6. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
Hannah Butcher @HannahFButcher • Mar 30
Calling all #PRs & #SEOs:
why do you work with
bloggers? Give me your top
reason for #outreach
107 votes • Final results
Link Building
Product/place reviews
Publishing your content
Social shares
22
%
22
%
28
%
28
%
10. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
We blame:
Time & budgets
“I’m not going to spend a week emailing each
blogger individually waxing lyrical about how great
their blog is for the sake of pleasantries with no
guarantee it’s going to be worth it. What if I spend
an hour reading a blog, crafting a pitch and the
blogger doesn’t reply?”
– Laura, Six out of Ten
http://whdot.net/sixoutoften-prs-bloggers
11. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
We forget:
Bloggers are not journalists
“People start blogs because they love something,
and want to share that love and their own view on it,
in a different way. They do not get paid for their
time, and often spend considerable hours making
their blog perfect.”
http://whdot.net/mediavision-pr-blogger-relationship
12. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
We ignore:
That we’re partly to blame
“Editorial coverage (not advertorial, which is paid
media) is earned media that a brand receives from
publishing companies because the information was
compelling enough for its audience to cover the
information.”
http://whdot.net/socialmediaexplorer-bloggers
13. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
We made paid links the norm
Penalty warnings caused bloggers to react, and we adapted
Instead, we then made a shift & offered “great content”
But bloggers can't separate our link building efforts & PR efforts
14. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
Calling all #PRs & #SEOs: why
do
you work with bloggers? Give
me
your top reason for #outreach
Link Building
Product/place reviews
Publishing your content
Social shares
22
%
22
%
28
%
28
%
Remember this?
15. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
And this?
#Bloggers: why do you work with
#PRs? #journorequest
#bloggerrequest
Longer responses welcome!
Exclusive content
Review products/places
New opportunities
Relationship building
14
%
22
%
35
%
29
%
24. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
-
Janet,
I saw this cute, but painfully accurate, cartoon
shared by Gloria from The Blog Abroad and it made
me laugh, cry and get quite angry all at once.
Mainly thanks to the amount of emails I have
received this week asking me to do things for free.
Oh sorry.
I meant for exposure.
27. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
Travel bloggers only want free stuff.
“Sometimes I believe the older generation has no
freaking clue how hard us bloggers work. They think
it’s a cute little hobby and thus they can ask us to do
things or for us to be their little guinea pigs and that
we will be grateful for anything that comes our way.”
28. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
Travel bloggers aren’t
good brand ambassadors.
“If you think my blog and Instagram is so good that
I should be your ambassador, show a little respect
and don’t ask me to pay to promote your business!”
29. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
Travel bloggers aren’t travel writers.
“Here’s the response I got from the Head of
Marketing:
The way I see this relationship working is that you
provide us content of luxury travel and we increase
your viewer account on our blog and our social
media. I really think we can do some great things
together.”
Janet:
6,000+
Followers
Travel brand:
269 Followers
30. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
Travel bloggers don’t work hard.
“I heard an anecdote on this subject summed up so
well by Irish YouTuber Clisare at the recent Blog
Awards Ireland event in Dublin.
She was saying that people think a bloggers job is
so easy. All they need to do is think of something to
write about, then write it. Anybody could do that.”
33. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
Get better at:
Understanding digital PR
http://whdot.net/browser-media
If PR efforts focus on earned media, but bloggers associate
themselves with journalists, how come blogger outreach is paid
media?
When PR people go to the blogger and ask for them to help promote a
product, and the savvy and deserving blogger replies with his or her
standard charge for that type of promotional partnership, the PR firm
has to say no, because they usually don’t have the budget for it.
34. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
Get better at:
Budgeting
http://whdot.net/browser-media
If bloggers are important to your campaigns, you better start
thinking of who to target & how valuable they are to you, or if
you should be spending time wooing the press instead.
Is the blogger worth their buck? Or are you just ticking boxes
that could easily result in alienating your outreach targets?
37. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
Then do even more research. If the
blogger doesn’t write about your topic,
post giveaways, or review products, your
time is better spent pitching someone
who does
40. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
Be clear, but
realistic with
your requests
Blogger: Sorry for the delay in getting
this live - I took a lot of video footage
and I'm trying to find the time to
finish editing it. Won't be long now
though.
Hannah: No worries at all! For some
reason, this time of year seems to get
busy for everyone. I’m sure it’ll be
worth the wait anyway, I’m looking
forward to seeing the video footage.
Blogger: The post is finally live :)
sorry for the delay:
http://quintessentiallyme.co.uk/2014/
10/chefs-table-martyn-meid.html
44. @whitedotnet@HannahFButcher
Takeaways:
• Decide whether blogger outreach is the right tactic for your
budget
• Figure out whether you’re looking for links or you’re trying to
engage and expand your brand audience
• If your campaign has a need for bloggers, find the ones who fit
your budget and be fair – neither party should get taken for a
ride
• Take the opportunity to develop the skills of the blogger you
work with; build a better relationship by sharing your
knowledge of best practices
• Be nice. A happy blogger is a happy brand!
These days it seems that we want to use bloggers to promote our content. Why is this? Do we think they’re an easier sell than journalists? Do we truly respect what they have to offer?
Ask audience
We can see that bloggers value different things. Most important to them is the chance to have new opportunities and develop relationships with us. It’s just a shame we aren’t holding up our end of the deal well enough.
You care about getting eyeballs on your content
They don’t care so much about your content. They care about what they want, not what you want.
Putting the onus on the blogger – they cannot be expected to understand the industry like we do
Need to change the URL to a short link using bitly - http://journalistontherun.com/2015/10/30/exposure-wont-pay-for-my-next-flight/
These pages are a quick way to discover what the blog is about, whether the blogger accepts pitches, and how to reach them. Many of them also have guidelines on the topics they do and don’t blog about.
In addition to looking at the About page, read blog posts. Dig back a month or so. If the blogger doesn’t write about your topic, post giveaways, or review products, your time is better spent pitching someone who does. Check out their blogroll for ideas on other bloggers you can reach out to.
Next time you’re interested in pitching a blogger, try reading their blog and leaving a comment – not as the brand you represent, but as yourself (no pitching in this initial outreach)
If you’re pitching an event or have a specific timeline for when you need coverage, don’t wait until the week of. Many bloggers plan their posts in advance.
If you expect a certain level of commitment from a blogger, communicate that in your conversation, but plan some flexibility to accommodate different bloggers’ availability. For instance, I may not be able to schedule two posts, but I could commit to one post and more social media pushes.
Try identifying bloggers from a few different niches that are relevant to your pitch. For instance, a store opening could be pitched to fashion bloggers, local event blogs, lifestyle/personal bloggers, and mom or dad bloggers. Just remember to tailor the angle of your pitch to each individual’s interests. While there may be some overlap, each niche has its own unique audience.
When it comes to multimedia, think beyond your brand’s logo; have product shots, event photos, relevant infographics, or embeddable video ready. Similarly, be prepared with hashtags, social media handles, examples of tweets and other social media messaging. Don’t attach everything to your pitch, but offer its availability.
A short email thanking the blogger is nice, as is sharing their post (and other posts) on your social media channels.