Blocking PR 'spam'

It's funny that as a PR professional I rarely see any pitch that I deliver to a journalist or blogger for that matter as 'spam'. This is because I always do my homework and would only send a release to a journalist or blogger who are writing about the same subject area that the release is in. However, this blog post today shows just how annoying some PR agencies are potentially being in their approach to bloggers. So much so that people are beginning to develop spam filters to specifically block emails from particular PR agencies. Ouch! You really wouldn't want to be on that blacklist.

Interestingly, I also received an alleged 'press release' into my own inbox today. Slightly bizarre given that I'm a PR professional. I'm used to sending them, not receiving them. I don't quite know how I received this one or why I was on their mailing list. Maybe they found me through my blog and thought I might give them a mention. Basically, it's for a new website about eco-living, from what I can see. However, the press release is just so bad for the following reasons that I just don't think they deserve a mention:

1. It was sent as a pdf attachment (strong rule of good PR - don't send unsolicited attachments!)
2. The covering email was not personalised - pure laziness (or sign of bulk emails)
3. The alleged 'press release' provided me with hardly any information
4. It felt and looked far more like an advert than a press release.