Problogger had a guest post about PR People and their connection with product reviewers. It was a pleasure to see that bloggers who write product reviews made it to such a well known blog and got 102 comments too. The subject of the post was about changes in how publicists now work with reviewers since the recession.

Krizia, the author of the guest post and of the blog Eat Smart Age Smart, shared that although she continued to receive pitches from PR people, they were either no longer willing to send product samples, sending smaller size samples or requesting a great deal of information via email about her blog. There were also mass pitches instead of personalized ones and no more sponsorships. Things had dramatically changed from being paid for review posts and getting so many samples that her house was overloaded.

The comments were mixed including kudos from other bloggers in the same boat as Krizia. There were some negatives that pointed out that publicists and PR people had to know information about blogs in order to get a ROI for the money they spend on products, shipping, products for giveaways, etc. There were also discussions about the differences between bloggers and journalists.

For many of us who write product reviews we are facing the same challenges that Krizia does. Some of  us get mass pitches that have been sent to every blogger we know. I’ve received requests to write about products with only a website URL, no product included. There’s pitches asking for bloggers to put up banners on their site with the possibility of a review. The list goes on and on. The positives often outweigh the negatives though. If you find a mass pitch in your email, delete it. No product to review, don’t review it, or just review the website. Turn down banner requests with an explanation. Play fair. Be professional. Don’t expect products or queries to fall into your lap.

What is your take on the expectations of product reviewers, of PR people and/or publicists?

-Connie Roberts
ConnieFoggles