One of the joys, or otherwise, of editing EYE is the daily outpouring of emails from large numbers of people I’ve never heard of seeking publicity on behalf of organisations equally obscure.

It’s bad enough, in any case, to be “reached out to” let alone be told we are “awesome”.

Sporting job titles such as ‘content marketing manager for the customer journey’, what they are usually after is for EYE to publish something “awesome” (what is it with that word?) that they have written, which they are absolutely sure would rivet our readers.

In return, they want a link to their website where their squillions of followers would then become aware of EYE.

The drawback? I have yet to come across a single piece of content offered that would be of the faintest interest or relevance to agents.

However, one of the latest took this concept to new lengths.

We are torn between wanting to tell them to take a hike, or to reinvent EYE as a publication for keen walkers.

“Hi there,

“My name is Brian, I am the main editor at Boot Bomb (https://bootbomb.com).

“While browsing your site, I noticed you have an amazing article from this page:

“https://www.propertyindustryeye.com/most-landlords-considering-hiking-rent-after-tax-assaults/

“My team actually just published a comprehensive article on Top 50 Long Distance Hiking Trails In The USA which I think your visitors would truly appreciate and add value to your awesome article.

“You can check it out here: https://bootbomb.com/info/hiking-trails/top-50-long-distance-hiking-trails-usa/

“If you were willing to add our link to that page, I would be more than happy to share it to more than 20 thousands of our social followers to help you gain some visibility in exchange.

“Let me know what you think and thank you for your consideration!

“Cheers.”

And yes, the irony has not escaped us – we have probably just walked quite a few readers over to Brian’s awesome website.