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I was talking to someone on Saturday who had been thinking about starting a podcast, but for whatever reason hadn’t reached a point where he was ready to pull the trigger. He did mention that he thought podcasting would be more comfortable for him, because he had tried writing a regular blog, and he was very self-concious about his writing ability, and he eventually lost steam on blogging due to his self-consciousness about his writing abilities. I can relate to that feeling of self-consciousness – not necessarily about my writing ability but more about revealing myself to anyone who should stumble across my blog online.

There have been numerous articles, including my blog posts ironically, about the importance for companies to participate in social media. It’s not all that hard to participate in Twitter – responding to people’s tweets, forwarding or retweeting other tweets, and posting links to interesting stories. In many ways, Twitter is akin to a high-volume broadcast version of truncated emails. And, ever since I got into PR in 1997 or so, I’ve lived and breathed email every day.

And, It’s not all that hard to participate in Facebook either. Posting photos, commenting on other people’s photos, posting links to interesting news articles, commenting on other people’s posts, and, of course, deleting over and over and over again people’s weird icons, sheep, mafia wars updates that come my way[this is not a sentence – I would reword this to make it into a sentence].

However, blogging, for me has been different. Over the years, I’ve often avoided writing a regular blog. Sure, I have had plenty of thoughts and opinions about public relations, technology, the impact of digital media on book publishing, etc., but for some reason a crippling modesty – or even shyness -– has kept me from blogging about my ideas. I’m certainly confident about my professional abilities – working with companies to identify the stories that they want to tell about their business and products, then distilling that information into timely, news worthy announcements designed to garner news coverage. And, I’ve always felt very comfortable stating my opinions to clients, giving them unvarnished feedback about their PR ideas and campaigns.

Yet, despite that confidence in my professional abilities, blogging felt foreign to me. I would try, and it would never feel “right” to me. The self-revealation aspect, posted online so that any one in the world could read what I’d written, constantly inhibited me.

Possibly it’s generational. I’ll be the first to admit that I consider myself on the cutting edge of technology and gadgets. I waited in line for an Xbox 360, a Wii, an iPhone, and other brand-new gadgets. Yet, the first computer I ever owned was a Radio Shack color computer – hooked up to an old television for a monitor.

While I’ve always embraced technology, the self-revalatory nature of blogging – while natural for digital natives – has felt awkward and presumptive to me.

Finally though, I realized I needed to join the online conversation more overtly by blogging on a regular basis. I can’t remember a specific watershed moment for my decision. It has been more of a gradual change and a constant process of reminding myself that I do have ideas to contribute (not to sound too much like Al Franken’s Stuart Smalley character on Saturday Night Live).

With all this personal background and info, I think it’s something to definitely think about as social media grows – some people for whatever reason are self-conscious about their social media participation.

Christopher S. Penn, one of the co-founders of Podcamp Boston, just blogged about a somewhat similar issue – breaking the shackles of your potential. It’s a great blog post that I recommend you take a look at.

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Here’s the TechCrunch article – Hey, Where’s The Twitter For Families – that I mention in the video.

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The tactics deployed recently have nothing to do with debating and discussing healthcare. They’ve been purposely orchestrated to a) drown out the discussion that is trying to happen, and b) from a PR perspective provide a great video clip for the local TV news of people angry about potential healthcare changes and awkward shots of U.S. politicians trying to reason with “angry” constituents.

I immediately started thinking, “What PR counsel would I give in dealing with these mobs and disruption tactics?”

From a marketing perspective, what would you do if your company introduced a product that stirred anger/antipathy from consumers? What would you do if you tried to hold public meetings to discuss a topic of concern to your customers, and your competitor orchestrated people to scream at your CEO and shout down whatever he/she tried to say, regardless of what he was saying.

1. Don’t follow Nardelli’s meeting style. Unfortunately for Bob Nardelli, a once-successful General Electric executive, he will forever be remembered for his biggest business blunder ever – running a dictatorial Home Depot shareholders meeting amidst a bitter year of criticism over the size of his pay packages during a time when he was firing as many experienced, hourly Home Depot workers as he possibly could while keeping the doors of the stores open for business.

