In a guest column at Bulldog Reporter’s Daily Dog, Charlie Kondek describes Boing Boing as the NY Times or Oprah of the internet, but also guides PR pros on the right and wrong ways to approach top blogs with a story. What a great tutorial! Am I allowed to republish so much of it here on my site?!
“Boing Boing is a grand slam to PR people working in new media relations. It is the holy grail of new media placements, the Internet equivalent of The New York Times or an Oprah Winfrey Show. But just because Boing Boing is top of the online heap doesn’t mean it’s a good target for your pitching effort. Knowing when it fits and managing your client’s expectations when it doesn’t are as important as your pitch-text crafting skills.
“Really, this speaks to a larger problem. Clients know they want to be online, but they often don’t know as much about the online outlets that are most relevant to their business. Many of them have heard of Boing Boing and it springs (pun intended) to mind when they think of the digital landscape. In their minds, it represents the full power and scope of blogging.
“I see Boing Boing referenced all the time in case studies and presentations by PR and advertising firms. You’ll see a quick succession of PowerPoint slides that tells a story like this: “Average Joe blogs about a bad experience with your company. The next day it is picked up by Boing Boing. Then it’s Digg’d. Then it’s ALL OVER THE NET, and your shareholders REVOLT!” I myself have often heard, “What does it take to get us on Boing Boing?” or “Do you think the Boing Boing guys would go for that?”….
“Boing Boing flourishes because its readers send it all kinds of great suggestions and because its contributors are very good. There’s a very specific process for this, so by all means pitch them as they want to be pitched.
“Chances are good, however, that Boing Boing does not want to try a new dog food. They may not even be interested in your new social media environment or software application. They might be interested if you are pitching on behalf of a small, quirky toy maker or a new, modern art exhibit, and they are definitely a powerful force for making online videos and other net items “viral.” But if you think you can slap together a thirty-second spot of a kid wiping out on a skateboard, brand it, upload it to YouTube, submit it to Boing Boing, and have it be the next Star Wars Kid, you got another think coming.
“Ditto Dooce, who, last time I checked, doesn’t accept overtures from PR firms but is receptive to ad buys….”
“Instead of lusting after these hard-to-get blog placements, your time would be better spent identifying other targets for your pitching effort and evaluating them for your campaigns.”
