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| pitching to bloggers |
pitching to bloggers
Although many journalists are bloggers, bloggers are not journalists. They do not have to answer to their editor or publisher. They generally do not write to pay their bills; they tend to write about things that they are passionate about. They measure success in number of comments, trackbacks and traffic.
To pitch effectively to bloggers, you need to understand these subtleties. There are many useful blog posts by bloggers who get pitched to often, that offer guidelines for the PR industry. The effective PR hack will take note.
As with journalists, building a relationship is the best way to pitch to a blogger. Remember, journalist or blogger, you are reaching out to an individual. Read their blog, and engage.
Make pitches personal and relevant.
Provide accurate key information. Be descriptive but concise.
Do not try to spin a story.
Show you are aware of who is talking about you, and who is talking about their blog.
Be transparent.
Provide links to images, logos and press releases. Never send large attachments.
Although many journalists are bloggers, bloggers are not journalists. They do not have to answer to their editor or publisher. They generally do not write to pay their bills; they tend to write about things that they are passionate about. They measure success in number of comments, trackbacks and traffic.
To pitch effectively to bloggers, you need to understand these subtleties. There are many useful blog posts by bloggers who get pitched to often, that offer guidelines for the PR industry. The effective PR hack will take note.
As with journalists, building a relationship is the best way to pitch to a blogger. Remember, journalist or blogger, you are reaching out to an individual. Read their blog, and engage.
Make pitches personal and relevant.
Provide accurate key information. Be descriptive but concise.
Do not try to spin a story.
Show you are aware of who is talking about you, and who is talking about their blog.
Be transparent.
Provide links to images, logos and press releases. Never send large attachments.
In the US, the beauty PR industry has been noticing the power of bloggers, and some of the cosmetics houses send samples and swag (an industry term for gifts) to bloggers as well as journalists (Schaefer 2008). There is a difference, however. Journalists are generally restricted in the value of the gift they are allowed to accept, and tend to reveal when reviewed products are free samples. The publishing houses need to maintain an unbiased reputation. Bloggers, however, are self publishers, and can make up their own rules as they go along. Some of them accept lavish gifts in return for coverage – coverage that can appear more authentic as it comes from a blogger and not a journalist.
