Effective Blogger Relations
At BlogHer Business last week, one of the sessions I went to was about effective blogger relations. Want to reach out and get some bloggers talking about you and your products? There are good ways and bad ways to do it.
I’ve liveblogged the discussion over at Licence to Room, but here are the key points from the session, as included in the handout.
Do create a targeted list of bloggers. Read the blogs regularly. There are plenty of tools to find your bloggers. Use them to find those who would be interested in your product. Read back into their history and follow them for while.
Do know the blogs you are approaching. Address the blogger by name. You should approach them as an individual; use their names. if they don’t publish their name, then use their pseudonym. However, some blogs do accept anonymous tips; if they do and the information is relevant then PR agencies have used this method to get their products out there.
Be relevant to the blogger’s interests. Make sure your outreach includes a benefit for the blogger If you want them to write about you, provide a product they’d like to review, exclusive information, access to company principals, etc. Always consider what is in it for them; but it is not always a material thing, exclusivity can be just as good.
Do treat the blogger with the same respect you would a professional journalist. Good bloggers, the ones you want to talk about your product or service, work hard at what they do. Just because they may not be paid to write in the same way as a journalist does not mean they do not deserve your respect. One person mentioned that you may want to consider the difference between a journalist who may only be doing the writing because they are paid and a blogger who is doing the same writing because they are passionate about it.
Do be open to constructive feedback from bloggers. Ask for it. There were a number of examples of companies wondering what the bloggers would like. The answer – just ask them. And you can ask them for feedback about other decisions, products etc. But take a look at this from Tara as well, sage advice on how to receive customer feedback.
Do check that they are open to receiving product. Do offer to send product with no strings attached. See of they have a gift policy. Check if they are open to receive product, especially if of any value. If you send product, it should not be with the proviso that they write about it. If you want to back, then provide a way for it to get there and make it easy for them. A good example was KY Spray Mist who sent lube to many mommy blogs. The product got a lot of coverage because it was fun to write about.
And some things you should not do?
Do not send obvious form letters. Everyone in the audience agreed they would just bin them. Make them personal, you’re more likely to get a reaction. However, a good exception came up in the discussion, when a company gets multiple mails from bloggers every week, then they will be sent press releases and form letters.
Do not ask for links, unless you are willing to pay for them. Remember, what is on it for the blogger. What are you doing to deserve a link? Are you linking to them?
Do not leave blog comments plugging your products. Do not just go into the blog and comment about your products. Bloggers get plenty of comments like that, they are called spam. However, they are talking about your product, then there is an opportunity.
Do not come on too strong. Don’t oversell. Be polite. Be respectful.
Do not put the blogger on your mailing list without permission. That’s spam as well.
Don’t keep chasing them all the time. If the product is worth writing about it, it will be. And some bloggers would prefer not to write at all instead of providing a bad review.
