Happy Toolkit Tuesday! Lately, I’ve been sharing a lot of social media tools, but this week I want to switch it up and talk about one of our favorite email add-ons that doubles as a PR tool.
Sidekick
Free and quick to set up, Sidekick by HubSpot is a tool that can help out your pitching any day of the week. Wondering why creepy is in the title, or trying to figure out how an app can change your pitching strategy? Check it out…
PR Tool for More Effective Pitching
We all need a little help in the pitching department sometimes. Most of us have experienced writing the perfect pitch, pressing send and following up (via phone or email), only to receive complete silence. Discouraging? Sometimes yes, but we know it’s a part of the job. Sidekick takes out a bit of the guesswork in pitching, and can let you know with whom to keep following up, or if your pitch wasn’t well-received. Here’s how:
- Sidekick sends you a quick notification each time someone opens your email, and if the contact opens your message more than once, you’ll see that in your notifications too. Cheers for uncensored feedback! If your email isn’t getting opened, you’ll know right away that you need to rethink your subject line, and if your message gets opened multiple times over the course of a week you can make sure you’re picking up the phone to say hello to the interested reporter.
- If you decide to include links in your email, this tool will also let you know when one is clicked! This helps to indicate if your full email is being read, and if the person you messaged actually wants more information.
- Have you ever wondered if you ACTUALLY are connecting with the right media contact? Often, a person’s title may be outdated, or their position has changed entirely. With Sidekick, you can see a quick profile of most people you interact with. By entering an email address, a contact’s professional history, mutual contacts and an email history (if you’ve messaged this person in the past) will all appear.
Specs:
- Sidekick is compatible with Gmail, Outlook and Apple email.
- The tool is also compatible with HubSpot and Salesforce.com
Any Cons?:
- Sometimes when you’re sending a pitch, a good Samaritan will forward your message. If anyone opens a message that was forwarded, things will get confusing, because it looks like your original contact is opening things multiple times.
- If you access your sent emails from a different browser or device, Sidekick will send a notification as if the media contact opened the message.
Coming Soon:
- When I was reviewing the tool’s site, I noticed a coming soon section – email scheduling will be coming to Sidekick! It’s quickly becoming a one-stop shop for pitching.
Pricing
As mentioned earlier, Sidekick is a free tool. Even though the free version should be enough for your pitching needs, you can also pay $10/month for a Power User account, which allows you to view an unlimited number of email opens & click notifications (rather than 200 per month).
The Hero is Sidekick
Sidekick is a PR tool that you should keep around. There’s no cost associated with starting, and the Premium version isn’t going to break the bank if it’s something you need. Try it, and see why this email add-on is something that will easily fit into your daily routine.
Do you have a PR tool that you use everyday? List your favorites in the comments!
