PitchWire Influencer Resource: Irritating 101
The last thing I need is another web site to check and update manually.
As a blogger AND a communications professional, I’m always looking for new media influencers and tools. So when I came across PitchWire, a new online community, I was all eyes.
From their site:
PitchWire is…for influencers (journalists, bloggers and analysts) and publicists that promotes responsible pitching and transparency. The results are more successful “hits” and a better relationship between influencers and publicists.
So I signed up (as an influencer) to see what it’s all about. After completing my profile setup questions (which took maybe three minutes - not bad so far) I was taken to my new “home page,” at www.pitchwire.com/janetleejohnson and given my own brand new email address, janetleejohnson (at) pitchwire.com.
The welcome email said:
“”I’ve registered, now what?” Glad you asked. You can do any and all of the following:
- A welcome email has been sent to your email address with a link to verify your email address. Please take a moment to verify your email address with us.
- Visit your PitchWire page by clicking on the “My Homepage” tab where you can update your profile information and add the stories (jj’s emphasis) that you’re currently working on.
- Inform your contacts and the various media contact databases of your new PitchWire account by clicking on “Spread the word”
- See your current list of pitches by clicking on the “Pitches” tab. We’ve started you off by providing a demo pitch so you can see what a pitch looks like in the system.”
Nice! They’re offering me some easy tools to ’spread the word’ about my PitchWire account, branding the service in a lovely, viral manner. I’ve got respect for that. And they have a one-click redirect for my new email address to my best email account. Thank you!
Then reality sunk in. In order to use this thoughtful new influencer resource, I’ll need to:
- update it as regularly as my blog, and
- (worse yet) check it frequently for updates.
It seems I can’t subscribe via RSS to changes to my personal home page (where all pitches are posted automatically) for immediate updates/alerts. Attensa couldn’t find any relevant feeds on my new home page. (I love it when my Feeds… button is orange! And it was a still, dull gray.)
I’m irritated at PitchWire (possibly irrationally), because I’m completely spoiled by RSS - and have a tough time imagining a new media communications tool that doesn’t (at least on initial review) offer subscription capability to their users.
I wonder two things:
- whether someone there would let me influence their product road map?
- who’s got time to use the service as it is?
Hi Janet,
Thanks for the feedback. You are right that we currently do not have an RSS feed for receiving pitches, however, we do have email updates automatically generated. So while it is not an RSS feed, you don’t have to go back to the Web site for updates. When you do receive a pitch, you can either respond via email, or in the PitchWire system. It is up to you.
During our beta testing period, most influencers told us that RSS feeds were not that important to them, so we did not include them, however, it is in the line-up so expect to see it in the next month or so.
As for updating your PitchWire page as regular as your blog, the only time you need to update it is when you are looking for a resource for a story. You just need to add a story to your homepage detailing what you are looking for and it is pushed out to all of our registered PR contacts. It is a way for you to reach sources that are not subscribed to your blog. You can also add a PitchWire badge to your blog so that your readers can see exactly how you want to be pitched and, of course, a link to your blog is on your PitchWire page so they are designed to be linked together.
Lastly as for your comment on whether or not you can influence our product, you most certainly can (and already have)! If you are interested, we are currently recruiting advisory customer users to help us deliver the next set of major features and, of course, smooth out the current system so it is as usable as possible. Our program is somewhat informal at the moment, and consists of these types of interactions, but in the coming months, we will put something more concrete together. If you are interested, please let us know.
Again, thanks for the feedback! This is exactly what we need to make the best tool for your needs.
Hey, Aimee!
Thanks for your quick response! How did you pick up my post? (My bet is you used a persistent search and an RSS feed! Smart girl!)
I am happy to have the best practices tips on using PitchWire. Thank you.
And I’d be interested in helping y’all out if you want another opinion.
I like what you’re doing - and it seems as if you’re working hard to make PitchWire work well for your audience.
Hi Janet,
Been out of the office for the past few days and now just catching up. I will email you direct to discuss other features you’d like to see us add. Glad you like what we are doing so far … we are just getting started and I know you will like it even more a few months from now.
Talk to you soon,
Aimee
p.s. You are right on the persistent search and an RSS feed on how we caught your blog so fast! We know how important it is to know what are users are saying about us.