PR Monday: PR VS. Advertising

Last week I complained about irrelevant pitches and why I think bloggers should start using the NO word. I got a few emails. Just a few but enough to make me want to clarify the difference in my mind (which is a scary place to be) and when the situation warrants you charging.I want you to say NO when you are being used for free advertising with no personal gain to you.I do not charge for every pitch I do! If someone approaches me with a pitch that is relevant to my blog, I am interested in or truly think you would be, I happily accept it. NO CHARGE. That is PR! That is the two way street “Win-Win” I am always preaching about here. Kinds of pitches that fall into that category for Elementary Spirits: educational games, science info,  and experiences I can share.BUT, if I am approached with a pitch that is irrelevant, I am not interested in and I know you wouldn’t be either than in my way of thinking they are asking to use my platform to spread their advertising. That is when I would charge! Kinds of pitches that fall into this category for me are:” tell your readers about our contest” and “our newest product that has nothing to do with families.”I just want to add in that there is absolutely a way to work with PR organically and not sacrifice your blog space. I have long said I do a ton of movie reviews. I love movies and only review ones that I would go out and buy so to me that is on “Win-Win” street. Take a look at how I incorporated the movie into this post. Brilliant if I do say so myself. OK, maybe not brilliant but you get the point that I incorporated it into my normal blog flow.It’s a balancing act but put  simply: PR benefits my blog and friends, advertising benefits only my bank account. Make sense?