I started my first blog three years ago blogging about my favorite sports team The Ohio State Buckeyes. As an alumni and fan, it was a great way to learn the world of blogging, follow my team and create a platform to talk Buckeyes with whoever would join in. From the beginning, I approached it as a journalist and while I may not have had the same access or resources as a traditional journalist, I soon found an audience for my rather opinionated sports talk.
Three years, nearly 400 posts and a few tough bowl losses later, I’ve received a number of p.r. pitches both good and bad. Below is a list of 10 things I’ve learned about pitching to the blogs:
1. Don’t fear the blogs
Yes, there still are a number p.r. professionals who don’t approach bloggers because they are afraid of what they will say. No, most blogs don’t have the editorial structure of traditional media outlets and yes some tend to speak more…how shall we say…”freely” than others. Hopefully, you’ve actually read the blog before pitching. If the blog regularly attacks or makes you nervous, leave them off your list.
2. Treat bloggers like you would any other journalist
Successful blogs don’t just happen. Building a blog takes a great deal of time, talent and effort and unlike traditional media the entire operation often consists of one or two people. If the blogger has built an audience you want to reach, do everything you can to make their job easier and the publicity will come.
3. Offer Access
Often, more than anything else, bloggers need access. Without the weight of a traditional media conglomerate behind them, press passes and media access can be hard to come by. At the same time, access to one big event or one big interview can launch a blog into the prime time.
The political parties caught onto this some time ago but others are slow to come around. The New York Islanders recently offered press credentials to bloggers. In order to accommodate the media elites who may not approve, the Islanders set up a fan friendly “blogger’s box” which could handle all the cheering and nacho eating that goes with the typical watching of a hockey game. From a sports marketing perspective, this makes perfect sense. Who is going to be more passionate about a team then the fan who takes the time to build and regularly contribute to their blog.
In the end, it is truly a win/win situation. The blogger gets much needed access along with links on the team’s website which will drive traffic. Not only do the Islanders get the publicity generated by the bloggers, by being open and reaching out to bloggers, they presenting team management in a very positive light.
(By the way, if anyone at the Ohio State athletic office is reading this, I can be reached at annapolisbuckeye@thebuckeyeforum.com – hey, I’ve got to try.)
4. Offer Contest Prizes
One of the most powerful ways to grow a blog is to give something away. Offer bloggers product samples to give away as contest prizes (be sure to include one for the blogger.) This is a great way to generate buzz about a new product and provides an excellent opportunity for the blogger. Don’t worry about the details of the contest, let the blogger determine what will work best for the blog and the blogger’s audience.
5. Make the blogger feel important
This is similar to #3 above. As a blogger, I love it when I’m considered in the same vein as top journalists. For example, this summer, ESPN invited me to sit in on a conference call with Erin Andrews and a number of other ESPN personalities. They were promoting their “Title Town USA” competition and to be honest, I didn’t really care what they were promoting. The fact that I was getting recognized by one of the biggest sports media outlets in the world was enough for me. It was exciting, it didn’t cost them anything to include me and they got a post.
6. Offer Valuable Content – Without Copyright Limitations
Just like journalists, bloggers love content they can use. Without the resources and access of traditional media content which fits the topic of the blog can go a long way.
This fall I was approached by a p.r. rep from the NFL. He told me that the NFL was making video “available” to bloggers and offered a video clip with an excellent analysis that fit my blog perfectly. I was writing the post when I realized that there wasn’t a code to embed the video on my site. I wrote to the p.r. rep asking for the code and he was very quick to tell me that I due to copyright limitations, I could not place the video on my site.
Considering that the initial contact “offered” the video, I had assumed I could use it on my site, complete with NFL client advertisement, NFL logos and link to NFL site. Without the video, my post didn’t just didn’t seem to work and the p.r. “pitch” failed (at least on my blog).
7. Make personal contact
You’ve heard it before, blogs are about the “conversation.” Reach out and talk to the blogger. Honest, open and personal contact from a p.r. rep is usually acceptable. Rarely have I used a traditional press release but on a number of occasions, I did use information provided by p.r. reps after a personal contact. The fact that the p.r. rep took the time to reach out and talk to me personally shows that they see some value in my blog. At the very least, I’ll give them a look.
