Zach Schonfeld, Newsweek
Sometimes it’s hard to explain to my clients that sending a great pitch involves a lot more than just emailing a writer. Recently Zach Schonfeld at Newsweek decided to try to respond to every press release and pitch he received in a week. Granted, he chose the week including Labor Day but the task became laborious at best and terrifying at worst. In particular, I enjoyed that he received a pitch to “Take a free family photo or ‘doggie selfie’ (does this collar make me look cute?) in a professional canine-ready photo booth.”
If nothing else, it gives people an idea of the enormous amount of crap that writers have to sift through. And the enormous amount of crap that we need to break through in order for our pitch to be heard. Schonfeld’s article is really fun to read and what makes it even more fun is that he is respectful toward the PR’s who are trying to do their job, even if they’re missing the target. Made me want to pitch him a story about pink elephants or something.
Read the entire article on Newsweek.com here
