This document summarizes feedback from journalists about annoying PR tactics. Journalists expressed frustration with PR people who contact them without understanding their beat or style, repeatedly follow up without response, or act overly desperate with exclamation points and all caps. The document advises PR people to invest more time understanding a journalist's coverage before pitching, avoid excessive follow ups like phone calls if emails are unanswered, and focus on clear concise stories rather than theatrical tactics.

1. S%#T
PR PEOPLEdo
that
HATE
JOURNALISTS

2. Breaking News
A lot of conventional PR tactics are spammy and frustrating to
journalists. We want them to get our name in the news, but
many of us PR people go about it all wrong. Instead of building
relationships with journalists, we tend to force one-way
conversations that go something like this…

3. Hi,
I saw you wrote an exciting piece on Cuba last week and I
ate a Cuban sandwich for lunch today and thought you may
like to interview me for your magazine. Your readers would
love it. I’ll give you a call tomorrow morning if I don’t hear
back.
Thanks!
To: Journalist Jim
From: PR Polly
Subject: SANDWICH ANNOUNCEMENT

4. JOURNALISTS
HATE THAT
S%#T

5. SO, WHAT SEPARATES THE PR FOES
FROM THE
PR PROS?

6. TO FIND OUT, WE DID SOME INVESTIGATIVE
REPORTING OURSELVES AND ASKED JOURNALISTS:
WHAT S%#T DO PR PEOPLE
DO THAT YOU HATE?

7. Their feedback was
BRUTALLY
INSIGHTFUL

8. “I don't mind being approached by PR people since I need
104 column ideas every year, but I hate it when they are canned, self
indulgent, and boring. Make the effort to know my readers and my
style, be creative, and by all means please, please, please
don't bore me.”
Kevin Daum, Inc.
@AwesomeROAR

9. Period.”
When they call
you on the phone.“
Borzou Daragahi, The Financial Times
@borzou
Click to tweet
this quote.

10. “ALL CAPS. They drive me
batty. So many
publicists seem to think that if they PUT THIS IN
THE SUBJECT LINE, I'll be more likely to read it.
Exact opposite. When I see a subject line in all-
caps, it goes straight to my trash.
”
Jeff Wilser, Writer
@jeffwilser

11. “One time, a PR person called me on
the phone and said ‘my tracking
software says you didn't open my email
so I'm calling to follow up.’ Thanks, but
no thanks.”
Ben Smith, Buzzfeed
@buzzfeedben

12. “Advice: tailor your pitch and have
modest goals. If your client is
genuinely insignificant, you're not
going to get a national outlet to write
a story about them. Figure out the
broader story they're part of and
point out how their expertise might
be relevant in that context. And have
low expectations:
you’re going to strike out
most of the time.”
David Lynch, Bloomberg News
@davidjlynch

13. I find the practice of Googling a topic or competitive company, then emailing
every single writer whose article comes up, to be a huge waste of time. You
know, emails that start “Hi Anthony, I saw that you wrote about [company I wrote
about once, a year ago, in an area that I have no interest in but was asked to
cover by my editor], so I thought you might be interested in ..."
Anthony Ha, TechCrunch
@anthonyha

14. Sound
familiar?

15. I hate it when PR people explain what an embargo is. I know
what an embargo is, don't tell me and remind me twice. I also
hate it when people follow up with a phone call to ask if I got
their email. Here's the thing about email: it works.
I received your email, I just don't want
to do what you're asking me to do.”
Alex Wilhelm, The Next Web
@alex
“
Click to tweet
this quote.

16. More an issue with big company PR: being
intrusive during interviews/visits, and
generally killing the human/real side of the
story that wants to come out, and making
the chat too corporate.
“Greg Huang, Xconomy
@gthuang

17. “Good PR people know that some news just isn't a fit and that it's best to let the
journalist pass rather than hurting your relationship. Most journalists have a mental
blacklist or inbox rule blocking you if you're a real nuisance. In some cases you'll be
publicly blacklisted like this and this.
You are a nuisance if you email the same
thing 4 times without response, if you call
at ungodly hours, or if you block the way to
the washroom to pitch your story.”
Dana Oshiro, Code for America
@danaoshiro

18. “Dropping the boss’ name. ‘Oh,
Rupert Murdoch LOVES this
company so we wanted to fill you
in on it too.’ If you think mr. big
will cover your crap, let him write
the story and leave me out of it.
Name dropping only makes us crankier
than normal.”
Barb Darrow, GigaOm
@gigabarb
Click to tweet
this quote.

