cover sticks in my mind. 

“Sorry, not my area,” I’d respond. “Mind removing me from your list?” 

A few weeks later, another email on a different subject. “Again, not my area. Mind removing from your list?” 

And so, it went on and on and on…. 

“Are you actually receiving/reading my emails?” I asked.

This wasn’t a huge PR agency. This was a one-man band. 

Then she did apologise and it stopped. For a short period. 

And then again and again. I felt like I was on some comedy sketch show or I was being pranked. And I know I could have blocked her (and many a time I do use that) but maybe I just wanted to see if she’d listen. 

And I know some people will say, well, it’s down to the platform she’s using. But honestly, from my point of view, if an editor had sent me an email asking me not to her pitch her again after sending a completely unrelated story, I sure as hell know I’m not going to be popping up in her inbox again.

Pitching is about building relationships. Not destroying them. 

I’m glad to say it’s been over a year since I last received an email from her.

But I still remember her name for all the wrong reasons.