How To Reach Out To Bloggers

I have to say, I’ve been following Chris Brogan’s blog for a while now, always finding interesting posts, but after reading his How To Reach Out To Bloggers blog post, he is definitely on my favorite bloggers list. I strongly advise anyone who is in PR and wanting to start reaching out to bloggers to read this one first, it’ll save you from doing some rooky mistakes, but more importantly it’ll help you understand how bloggers relationships should be viewed. After all, this is what PR is essentially all about, creating relationships first and foremost. Moreover, drawing from my sales, marketing and PR experience, creating good and honest relationships on a more personal level with people you interact in your professional life is what will have them be open to hear you out  with their defenses down on what you’re pitching before reaching a decision instead of flat out turning you down before even giving you a chance. People want to talk with people they feel they can trust and who are being honest with them.

I would also definitely read the comments section as there are some good points and additions on there. I’d surely stop to read the comments of jaybaer, Jim “Genuine” Turner‘s response comment, michelledamico, tallulah, Tyler M and postrank among others.

Here is an excerpt of the post which sums up well the initial steps to be considering when trying for a ‘bloggers outreach program’:

Be There Before the Sale

This is something Julien and I wrote about in Trust Agents, and it’s the first part of making your blogging outreach more successful. If you want people to write about you, they should probably know about you first. Quick ways to get that started:

• Follow them on Twitter.
• Comment on their blog posts.
• Set up Google Alerts and comment on related articles.

Is this more work than just blanketing someone with email and hoping a few write about it? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes.

The trick is not to talk about your stuff. You should have started this outreach weeks and weeks before ever needing anything, and it should be genuine. Be interested in the people you hope will take an interest in you.

Here is the link for the post once more How To Reach Out To Bloggers. Happy reading!

tallulah