19. “Call me repeatedly without
leaving a voicemail. This
ensures that when I do pick up
their call, I’m extra annoyed
and oblivious to their pitch.”
J.J. Colao, Forbes
@JJColao

20. “My favorite quote from a PR guy:
This struck me as counterintuitive. Wasn’t he supposed to be nice to me? Was
this some new tough-love public relations strategy? Scratching my head over
the unpleasant exchange, I walked away thinking: Why yogurt?”
‘If you print that story you’ll be knee-deep in yogurt.’
Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times
@JeffreyLAT

21. “Trying to dictate or get involved with editorial decisions. When will
your story run? Can I review your article before it's published? Will
you agree to publish this story in a certain manner of my
preference? The answer to all of the above is ‘That's between me and my
editor, and f#^& you for asking.’”
Curt Woodward, Xconomy
@CurtWoodward

22. “I honestly can't wait for the day when companies realize that
they're all publishers now, and just publish what they want to put
out there rather than trying to pay someone to ‘place’ a story.”
Curt Woodward, Xconomy
@CurtWoodward

23. “Just FYI,sending a follow-up email
flagged as high priority after I
ignore your first PR pitch
gives me a legal right to
harm you.” !Zach Epstein, BGR
@zacharye

24. “Just FYI,sending a follow-up email
flagged as high priority after I
ignore your first PR pitch
gives me a legal right to
harm you.” !Zach Epstein, BGR
@zacharye
It’s a law. More or less.

25. 25
So now that we've listed
out the things that really
drive journalists batty,
what's a marketer to do
to be smart and lovable
in their PR efforts?

26. Go Beyond Google: We heard loud and clear that a quick "I saw that you wrote
about X company, want to write about Y company in their industry tomorrow?"
never works, so invest the time to understand a reporter's beat and recent
coverage before hitting the "send" button.
1

27. Go Beyond Google: We heard loud and clear that a quick "I saw that you wrote
about X company, want to write about Y company in their industry tomorrow?"
never works, so invest the time to understand a reporter's beat and recent
coverage before hitting the "send" button.
Put Down the Phone: If a reporter doesn't respond to your email or social media
interaction, adding a phone call, telegram, fax, or carrier pigeon to the mix likely
isn't going to break through the clutter. Leave the phone calls for reporters you
know well or requested follow-ups for information -- cold calling is highly unlovable.
1
2

28. Go Beyond Google: We heard loud and clear that a quick "I saw that you wrote
about X company, want to write about Y company in their industry tomorrow?"
never works, so invest the time to understand a reporter's beat and recent
coverage before hitting the "send" button.
Put Down the Phone: If a reporter doesn't respond to your email or social media
interaction, adding a phone call, telegram, fax, or carrier pigeon to the mix likely
isn't going to break through the clutter. Leave the phone calls for reporters you
know well or requested follow-ups for information -- cold calling is highly unlovable.
Don't Act Desperate: Exclamation points, all caps, and high priority notifications
signify that the email is HIGHLY IMPORTANT to YOU, not to the reporter you're
sending it to. Skip the theatrics and focus on a clear, concise story to drive
engagement.
1
2
3

29. 1
Go Beyond Google: We heard loud and clear that a quick "I saw that you wrote
about X company, want to write about Y company in their industry tomorrow?"
never works, so invest the time to understand a reporter's beat and recent
coverage before hitting the "send" button.
2
Put Down the Phone: If a reporter doesn't respond to your email or social media
interaction, adding a phone call, telegram, fax, or carrier pigeon to the mix likely
isn't going to break through the clutter. Leave the phone calls for reporters you
know well or requested follow-ups for information -- cold calling is highly unlovable.
3
Don't Act Desperate: Exclamation points, all caps, and high priority notifications
signify that the email is HIGHLY IMPORTANT to YOU, not to the reporter you're
sending it to. Skip the theatrics and focus on a clear, concise story to drive
engagement.
4
Be Prepared: "Be Prepared" isn't just for Boy Scouts. Like the rest of us, reporters
don't like rushing around for an embargoed story because your materials weren't
ready in time. Give reporters adequate time to respond to, act upon, react to, and file
a given story.

30. WHAT’S YOUR MOST
effective PR tactic?
Leave a comment here, share your thoughts on
our blog, or tweet at @HubSpot. We’d love to
hear how you work with journalists.