How to Build Good Relationships with Bloggers

(www.businessandblogging.com) After reading the recent articles about Zappos and the Red Cross benefiting from good relationships with bloggers, you might be considering how your business could benefit from good blogging press too.

Four ways to get good press from bloggers:

• Give good customer service, sell good products, and implement good business practrices, and hope that bloggers notice, as happened with Zappos.
• Create a community media position to monitor the blogosphere and purposively develop good relationships with like-minded bloggers, as the Red Cross and other non-profits are doing.
• Start your own blog and print authentic, relative and timely posts
• Comment on blogs that impact your industry

Four ways NOT to get good press from bloggers:

• Ask them to reprint press releases or information verbatim from your company’s PR department
• Mislead them about who you are or what your intentions are
• Pass on inaccurate information to bloggers
• Send a product to a blogger for review, expecting positive comments

The Word of Mouth Marketing Assoication (WOMMA) has actually established a list of ethical guidelines for working well with bloggers.  Read their guidelines to ensure you and your business develop good relationships with the blogging community.