Blog Relations - No One Size Fits All Pitching

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In The New Influencers, Paul Gillin wrote, “Professional journalists understand the PR pitch game. Enthusiasts [Bloggers] want you to share their passion for a topic. Before contacting an enthusiast, spend some time learning about his or her specialty.”

PR practitioners cannot use a mass pitch to shove a crafted message into the blogosphere. Philipp Lenssen of Google Blogoscope made a good point when he said that, “Becoming just another echo chamber for the blogosphere is the one thing good bloggers try to avoid“.

I know in the age of high client turnover and unreasonable demands, people may not have the time to sit and craft individual emails to each target. Well too bad. You have to. Blogs each carry their individual owner’s personality. You have to know how they write - AP style or conversationally? Do they us jargon or not? Do they usually write shorter posts or longer posts? How much do they incorporate pictures and videos? A different mix of answers will get a different type of blog pitch.

Blogs may also have their own contacting requests. MocoNews allows you to contact journalists directly, but asks that you use their online submission forum. James Pearce has always published my clients’ earnings this way. Engadget is another blog that asks for online-based submissions from PR pros. They highlight this directly on their main page. But they also issue a caveat - “DO NOT use this email address to send press releases or other promotional material!” Mass blog pitches miss these important details.

Here are some keys to blogger relations:

1. Make sure you do your research and have good reason for picking your target blogs.
2. Offer the bloggers something unique that caters to their blogs (Sneak peaks, video, audio, pictures, specials). Not every blog wants the same content for their readers.
3. Bloggers are journalists. Sometimes an individual who blogs on the weekend can have a strong impact in mainstream media.
4. Engage the blog by commenting on their posts and start a true conversation with them.
5. Look to extend your relationship beyond just getting a “hit.”
6. Respond quickly. We all know the traditional media hates to wait for a flack. So do bloggers. Don’t assume they don’t understand media relations.