Scott Andrew

Posted March 18, 2008.

Adventures in PR flackery

MailersSo here's an update on my old-school publicity efforts for Save You From Yourself. I've been working on and off at it since February, mailing out CDs to press, radio and elsewhere, and I have to say: what a total PITA.

I started out pretty good. I did my research, carefully chose my targets, dutifully asked permission before sending anything, and diligently mailed out a handful of CD every morning or so. It felt good. Yeah! Gettin' things done! But things got hairy, fast.

For one thing, it's just so easy to fall off the wagon. You end up skipping a day or two -- oh, I don't feel like stuffing envelopes tonight, maybe I'll watch Lost instead -- and suddenly it's two weeks of nothing! In other words, it's a lot like going to the gym.

But that's easy to fix. You say "hm, I have fallen off the wagon," and get back to it.

No, the hardest part is following up. Which is also the most important part. For every CD sent out, you're supposed to follow up. Wait two weeks, send a message: did you get the package? Just checking! Wait another two weeks, send another message: get that package yet? Think you might listen to it soon? Rinse and repeat.

Eventually you reach a point where the energy you're putting into following up overtakes the envelope stuffing. Now you're spending those two hours each evening writing emails instead of sending more CDs out into the world. 98% of those emails will go unanswered. When answers come, they will be brief and often...terse.

Now, I'm not dumb. I know that writers have always on deadline, have slushpiles of CDs a mile high, and it can take weeks or months before CD gets listened to. I also know that releases being "worked" by known publicists and labels will take priority.

It's just repetitive, slightly demoralizing work. If I believed that CDs had a future, I'd recommend paying an expert to do this, next time.

That said, I'm going to continue. After what seems like weeks of work, it turns out I've only mailed out around 40 copies. Whaaa? That's not nearly enough to declare defeat. But man, it sure looked easier on paper.