Them :
Subject : Fashion Event Happening Tomorrow
Hi,
Please find the attached picture to see the details of the preview happening at
store tomorrow and day after. It will also be published in tomorrow’s
(News Daily) Feel free to cover the preview or merely visit us.
Thanks.
Me :
Feel free to pay me first kindly – then I will feel free to do the work involved in visiting and “covering” 🙂 Cheers!
Firstly, “Feel free to cover the preview or merely visit us.” Feel free? Really? And what’s with the “merely” visit us? Does a store visit mean so little to you that you’re not even conscious of how you’re representing your client’s brand? Why in the whole wide world would I feel anything about you, your client brand or their store – least of all “free to visit / cover”? I don’t know you at all – it’s a cold, freezing-my-tits-off email at best. I’ve never heard of the brand or your agency earlier and couldn’t possibly be arsed to do anything about your “fashion event”, which is happening TOMORROW. I have a schedule you know – sometimes planned months in advance. TOMORROW is not going to happen even if you’re hiring me professionally, which you are not.
Secondly, “…cover the preview…” But why? What’s in it for me or my blog? Why must I carve out time from my schedule to get dressed, get a cab or drive to your store, with my camera, take photos of your store, drive back to my desk, edit the photos, upload them on the blog, write about your store, publish the story to share with my audience and them update social media about the story and your store? Would you mind spending some time thinking about what you’re asking for here? Clearly not. Because that would involve effort. And if any of the previous #WTFNaina stories are any indication, “effort” is clearly not the top priority here.
Lastly, what’s with the, “It will also be published in tomorrow’s News Daily.”? You just declared, in writing, how ignorant you are of the differences between a professional blogger and a News Daily known for its paid media features. This leads me to the conclusion that you have never once visited my blog or seen what kind of stories I work on. Again, back to the question of “effort”.
Yes, it is a LOT of work to research one single blogger when there are hundreds in the Indian market now. The sheer number of bloggers in the market is also precisely the reason you need to do your research so that you can get in touch with just the ones that are relevant o your client’s brand. doing this will ensure you only spend your marketing money on the right blogs and bloggers. It will also ensure a high probability of generating further relevant interest from these bloggers’ audience. There is no downside to doing this research and building a relationship with said bloggers.
Sending out emails like the above has no upside.
( Except for me of course. I get new story for #WTFNaina! )
More anecdotes and stories in the #WTFNaina series. ( These are all true stories by the way. Some written emails, some from face-to-face meetings. They have all been piling up for years now and I’ve decided to put them to use! )
Photo by Mark Strozler. License via Flickr.
