We all do it. An e-mail drops into your inbox that’s so far off the mark at targeting your blog or audience, and you can’t help but roll your eyes (and probably bitch a little on Twitter, right?)
We put together this list for a little bit of fun, but there are a few points that if taken on board, would make things easier for both sides of the relationship. We’re not saying bloggers are perfect (there may be a similar sort of post appearing soon on here…!)
Bloggers talk. It’s why you’re getting in contact with them, because they’re not afraid to share their opinions in public or private – so if blogger x is getting paid £100 for a sponsored post, don’t be surprised if blogger Y doesn’t agree to £50 for the same post! (Or worse, expected to work for free.) They’re also aware that you’re being paid to do this, so the excuse “there’s no budget for this campaign” is a bit of a weak one.
Personalise all communications if you’re talking specifically to a blogger – and make sure you get the right name! There’s one PR person out there who insists on sending me emails to “Kellie”…do you really mean me and got the name wrong, or do you mean someone else and got the e-mail address wrong?
There’s no harm in sending out mass press releases in the hope that a blogger will post it, but try to avoid pestering them when it’s going to get posted (and allow them to easily unsubscribe from your e-mail blasts). The quickest way to ensure your emails are never looked at again is to send a press release then 2 days later asking when the post is going to go up. The majority of bloggers don’t blog full time – they’re snatching a few minutes here and there to check emails and scribble out posts, so constant reminders isn’t going to go down too well. Along the same lines, if you send an item to be reviewed, then agree on a suitable timescale for when the post should go live.
In terms of content, most bloggers will prefer to write their own material – it might seem like having pre-written articles is helpful, but the bloggers creating the decent content that others want to read won’t want to have a similar article to someone else – they’ll want to put their own spin on things – after all, that’s why people are reading their blog!
What would you tell someone working in blogger outreach to help them work with bloggers better?
Nice post, Hayley. In my job I deal with PR and marketing folks every day, trying to advise them to go for an ethical, personalised approach to outreach. We even published a “best practice guide” on the subject. Getting to know a blogger through their blog and on social media is essential. And I think many bloggers would not agree with “There’s no harm in sending out mass press releases in the hope that a blogger will post it” – some of them must be very wearisome of an old-school approach like that. Keep educating the masses :)
This. cc. @BonjourBlogger http://t.co/CqAs65Ogm2
I couldn’t agree with this more! Though I think this came naturally to me as someone who went from blogging full time to PR.
That pre written article point really stands true for me. I’ve had so many emails from people saying they’ll supply high quality content for my blog and they’ll pay me £10 for the privilege of posting it. Well, I actually like to create my own high quality content, thanks!