Susan — Well said and well done. The key for PR folks is treating each blog/journalist/community individually. Thanks for the knowledge!

Mark — I’m hardly considered a voice of reason, but appreciate you saying so nonetheless. Thanks for stopping by.

Thanks for contacting me the other day. I love your perspective on this. With all of the blogosphere in a huff about bad pitches, it’s nice to hear a voice of reason.

Mark Story

Some comments. There are basically 2 components to any pitch — the outreach and the offer. As Allison says, and Kelli reiterates in the comments, you don’t have to be a part of a community to understand it and reach out appropriately. But if your company has an ongoing involvement with products that serve a community, it *does* behoove you to keep reading beyond that initial research period. It’s information about what your customers are thinking, and that will help you create the second part of the pitch — the program.

The more you know about what really drives the blogger, what she cares about, where her passions lie, the better you will do in creating a program that will resonate.

As for whether a company or its reps should participate on a blog, it does depend on the community and its mores. The more personal the topic, the more dangerous it is to participate unless you do happen to be a member. A rule of thumb is that if you have valuable information to share, perhaps in response to a question raised, it is best to email the blogger privately. That gives him or her the opportunity to decide whether to share the info. You aren’t intruding. Over time, if you consistently add value in this fashion, the community may open up to you and invite you to participate.

Or it may not. Respect its wishes, either way.

Allison raises some great points about authenticity and transparency and being part of a community. Understanding the community and how to reach it is different than being part of it (or wrongly, pretending to be part of it).

Great interview!

- Kelli