Nardelli’s shareholder meeting was memorable to say the least. The board of directors didn’t show up. Nardelli sat alone on stage. Whenever an unhappy shareholder began talking, a very large digital clock began counting down. When the allotted time finished, Nardelli insisted the person stop talking or be immediately removed from the building.

If you won’t all the details, Joe Nocera wrote a memorable New York Times story detailing Nardelli’s fiasco.

2. Don’t give them a platform. If your opponents have shown that they’re not interested in a genuine debate, and they simply want to draw you into awkward situations where you try to reason with several people frothing at the mouth – awkward situations that will be filmed and uploaded to YouTube within minutes – don’t give them the opportunity. In that scenario, they’ve succeeded on one front. They’ve denied you the ability to hold a public meeting.

To use a warfare quote, to succeed in warfare you should fight on the battlefield of your choosing – not the one of your enemy’s choosing. Deny them the confrontation.

3. Do use the platforms that allow you to broadcast – and not receive. If the opposition’s sole aim is to disrupt your message and discussion, use media that goes over, around, and under them. Using this healthcare debate example, the Obama administration should go into campaign mode. If the other side is solely focused on disruption, ignore them and go around them. (I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t know all the legal ramifications of political advertising and what’s allowed for these types of policy debates).

Instead of the infamous Harry and Louise commercials that tanked the Clintons’ healthcare overhaul, healthcare proponents should be flooding the TV, radio, and the Internet w/ ads that articulate their positions. Millions of dollars spent to explain your position will go a lot farther and can’t be disrupted by a vocal minority screaming.

4. Make your points, but appeal to emotions. One DNC ad has tried to engage the people disrupting town meetings – and make an issue of their tactics. Not a good move. Acknowledging the yellers in the least, lends them credibility. Ignore them.

Instead, run multiple ads featuring real people from all walks of life who are struggling with healthcare issues – small business people who are going to be forced to fire workers or stop providing health insurance due to the skyrocketing costs, people who have been denied healthcare because of preexisting conditions, and people who are hard workers, love their families, and can’t afford out-of-pocket health insurance for their families. Humanize the issue. Don’t yell, don’t scream, just show the impact of spiraling healthcare costs on a wide spectrum of Americans.

Lots of people talk about using social media to “join the conversation.” What if that conversation is one-sided and the other side only wants to scream, yell, and disrupt? How do you join that conversation?

What would you do if your company was faced with an angry, mob that wasn’t interested in a genuine debate?

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Meet Jeff Rutherford: PR guy for Return Path (and other firms), and self-proclaimed “news junkie”, voracious reader, gadget enthusiast, and technology fan. @JeffRutherford Learn more about Jeff.

Meet DJ Waldow: Director of Community @BlueSkyFactory, U of Michigan alum, knowledge craver, sponge, lover of beer, coffee, and people and self-proclaimed Social Butterfly guy. Learn more about DJ.

Jeff and DJ first met over email. Jeff (PR) sent DJ (Blogger, Email Marketing guy) the following email:

This initial, seemingly innocuous, FYI-type message set off a series of email replies, forwards and general banter. Some of these exchanges were friendly; others a bit more animated. Saving you the (juicy) details, what it ultimately led to was the following:

DJ picked up the phone and called Jeff. They agreed that it was a series of misunderstandings on both sides. This is where the conversation could have (and often) ends. In this case, the “bad blood” turned into a positive.

The conversation turned to email marketing best practices and how they apply to anyone who sends out an email…

Talk to any reporter or blogger, and they’ll tell you the same thing – they’re bombarded with emails from PR people. Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief at Wired, routinely blacklists PR people who send him non-relevant press releases or announcements.

Unfortunately, many PR agencies get desperate when a client is complaining loudly about lack of press coverage, and they commit the same sin as desperate marketers – spray and pray (or “batch and blast” they say in email). They build lists of reporters, any reporters, load up a bulk email program and start hitting the send button.

Not surprisingly, the same best practices for email marketing also apply to PR people’s use of email.

Best Practices that apply to both PR and EM

1. Start with a good, clear subject line and from name. This will help get the email opened

Why this is important for PR
Reporters and bloggers are bombarded with email. High profile reporters for publications such as Fortune, Forbes, New York Times, routinely receive hundreds and hundreds of emails per day.

Amidst trading emails with sources, editors, and trusted PR contacts, reporters have to quickly scan numerous emails and mass delete. If a PR person doesn’t write a relevant, compelling subject line, their email will never be opened.

