In today’s edition of #WTFNaina, I give you an email that is representative of a large number of emails I receive on a weekly basis :
Hi!
You are cordially invited to send your correspondents/Reporters/Photographers/RJs/Video crew for the Grand Finale of <redacted> on <date> at <redacted>, Dwarka, New Delhi.
Please find attached the invite for the same.
Looking forward to see you at the event.
Kindly RSVP.
But why?
Did you think about that for a moment before you hit “send” on such an email? Why would anyone be interested in RSVPing, forget sending their “crew” to “cover” it? Do you imagine a blogger and their team ( if they have one ) sitting around waiting for invitations to events like yours? Are you familiar with the word “expenses”? If not, maybe you’re working for free yourself, spending parents’/spouse’s money and wasting my time in exchange.
You don’t have a goddamn clue what it is I do for a living do you? The sentence “correspondents/Reporters/Photographers/RJs/Video crew” attempts to encompass professionals as much as your tiny brain could dream of in an attempt to appeal every poor sod who has to cover events like yours as part of their beat at the publication / station they are a salaried employee of. I am not a salaried employee of any organization, you missed encompassing me. Ouch. Whatever am I going to do? My life is a waste isn’t it. Oh no.
“But Naina, the email does have the word’photographer’ in it. So that means you?”
“…send your photographers…” even if I employed any, I wouldn’t send them. Back to “Why?” Are you paying my photographer? Because I certainly will be paying my photographer. If I am paying them, why in the world will I send them to cover something that generates no revenue or profit for my business?
“But Naina, your audience might like the story! Which means, your blog will get more pageviews!”
Sorry to disappoint you but I’ve been taken on a ride enough times on the word “MIGHT”. Show me the money and I’ll be there.
The one above is similar to the “Feel Free” piece I wrote earlier so most of what I’m trying to say, you can get from there.
More anecdotes and stories in the #WTFNaina series. ( These are all inspired by true stories. 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 scorzonera. License via Flickr.
