Swings And Misses

Obviously, I write a blog.  When asked, I usually say it’s a blog about business, media and sometimes food.  Now, those are fairly broad categories and I appreciate the fact that there is a lot of room under those categories to fit everything from content monetization (a favorite topic) to the 10 ways you can add twitter followers (oh, please). However, I’m not sure that handbags fit.
It’s nice that as the blog audience grows I hear from various PR people trying to get me interested in writing about a particular topic they’re pushing. Could be a book, could be a person, could be a company. I’m fine with that – it’s actually helpful in many ways since I’m generally at a loss about a subject until my fingers start moving across the keys to write. Some of you would say I’m lost even then, I know.  Having suggestions from PR folks, along with offers to chat with someone on the topic, often stirs other thoughts.  No, I haven’t written about any of their suggestions yet (and will disclose it when and if I do) but they sometimes point me in the right direction.

That said, I get a little annoyed when it’s fairly obvious that the PR minion hasn’t looked at this blog. No, I’m not interested in writing about handbags and yet I get emails from this one person that specializes in that area all the time. Maybe you can consider this my blog post about them?  Her email is nicely written, chatty even, but it’s not doing her any good since she didn’t do the most important thing first:  her homework.

Marketing is about delivering appropriate messages to a target in an appropriate manner. Most of the time now, in my mind that means via a two-way conversation of some sort, even if my part of the dialog is to ask a question (which could be do a search, check out a blog, etc.) and yours is to advertise. Sending a business and media blogger releases on handbags or recycling (just two I got this morning) isn’t doing you, me, or my audience any good.

How’s your targeting? Are the messages right for the audience?  Homework done?