Hiya. Bec here. And today I’m giving you a little peek behind the SourceBottle curtain.
You see, every day we receive call outs from journalists, writers, bloggers, podcasters and PR professionals looking for experts, case studies and contributors.
And while we’d love to simply hit ‘publish’ and send them on their merry way, there’s actually quite a bit of deliberation that goes on behind the scenes.
Because not every call out is quite what it seems.
Increasingly, we’re seeing requests that blur the lines between genuine media opportunities and what are essentially promotional exercises, lead generation campaigns or thinly disguised requests for free marketing content.
And occasionally, we encounter people who are deliberately trying to take advantage of what has traditionally been a trust-based system.
(Sigh.)
So, what actually makes the cut?
It’s not always black and white.
Take a PR professional looking for couples who found love through a particular dating app.
Is that a genuine media opportunity? Or simply an attempt to promote the app?
Well, potentially both.
If those couples are being sought for a legitimate media pitch, and have an opportunity to share their stories, we’d probably publish it.
But if the same couples are being recruited to provide testimonials for the app’s next advertising campaign? Not so much.
See the dilemma?
The question we keep coming back to is whether there’s a genuine opportunity for the person responding, or whether the real benefit lies solely with the person posting.
And that’s where our moderation process comes in.
Our five-point sniff test
To help us make these decisions more consistently, we’ve developed a simple five-point checklist that we use when reviewing call outs.
Before we hit ‘publish’, we’re asking:
- Is there a GENUINE editorial, speaking or giveaway opportunity? Or is someone simply looking to promote their product or service?
- Does the respondent receive a MEANINGFUL opportunity/benefit? Think media exposure, attribution, the chance to share their story or contribute their expertise.
- Is the PURPOSE of the call out transparent? Do we know who’s behind it, how contributions will be used and whether the media opportunity is confirmed or merely proposed?
- Is there any mandatory PAYMENT or hidden commercial condition? Because paying to be quoted or featured is a big fat no.
- Can we reasonably VERIFY the poster/opportunity? Is there a legitimate publication, organisation or accountable person behind the request?
See our checklist below:
And yes, we’re getting stricter.
Historically, we’ve tended to give people the benefit of the doubt.
We still want to do that. But unfortunately, a growing number of questionable posts have forced us to introduce more stringent checks.
That means we’re increasingly asking posters to verify their identity, clarify how contributions will be used and confirm that no payment is required to participate.
And where we’re not satisfied? We simply won’t publish.
Side note: We LOVE PR professionals. We really do. But SourceBottle isn’t a free recruitment service for brand ambassadors, a customer lead generation tool or a shortcut to collecting testimonials. It’s a platform for genuine media and publicity opportunities.
And finally, a little thank you.
To those subscribers who take the time to alert us when something seems a bit dodgy, thank you.
We can’t catch everything, and your feedback helps us protect the integrity of a service that’s been connecting the media with experts since 2009.
We’re not pretending we’ll get every decision right. Some call outs sit in very grey territory, and there will always be an element of judgement involved.
But we’re doing our best to ensure that when a SourceBottle opportunity lands in your inbox, it’s there because we believe it offers something genuinely worthwhile.
Because at the end of the day, SourceBottle should be about creating opportunities, not exploiting them.
And that’s one thing we’re not prepared to compromise on.
Cheers,
Bec
P.S. If you’re posting a call out, you can check out our updated Find a Source guidelines before submitting. It’ll help us help you. And hopefully save us all a few emails along the way.
PS: Are you receiving free publicity opportunities, straight into your inbox?
No?!! (Wha?)