Blogger Relations
There are ways in which bloggers are not much different than the other media types PR folks have to reach out to. 1 #smgps
Biggest Similarity: You get to know your media contacts, don’t you? Their interests, subjects of focus, preferred contact methods. 2 #smgps
Bloggers appreciate at least that same respect you show any reporter: Know them, know what they write about, know who they are. 3 #smgps
Bloggers make it easier to figure out who they are, yet few marketers bother to invest the time. They’re obsessed with the “A-List” 4 #smgps
Forget “A-List”. Find *your* List…30 bloggers who care abt what you do, who write abt what you do & who don’t mind being pitched! 5 #smgps
Build relationships with your List. Read them. Comment. Link. Bloggers often aren’t beat reporters, they show their whole selves. 6 #smgps
Bloggers care about simple things. Like spelling our names right. Like not assuming because we’re women we’re moms…or straight. 7 #smgps
Like not attaching huge PPTs/PDFs. Like not telling us how much we’re obviously going to want to write about what you’re pitching. 8 #smgps
Can’t imagine PR folks go to reporters with pitches they go to me, the blogger, with. Personalized does not equal unprofessional. 9 #smgps
Bloggers don’t feel they’re here to spread the word about you. What is in it for us, or for our reader? Where is the value? 10 #smgps
Value can be, most often is, *content*. Compelling, relevant, timely content. Bloggers have to come up with it on a regular basis! 11 #smgps
If you’re building your list, you probably trust bloggers on it, but remember: You can & should set and enforce ethical policies. 12 #smgps
Ask for the disclosure/transparency that will keep you/the blogger in the clear & maintain bond betwn the blogger & her readers 13 #smgps
Marketers have as much responsibility for the ethical arrangement as bloggers…don’t throw up hands or pull a nudge nudge wink wink 14 #smgps
In other words: show us the same respect you’d show any colleague, but remember it’s not our job (in most cases)… 15 #smgps
…To write about you, to cover you, to give you ink or inches or pixels. Many of us take this personally, but very seriously 16 #smgps
Maybe it’s a tough combination for marketers who want to establish strong blogger relations programs. 17 #smgps
Tough or not, the benefits of working with bloggers with influence whether broad or niche are well worth the challenge. 18 #smgps
When done well, marketers and bloggers can be a match made in heaven. 19 #smgps
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