Comments on: Blogger Outreach 2.0

By: murrayrossnewlands

murrayrossnewlands — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:20:59 +0000

AS a blogger I am happy to get pitched by companies with relevant information that I share with my readers. It is down to the relevance of the pitch and the nature of my blog. I also get lots to irrelevant pitches that go straight into the trash.

By: Danny Brown

Danny Brown — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:08:13 +0000

That's exactly what the post suggests. Knowing the blogger, seeing if he or she is a fit, engaging a conversation and forging relationships. It's what all PR people should be doing (and, to be fair, all the good ones are, and have been doing so for a while).

By: Building Materials & Supplies

Building Materials & Supplies — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:55:26 +0000

Instead of going this route, why not build up a rapport, a relationship, and you never know where this could go to

By: Danny Brown

Danny Brown — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 04:28:32 +0000

That's a great point you make, Laurent – too many agencies go with the blogger that's “right for us at that time”. Instead of going this route, why not build up a rapport, a relationship, and you never know – a blogger may just drop out of their “comfort zone” to help you out.

By: Danny Brown

Danny Brown — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 04:26:39 +0000

One of my pet hates is “biz talk”, or gobbledygook words or phrases. One of the first things I advise clients is talk with your audience, not to them. There's a big difference, and gobbledygook plays a large part in that.

It's no different from approaching a blogger – unless you know their language, you don't know anything.

By: CTK1

CTK1 — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 01:54:01 +0000

Right on! Great post darling!

"PR pros need to be very savvy in helping clients select the right bloggers to approach who can make a positive impact on potential customers"

Would rule me out as a guest blogger though :=)))!

By: Chuck Hemann

Chuck Hemann — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:53:40 +0000

I think what John, Danny and Christina have hit on in the post and comments is really essential to understand…the development of relationships and strategic targeting are the bedrock of any traditional or media relations campaign. If you're reaching out to the wrong people (by wrong I mean cannot move the needle), where do you think your campaign will go?

And I'm not just saying this because I do research for a living either

Thanks, Danny, for always providing content on your blog that makes us think.

By: laurent

laurent — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:21:25 +0000

Good points.
To me it starts with being relevant so before any outreach, building the right list is essential. This one step will eliminate 90% or more of the crap and blind pitch that's still happening out there.
Also if possible, getting away from the one time/one campaign outreach and moving into an ongoing relationship dialog with relevant bloggers is a +
L

By: Christina Klenotic

Christina Klenotic — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:39:07 +0000

Danny, good point that not all moms who blog class themselves as mommy bloggers.

Readingtofour, we've reached out to independent bloggers who have said they're not interested in working with PR professionals, and we respect their decision. As Danny said, we all have a choice: to read or not read a blog, to partner with companies or not, to spam bloggers or carefully target those who could be a good fit.

By: Danny Brown

Danny Brown — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:10:12 +0000

I think it can come down to perception and acceptance. The mommy bloggers (or any other niche blogging community) that PR is targeting or approaching are usually the ones that are a match for their products or clients. The “power” to accept or reject a PR pitch is always down to the blogger – so it's down to personal choice whether you're a blogger that accepts ads and products, or not.

It may be that there are two different terms needed now – from conversations with numerous moms, not all bloggers who are moms class themselves as “mommy bloggers”, more “moms who blog”.

Companies are always going to advertise products; how they do that continues to change and I think we'll see even more niches (kiddy blogger?) soon. Then it's down to choosing whether to work with PR or stay a PR-free blog.