i just don't get it...
-
like most of you, i get nailed with tons and tons of email. i'm fine with that. i put my email address up and people email me. ok.
but.
i just don't get why i am constantly hit with stuff that totally misses the mark.
for example: i just got a request to be added to some country label's mailing list. i have never in a million years posted anything close to country. how does this benefit the label or myself? or my readers? or my mailman? or anyone? are they just hoping by some off chance i might like something of theirs and be like "yee-ha"?
it just so frustrating because i feel like i'm sifting through shit more than i'm actually listening to "good" music or blogging. am i alone? -
no, you're not.
just last week i got a similar request from some weird asian hip hop label. the music wasn't even in english, and i don't think i have ever posted asian hip hop, so i don't know what was going through their minds. -
I find that when I get the emails I don't spend enough time checking them out. So, I try to do a post that is out of the norm for me. Instead of posting about something that I really like, I will put up a post of stuff that came in via the inbox. The hope is to get some dialog from the readers to see if they like any of the tracks. Plus it also serves as a record so that I can go back and revisit it instead of sifting thru emails. It has really only worked for the latter. I don't ususally get many comments on that type of post which is a shame and violates what I was hoping to get out of it.
-
Spam I get constantly:
• bands who want me to be their myspace friend
• stock tips
• bogus paypal mails asking for "updated information"
• "winning" lottery from the netherlands
• boner pills
• xanax
• weird collections of words that make NO sense and a link (which I never click) -
I was offered a free vacation to Turkey last week and I was so tempted to take up that offer.
-
I get about 50 or more a day in the Spam folder that are written in Chinese.....
Wendy,
Would ask you to send me the ones for boner pills and xanax but after some thought probably only need the xanax - don't really need the boner pils unless they are ones that would stop me having the quite frequent boners that I do have.... -
wendy,
i've gotten every one of those.
i think the stock tips and the boner pills are from the same guy.
so, you're gonna get screwed either way. -
like most of you, i get nailed with tons and tons of email. i'm fine with that. i put my email address up and people email me. ok. but. i just don't get why i am constantly hit with stuff that totally misses the mark.
Um, because you put your email up! Not that this should be a surprise, but most of those people probably don't read your blog. It was on a list of blogs read by a bot, and that bot saw the word music. -
i think the stock tips and the boner pills are from the same guy.
so, you're gonna get screwed either way.
Six,
Now that one made me laugh my ass off! -
Um, because you put your email up! Not that this should be a surprise, but most of those people probably don't read your blog. It was on a list of blogs read by a bot, and that bot saw the word music.
well, like i said. i put up my email address. i get email. fine. that's not so much my issue...
what i don't get is why some country label wants to mail me promo cds. or for that matter why i get physical promos cds from labels that are so far from anything i've ever posted. it doesn't seem like a very cost effective way to do pr. it's a pipe dream. but whatevas. -
it's not cost-effective, and THEY DON'T READ YR BLOG. that's the answer.
-
i enjoy surfing through the random promo tracks. 1/5 is good, but for 10 minutes of skimming mp3s, I have a new post.
spam is the worst though -
Agree with that Dave, there are some hidden gems in those promo emails. And like you said, if you get 1/5 of them you got yourself a post...
And the only promo's I really, really take serious and dig into are the ones Wendy sends... Not sucking up, I just love the good communication and her response to questions is always tops... -
Thanks Merz. I try not to beat you guys over the head with promotastic, over-the-top descriptions of stuff, and I'm lucky I work for a company where I can be genuine in my enthusiasm of the bands we work (99% of the time).
-
Yeah, Toolshed sends good stuff. So does Filter, but I sometimes find myself neglecting their promos because I feel like it is just pure sellsellsell marketing. But, I can't say much against the people who sent me the new Sonic Youth two months early.
-
there is a service I've seen before that blocks bots from reading your page by sending them to a bogus site for a while, and then giving them fake emails based on domains of companies that run the bots themselves. i dont remember what it['s called, but all you have to do is put their little shield on your site (same size as sitemeter or RSS thing).
give that a look, then the email bots wont pick up your address. i just put a link to my address, instead of spelling it out. oh, and I use gmail, which has the best spam blocker I've ever seen. if you want an invite let me know.
+joe -
what about making the publicists work a little more.
i've always thought it would be a cool idea to set up a simple contact form (those are harder to bot) and have them answer some questions to test whether they read your blog or are at least knowledgeable of the music you're interested in.
just a thought...but a pretty simple block (as well as those above) and given that publicists (by nature) are lazy (except for Wendy!!!)....this would thin the masses somewhat. -
that is an excellent idea.
-
i agree. that is excellent!
-
I find that I get more stupid bands on myspace trying to friend me than e-mails...
-
tsides, you do realize there is an option on myspace that allows you to block friends requests from bands.
the upside is that it forces you to explore myspace for good bands and the bad ones never find you
downside: if you meet a band when you see them live and they have a myspace, they might try to add you and get denied. (i always make it a point that when i meet a band and they have a myspace to immediately friend them if they have a myspace.) -
What's Myspace?
-
Myspace is a place where I meet my girlfriend(s).
-
Oh My God..."Friend" is now a verb, just like "gifting."
-
I have to give this thread a bump to the top.
I got an email yesterday asking if I wanted the new Billy Ray Cyrus cd. The same Billy Ray who sang "Achy Breaky Heart." I am so tempted to take it. There's an ode to mullets on it. -
I got that Billy Ray email as well and felt equal parts contempt and pity for the poor PR intern who has been put in charge of that artist.
-
No kidding. I can't see there being much demand for new Billy Ray songs.
-
i am SO GLAD my old email account got deleted. (by someone else!)
-
This has to be the worst thing I have ever received in an email... http://www.myspace.com/kimkline
"The Essence of The True Singer Songwriter", my ASS!
[puke sounds]
What BMG was thinking I will never know. No offense to any Kim Kline fans out there. -
I used to keep on getting emails from this Christian PR company that did promo for like, Michael W. Smith and a few other. And I always get emails from really bad metal bands.
Oh and this is my first post here. Hello. -
I'm glad that I'm apparently not on the scale of billy ray cyrus notability.
and it's easy enough just to ignore bands on myspace. also just annoying because I get all excited when I find out I have a message, and then I discover it's from some dumb band. I just want to be loved! -
Well, it certainly wasn't this "country" label making that flagrant error (or, at least I hope it ain't!) ... but for it's worth, some of the people that pitch do read the blogs they are contacting. I have my core group of favorites that I read at least once a week -- which I'm guessing isn't a very large number, compared to what other labels may be hitting up -- that I'll send news and music to. But if you don't dig it, you don't dig it. I understand there's a ton of people vying for the same attention.
-
anybody else getting 'indie movie' invite/trailer? I got several of them lately. I wonder why. I don't post movie review at all.
what's frustrating I want to see the movie and they offer tix. gargh...! (wrong city too)
apparently the country email spam has stopped now. -
For the record, I am a publicist and I am not lazy (and most publicists I know are very hard-working), and I do as much research as I can within reason, but I already have 500 contacts to deal with before I start dealing with blogs. It's tough. That said, the above behavior is pretty darned ridiculous.
Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Categories
- All Discussions3,267
- General2,523
- Band Promotion217
- Blog Promotion259
- MP3 Blog Tips148
- MP3 Blog Tools120
- Private Messages0