Why this is important for an email marketer
There are 3 main types of “email consumers” when it comes to open/delete/mark as spam decisions. The first group opens based on who the email is from (dont’ recognize, don’t open). The second bases their decision on the subject line (not interesting? delete.). The third are those that open every single email. There are also variations of all three depending on time of day, mood, etc. Bottom line is this. Take time to think about who the email is being sent from and what your subject line says.

2. Brevity rules. Keep your emails short and to the point. It’s 2009: Nobody reads anymore!

Why this is important for PR
Twitter and text message attention spans grow every year. If a reporter opens an email filled with dense verbiage, they’re simply not going to read whatever it is you’re trying to interest them in.

Figure out what you want to say and cut it to the bone, create succinct bullet points, and then edit it again, before hitting send.

Why this is important for an email marketer
I need to know “what’s in it for me” after a quick scan. If I’m getting bombarded with marketing offers, I don’t have time for them all. If you make me work to find what the email is all about, I’m gone. This is a similar concept to website design. If I can’t find what I’m looking for on a page, I’ll go somewhere else as I can be certain someone else offers it at the same, if not better price.

3. Relevancy – why should I care about this?

Why this is important for PR
As Chris Anderson noted in his blog post referenced above, he blacklisted PR people who emailed him press releases and information that were completely irrelevant to his interests. If a PR person can’t bother to research what a reporter is interested in (for example, Anderson has published two books The Long Tail and Free. It’s not too hard to figure out his specific interests.), they shouldn’t be sending emails.

Non-relevant emails sent by PR people are such a problem, the Bad Pitch blog has an endless supply of ill-conceived PR pitches to write about.

Again, PR people feel pressure from clients and start sending and hoping and praying some reporter “sees the light.” What they should be doing is pushing back with clients and brainstorming, rethinking whatever news they’re pitching in order to make it relevant for reporters to write about.

Why this is important for an email marketer
Again, it goes back to time and attention span. If you – the marketer – are not ensuring that this email is relevant to me, I’m not going to read it. Worse, I may even report it as spam. For example, if I am a University of Michigan alumni I don’t want to get emails about Ohio State (delete/spam). If you know that I’m a male, age 33 who has a history of buying downhill ski equipment and accessories, don’t send me an offer for a snowboard.

Use the data you have about me to personalize the message and the offers.

4. Frequency. Overmailing your list – or reporters – will reduce the effectiveness of your emails.

Why this is important for PR
The PR people who often get results for their clients may go months without emailing a key reporter. Yet, when the PR person finally has a good tip or story, the reporter opens their email within minutes. The reporter values that the PR person hasn’t wasted their time with routine announcements that the reporter will definitely not cover.

Inundating a reporter with emails isn’t going to increase the likelihood that they will respond.

Why this is important for an email marketer
This all depends on the individual consumer, but there are few examples of marketers who can effectively email at a high frequency. The general rule applies: If you don’t have anything good to say (email), don’t say (email) anything at all.

Subscribers who receive too much email from a marketer either ignore it (delete) or eventually mark the emails as spam. It’s not that they didn’t opt-in, they just no longer want to read your emails. Be sure to look at your metrics – open, click-through, convert – to learn how your subscribers are interacting with your emails over time. If you see downward trends, it’s time to take action!

Email Remains A Powerful Tool If Used Correctly

As we’ve outlined, there are many parallels between how PR people and email marketers use email. It seems odd to be writing yet another blog post/article about email best practices. Unfortunately, though, the ease of loading up an email is almost too easy. And the bottom line is the same – if you send a cookie-cutter mass email that has no relevancy, you won’t get results.

Ultimately, you won’t to succeed. Right? It may take longer for an email marketer to send a highly personalized, targeted email to a smaller list, but your results will likely be higher. For a PR person, you may have to fend off bosses and clients who want you to spray an email at any reporter/blogger/podcaster with an email. Yet, if you send 8-10 highly targeted, laser-focused, relevant emails relating to what the journalist has written about before, you may very likely see better results than sending hundreds and hundreds of form emails that end up marked as spam or unread.

The old cliche still applies – if a job’s worth doing it’s worth doing it right. If an email’s worth sending, it’s worth sending it right.