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My last post was “Do Your Homework: Media Pitching Basic Essentials – Part 1 of 2.”  In part two we’ll look at pitching bloggers who aren’t members of the media. After all, pitching bloggers is not necessarily the same as pitching a journalist who happens to blog too. The Bad Pitch Blog recently stated “At the risk of oversimplifying…the difference between journalists and bloggers is paid vs. passion.” Remember, a blogger most likely does not have an editor and can write what they want at any time!

 Here are my three basic essentials for blogger relations:

• Research the blog/blogger. As with pitching journalists, the first step is research. This entails not just using a search engine or service to find the blogger, but it means reading what they’ve written – not just the last post. Shannon Nelson hit the nail-on-the-head when she wrote, “PR has to invest the time to peel back the layers and research who [the bloggers] are, what [the bloggers] talk about and who [the bloggers’] audience is before sending a pitch—or take the chance of their pitch hitting the spam folder (or worse, appearing as a slam on their blog).”  To expand on that thought Frank Krolicki wrote recently, “Most bloggers are immersed in their topic of interest almost all day, every day, and are much more open to dealing with someone who shares their passion than someone who’s simply looking to get quick publicity for a client,” which leads to my next point.
• Develop a relationship. You can do this by starting a dialogue with the blogger.  Connect with them on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or any other social media sites where they hang out. Contribute to the conversation by commenting on their blog or post.  Always be respectful, but not stuffy, and don’t be overly familiar too soon. (Kind of sounds like dating, huh?)  Consider asking permission of the blogger before adding them to a pitch list.
• Have a plan/call to action. Allow me to reiterate the last point in the previous paragraph: Consider asking permission before adding a blogger to a pitch list.  Better yet, don’t add them to a pitch list at all. Rather make the pitch one-on-one as part of your natural conversation. When you get to the pitching stage in your relationship, be sure to articulate exactly what you are looking for – set a common level of expectations to avoid any misinterpretations.

 Finally, it wouldn’t hurt to review Todd Defren’s Blogger Relations Case Study; however, before you go, please tell the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas what points you would add to the blogger pitching essentials list?

This entry was posted on Friday, October 2nd, 2009 at 8:34 am and is filed under Media Contacts, Media Relations, Planning Media Outreach, Public Relations, Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.