It’s a new year and everyone is perky again in the office. This morning we had our usual “what have you be doing this week” meeting and interestingly enough, Bloggers were a HOT topic. With the growth of digital and the role it plays on society, PR’s have finally began to realise how important bloggers are. I thought it was time to introduce the team to the PR Spammers website & of course Gina’s PR blacklist. Interesting read.. good to see no one at Biss Lancaster is on the list.. maybe I have taught them well!

I spoke to soon, I then came across Kevin Braddocks “A year of journalism and deleting emails” post from last month – detailing name by name, every PR that has annoyed him.. Ouch! But fair play to Kevin, I don’t blame him for a second. If PR’s were to do the same act in public and run up to innocent strangers screaming “Press Release Press Release” I am sure they will be met by more than just a blacklist on the blog post!

So on that note, I would like to offer some friendly advice to all you PR’s out there. I say advice, more basic tips or guidelines, for engaging with us bloggers. So here it goes, Enjoy the read

The Golden Rules when targeting bloggers

Bloggers can be pitched too hundreds of times a week, even hundreds of times a day. So when approaching a blogger with a pitch, there are a number of things to consider:

Comment first, pitch later: Become a genuine and active member of the blog before you make contact. This doesn’t help if you have something to pitch today but bloggers are usually more willing to interact with you if they can see you have gone to the effort of interacting with their content. Showing your not just there to take but to give. The longer you interact with them the better. You could also send an intro email first, asking them explicitly if they would like to receive information moving forward.

Personalise it: There is nothing worse than a generic email (this is a turn off in most aspects of life). Use their name, mention their blog. If you have commented on their blog previously this will give you a good stepping stone for the email, as they will already know who you are (9/10). Also, bloggers are not like journalists, although they are sometimes the same, take a more friendly approach.

Get their details right: Goes without saying, copying and pasting emails can lead to forgetting to change the name, very embarrassing and could even lead to bad press.

Show you know who they are: Going beyond adding personalised detail, such as commenting on one of their posts, complement them, give them a bit of celebrity status, ask them a question that shows you have dug a little deeper than just finding the first blog on Google and emailing them

Introduce yourself: Seems obvious but it does happen! Bloggers like to know who they are talking too; this doesn’t mean a full bio, just a quick introduction

Keep it brief and simple: If I saw an email from a stranger that was 2-3 paragraphs long I would either ignore it or save it for later (unless it something really worth reading). Get to the point, ask your question or pitch your idea quickly – the same you would with the newsdesk. Also, if you are asking for someone to do something for you, provide them with simple, achievable steps to respond.

Highlight benefits: Whatever you are pitching, it will have more chance of success if there something in it for the blogger. You need a hook

Research your question: Many of the questions people ask would be answered by simply taking a look round their blog.

Be persistent but don’t stalk: Sending a friendly reminder or follow up email is acceptable, obsessively emailing a person multiple times in a short period… I think you get the idea.

Avoid Press Releases: These are usually only considered or read when they are right on target for the blogs niche. It is much better to pitch a story tailored to the blog, you can always include a link to the social media news release to give the blogger further info, photos and other content. Keep it short and sweet. E.G: here is my story you might be interested in and here is why it’s relevant to your blogs readers’ they would be much more inclined to read and write about it.

Keep it on topic: If you’re pitching story ideas you can do yourself a lot of damage by pitching irrelevant stories to bloggers. Like I said, keep it simple, get the point across and hook the blogger.

Be polite and courteous: Making demands, assumptions and being overly familiar can sometimes lead to people binning your pitch. On the flip side however, some pitches can come across so polite that they seem sterile. It’s a fine line, so keep in mind that cultural differences come into play here.

Mention your blog: Most bloggers are wired to be on the look out for other bloggers. If you have a blog, mention it in your pitch. If you don’t have a blog, why not?

Link up: One quick way to get on many bloggers radars is to link to them on your own blog or website. This shows you know who they are, will send them some traffic and is a show of good will that will help break down the initial barrier. Keep in mind that large bloggers will get a lot of links, so might not work as well, but it cannot hurt.

Give an exclusive: Bloggers love to break stories, It helps them build traffic, establish credibility and profile and gives them the perception of being more connected in their niche. Offering some sort of exclusive angle on a story, access to interview a key person or even just exclusive rights to be the first with a story is something that will help you get featured on a blog, especially the more popular kinds. Be warned, don’t offer an exclusive and then offer it to others. You might get burnt!

Don’t include anything you do not want to be communicated: Goes without saying, some bloggers will blog the juicy gossip simply because they cannot resist!

What not to do

Pitching to unrelated bloggers just because they are popular: Or.. If they are closely related, you must step up the attempts to hook the author

Don’t pretend to have read the blog if you actually haven’t: It could insult the author and/or make you look stupid. Be honest if you have no pre-pitch prep time and haven’t familiarised yourself with the blog

Don’t use generic statements: Personalise the pitch, don’t use “Love your blog” over and over – its tacky

Asking a blogger to plug one of their professional competitors: This is why research is required. Pitching a microsoft product to an avid apple man user/fan/professional can only go one way

Pester the blogger: If you pitch didn’t work reconsider your angle. No stalking!

Ask the blogger outright to cover your story or pitch: its rude, give them a reason too.

Get Angry: PR people should never send ‘angry’ messages if a story has been mis-reported or a negative piece written – as the first thing they’ll do is post it on their blog…