I'm very upset after reading Rowena's blog "MEGA Magazine Launch FAIL". Another case of PR and marketing staff of a company who treated our blogger friends as nobody, they are been invited as guest and blogger to cover the event and then it seems that their contact person who invited them is not properly coordinating with them, so what happened? All people in the registration area and the one who will take care of the guest and media, and bloggers too, are so clueless on who they are, and they even took the press kit off the hands of our bloggers.
Read my full story below
I experienced this incident last year and it was my first and the last, and on a magazine event too. But I never reply to their email and if ever they invite me, I always forward it to someone else. But that was last year and I kinda forgave them, and since the people behind their PR are already out of the company. And ohhh forgot to mention that MCA Music didn't even bother to apologize to me after what they did few months ago.
Hope our blogger friends here and also PR friends ( I know all of you are subscribed here in my blog) should read Rowena's blog and see want's going on. A lesson once more and this could help us to avoid it to happen again in the future.
I have some tips here, and it is very effective, especially when I'm going to deal with people who I don't know and will have my first relationship with them as a blogger.
1. After I receive their invite via email or txt, I respond and show my interest that I will attend
2. If ever I will cancel my attendance, I will let them know that I can't make it.
3. I will contact again the person via email or txt if I am on the way to the event
4. If they replied, there will be no problem when you arrive in their event
5. Always write the contact number and the person's name on paper or save it in your cellphone
6. If you are at the event, and will approach a registration table, always ask the registration person that you are invited by this person, mention the name, and your purpose in the event, ask them nicely that you are invited as a guest, blogger or even mention that you will cover the event for your blog.
7. If ever they ask what publication are you from. Well, that's an old school term that I hear every time I have conversation with traditional medias. Don't be afraid to say that you are a blogger, mention your blog title, then the theme or content of your blog. I sometimes say - I'm a blogger and photographer, my publication is an online site - my blog Azrael's Merryland, blog is all about pop culture, events, entertainment and lifestyle.
8. If you have a calling card, it will help you boost up your identity. Give them your calling card after your introduction.
9. If ever the registration people are clueless on who you are and they are not convinced that you are invited, I suggest you ask them to call the person who invited you and talk to that person instead.
10. If everything fails, talk to their boss or some manager of their PR.
11. and if it fails, just leave the event and never entertain them anymore if ever they will invite you again.
12. Then contact the person who invited you and report the incident.
Hope that tip can help you. It really sucks to see this incident over and over again. I even read other blogger's post for a much worst case. So sometimes I really like to inform other people that it is not our fault if we are invited to attend events, because these companies invited us personally and they believe that we can do a great coverage for their events.
so to my dear blogger and PR friends, hope we can learn something here. And as you can see that we don't earn much in blogging, or not hired by a local publication to attend and cover your event, I just hope that the time and energy we used and allotted for you will be not wasted. We really enjoy attending your events and we love to blog and also share those experience to our readers. A good relationship to each other will bring good benefit to both parties.