Also be careful how you use the comments. Bloggers don’t react well to advertisements in their comment section. If you have something to contribute to the discussion, fine. If you have something to pitch, use email.
8. Pitch to the blogger’s audience. If it doesn’t fit blog’s niche, don’t pitch.
Most blogs have a very specific niche. Don’t pitch products or information that don’t fit that niche. At the same time, when you find the blogs with the perfect audience for your pitch, don’t be afraid to reach out to them. Bloggers want to provide value to their audience and if your product or service truly helps their audience, they will usually respond.
9. Don’t forget the smaller blogs
While it’s great to get those placements in the Technorati top 100, don’t forget the smaller blogs. Often these smaller blogs hit a very specific niche and although the number of impressions may be smaller, you’re much more likely to hit your target market.
These smaller blogs are usually the one person operations and are more likely to be more responsive to many of the tips above.
When looking for these smaller blogs, search for blogs that are well indexed. Search key words that match your pitch along with the word “blog” and see what comes up. The first page on Google should be worth pitching. While they may not always have high volume traffic, If you found them, so will others.
10. Offer an Affiliate Relationship
Most bloggers are looking for ways to monetize their site without turning away readers. If your product or service is a good match and is of value to the audience, give the blogger a cut. With an affiliate relationship you only pay for the advertising that works. Affiliate relationships can result in both banner advertising and blog posts on your product or service.
Jim Lodico is an independent public relations consultant and freelance copywriter. For help with your public relations efforts, contact Jim at jalodico@bizwritings.com or visit www.jalcommunications.com.
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Good post. As a young public relations professional, who just recently graduated, I have been researching ways to effectively pitch bloggers. All your ideas/suggestions were both relevant and sensable. Thanks for the tips … keep up the good work.
-Jeff Grass
Jim — As always, I find your posts extremely helpful and informative. I’m becoming a real fan of yours. In fact, as I was reading this post, it helped me to get calm about trying to outline the benefits of social marketing to a potential client (because there is so much out there to dissect). This client has come because of a post I wrote to this blog. So I have you to thank for multiple reasons!
Jim, great article! You can tell by your writing style that you have been at this for some time. Interacting with bloggers and interacting on the forums can be rewarding. As a blogger, I welcome all the P.R. pitches that I can get.
By the by, I found you post to this on Linkedin group discussions. Any chance that you might be interested in swapping site reviews with anchor text links? I don’t have a problem with apposing viewpoints, so you don’t have to agree with me in order to work with me. My experience is the more controversy the bigger the audience. Think Hannity and Colmes.
Excellent. As a new PR blogger – I launched in November – I found this advice useful to bloggers and spot on in terms of insight into PR best practice.
Nice post, Jim! With so much hype around social media and blogging, it can be easy to forget that solid PR tenets like providing valuable content, developing relationships and offering access are considered best practice for a reason: they work. The landscape may continue to change, but smart communication never goes out of style.
Excellent advice, Jim. Thanks. Treating bloggers professionally and with as much respect and importance as you do with editors/reporters just makes sense. #10 is so important since the majority of bloggers, even the best ones, don’t make much money doing what they do.
Good post Jim!
We have had an incredible amount of success with bloggers and you are right on point. Bloggers are people too and our success is due to the building of good solid relationships, transparency and being helpful in providing great on topic information in the area that the blogger writes. We are news junkies many of us have worked both sides of the industry. Thanks for your post!
Great post, Jim! As a newbie blogger, internet marketer, PR blogger, you-name-it, I find it difficult to cut through all the fluff that’s out there to get to the real stuff.
You make it easy!
Thank you! I’ve just learned (and in some cases re-learned) some important tips.
Your style is concise and informative. Nice work!
Best, Karen
Thanks for taking the time to share some really helpful information. I’ve begun “listening” to some key reporters in my industry and this will help me work more effectively with them. Great job! – Katie
Nice post.
#1 is a great point to start with. Once we got over the initial fear of what bloggers would say we were able to have quite a bit of success.