Why you shouldn't use tracking links in pitches (and content)
I know. Two emails in as many days. How is this even happening?
Yesterday I sent out a call for pitches. Because I don’t send out that many pitch requests as of late, it was a slightly lonely voice in the wilderness. I used to be comfy and cozy on my previous platform (Tinyletter) but when they discontinued their email service I grudgingly moved over to Substack. I love Substack for many reasons, but I’ll kvetch about that forced move in a future note.
Meanwhile, yesterday I requested that people not use trackers in email pitches. A few of you wrote asking why was I so adamant about not using trackers since I mention it a lot. Here’s a quick and dirty partial list. (If you enjoy this type of content, lmk and I’ll start posting more).
If you have a nanosecond to spare, would you heart this post, please? The gods of the algorithms deemed that it helps in some magical mystical internety way.
Trackers are a huge breach of trust and ethics.
There are so many rules online for what bloggers and content creators may or may not include in posts or updates and even more laws about what they must disclose.
When someone in PR is pitching there aren’t any actual rules of that type in place, so they can be (for lack of a better word) sneakier. Even if your clients pressure you to do so, it’s bad business to spy on those you’re trying to engage with. There are so many other metrics out there, you should probably rely on those and not include intrusive tracking links in your emails.
Trackers p*ss off my editors… and me.
There are times when I’ll receive a slew of email pitches and will try to cobble together a fun and engaging commerce article in a hurry. I know, not my proudest moment as a journalist, but it happens. And sometimes I forget to remove your trackers and file an article as is. And sometimes my editor forgets to remove a tracker and allows a story to go live. That means that your marketing trackers are now active on a major website or news source with spectacular amounts of traffic. You could be receiving data you’re not entitled to receive. More than that, you’re also getting this data for free but likely in violation of said website’s advertising agreement with its clients. That’s a mess you’d probably prefer to avoid since there are potential legal minefields ahead. Human error notwithstanding, if you’re trying to game the system, expect that there might be consequences at some point.
Your trackers create more work for me
If I notice that someone repeatedly sends links with trackers in them, I’ll probably start ignoring or deleting their emails. Here’s why. My work day is rife with challenges and I don’t need another one. Having to remove your tracker before posting a link adds another step to my work day. And it means that I then have to re-review every link to be sure they’re clean and free of pesky tracing codes.
I’m tired. I’m cranky. Don’t add more work to my work.
You could be violating my privacy
Whether it’s intentional or not, your tracking link doesn’t simply fade into the sunset after you’ve noted whether I clicked on your link or not. Sometimes the random code you’re using tracks me in six different potential ways and keeps tracking my activity for the rest of my browsing days. Okay, maybe not that long, but your tracking system could be invading my privacy and that’s just plain rude.
And there you have the quick and dirty version of why you really shouldn’t include trackers in your pitches.
Questions? Comments? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Rachel, she who must not be tracked.