Blogger Outreach: How to Do it right

Blogger outreach is a big deal lately. Many businesses and PR agencies are hiring people who “know how to talk to bloggers” because, apparently, bloggers are influential people. That’s all well and good, but I’ve received pitches from some of these blogging outreach people and most of them need to work a bit on their delivery. Sending me spam emails to ask me to pimp promote your product takes a little finesse.

For those of you who aren’t quite sure how to reach out to bloggers, Allow me to offer a brief primer.

1. Know a Little Something About the Blog or the Blogger

Before sending a pitch asking a blogger to promote your product, service, book, blog or podcast, know a little something about the blog you’re reaching out to. Read a few posts, take part in some of the discussions, learn about the community. After you spend a little time at the blog decide whether or not it’s a good fit for your pitch. If it doesn’t come close, you’re wasting both your time and the blogger’s.

2. What’s in it For Me?

No, I’m not talking about swag, but if you’re constantly pitching to the same bloggers it would be nice to offer a little something in return. One-sidedness isn’t what blogging or social media is about. Offer link love in return or donate an item or gift certificate for the blogger to give away to readers. Mutually beneficial relationships last a lot longer than take-take-take relationships.

3. Please Don’t Tell Me What to Say

It’s not a good idea to approach a list of bloggers with a script. We like to use our own words and we like our content to be original. If everyone is just posting the same press release it’s kind of boring, and it’s a turnoff for our community.

4. Try the Personal Approach

We prefer “Dear  (insert name here)” over “Dear Blogger”. Sending a form letter is the easiest way to find our delete button. We like that you at least took the time to learn our names.

5. Do I Know You?

Building relationships is what blogging and social media are about. Follow us on Twitter and engage us in conversation. Learn about what makes us tick. Find out what makes each blogger unique. Tailor your pitch for each individual blog instead of blasting out form emails to everyone listed on your spreadsheet.

Bloggers are more than happy to promote products, especially if they’re tools and services they feel will be of use to their communities. Building relationships and getting to know bloggers individually can mean the difference between a successful promotion and smarmy spam tactics.