Missing the Target

In my PR Writing courses, I try to show my students the dire and very public consequences of writing a bad piece of communication and then sending it out to the public.

Over the past week, I have received a few of these gems. First was the direct mailer package with "Robert Redford has an important message for you inside" printed in red letters on the envelope. Then there was the letter that had my new AARP membership cards included (or what they would look like if I became a member).

Um, yeah. No one in my house is over the age of 36 and are very aware that anything Robert Redford has to say is definitely not directed at us and could not possibly hold any interest at all. Way to go targeting team! Money well spent there.

So, I found it extremely funny when New York Times best-selling author Lynn Viehl received a marketing e-mail about self publishing and posted her analysis of its efficacy on her blog. Trying to sell a successful author on the evils of the publishing industry and the benefits of self publishing ranks right up there with trying to convince a firefighter to run into a burning building with a watering can. Just not going to happen!

The moral of the story: If you miss the mark in reaching out to someone in the wrong mood and access to a very public forum, don't be surprised if you get burned. Just sayin!