How To Reach Out to Bloggers

With the explosion of the internet over the past decade, every PR pro knows that no public relations campaign is complete without blogger outreach. Bloggers target certain niche audiences that may be hard to reach otherwise. Blogs also have a lot more credibility than ads that are paid for. Making strong connections with bloggers can prove to be very beneficial because they tend to have a loyal audience who are always willing to follow their recommendations.

Blogging is a fairly new media outlet and for most PR professionals interacting with bloggers is a whole new ball park. Bloggers are extremely diverse. Some write because they are passionate about their subject matter. Some write for profit. Some do both. This is why one approach may be welcomed by one blogger but not well received by another.

I don’t believe there is one right way to pitch to bloggers, just like there isn’t just one way to pitch to any other media outlet. Just keep in mind bloggers are people too. They enjoy well thought out pitches that are sincere, relevant and useful to their audience. And who can resist a good story?

Here are some tips to help you achieve better results from your blogger outreach:

1.    Do your research: Before you approach the blog owner with your pitch make sure you know what the blog is about, the content of the posts as well as what kind of audience they are reaching out to. You can do this by reading a variety of posts and comments from various months/years to get a good idea.

2.   Interact with bloggers way before your campaign: When you reach out to a blogger to pitch a story, it is always better to already have a relationship with them before hand. Bloggers could get offended if you only approach them when you have a campaign you’re working on. No one likes being used! To start building a relationship long before your campaign starts, read and comment on their blog posts, follow their social media accounts and recommend them within your personal network. Going the extra mile will definitely help you out in the long run.

3.   Be natural: Bloggers write in everyday, conversational language. When pitching to them, make sure you lose the formal, corporate language. 

4.   Provide more than they need: Make their job easy by providing them with all the essentials to publish a high-quality blog post. This could include photos, videos, quotes, pre-written tweets/status updates and always offer them interview options.

5.   Offer valuable content: Try to pitch stories that will grab a bloggers attention. Most of the time bloggers will be more inclined to publish a story about free products, giveaways, special offers or exclusive interviews rather than a boring press release. You need to make sure your story has potential to go viral, will attract traffic to the blog and help to build profit by enticing subscribers.

        

Have you ever had to reach out to a blogger before? If so, what was your experience? Let us know!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

I love a good headline. Whenever I sit down on Sunday nights to write my weekly blog posts, the first thing I do is try to think about a witty or catchy headline. However, in my News Writing & Media Relations class, I'm starting to find myself struggling over what kind of title to go with. Unfortunately, press releases aren't the same as blogs. You have to be strategic with what kind of tone or purpose to have in mind when writing a headline. Below are a few different types of headlines to consider when writing:

• Direct: These are the headlines you'll usually see on the Classifieds page, like "Car for Sale". This may seem kind of abrupt, but some people do like things short, sweet, and to the point.
• News: This type of headline is most commonly used with media writing. "President Obama to unveil new healthcare reform" is a good example, it tells you what happened, no questions asked, while conveying an air of authority to tell the reader "read me, I know what's going on."
• How-to: You probably find yourself beginning most of your Google searches with "how to..." Creating a post beginning with how to will undoubtedly garner more views, and let people know that you're here to help.
• Question: People are inherently curious...and anxious. Having a headline posing a question like "Are you feeding your kids the right foods?" will stir the curiosity in people, and encourage them to read more to make sure they're doing the right things.
• Testimonial: "Why I Chose to Go Vegetarian" people will more likely look for a second opinion when making a decision. If you establish yourself as a reliable resource for a topic, people will come to you in packs because they'll know you're the expert.
• Teaser: Titling a piece with something like "The Biggest Event of the Year" could encourage readers to find out more. But take care, if you hype it up too much, people won't appreciate being let down.

Do you find yourself creating these headlines? Have they made a difference in your views? Let us know!

Create a Strategic Outreach Campaign to Add Value to your Organization

Evaluating your organizations presence in the community and taking specific steps to improve relationships are very important enterprises to take on for any ambitious Public Relations professional. Incorporating these steps as part of a larger strategic outreach campaign will improve your company’s public perception, as well as your chances of landing that big promotion.

The first step to effectively implementing a strategic outreach campaign is writing the plan. Be sure to have an overarching goal clearly stating the desired outcome of the strategic outreach campaign, Examples of an outreach goal include increasing information about your organization, bolstering your company’s public image, or helping to develop local communities through education and investment.

Another important part of strategic outreach is defining the publics and stakeholders. The audiences for strategic outreach campaigns may include policy makers, educators and community catalysts and the plan may include nontraditional publics. Strategic outreach campaigns that incorporate community development need to take into account all of the possible stakeholders in the community.

The overall goal of your strategic outreach plan should have clear objectives which are accomplished by specific tactics. These objectives should be measurable and could include changes in knowledge, attitudes, or values of key publics. Objectives for strategic outreach plans could also include measurable improvements in education, involvement, or wealth. Tactics should detail the tasks performed, resources need, and the process used to achieve objectives. These tactics and objectives should be outlined in a schedule to make sure all team members are held accountable.

Focus on the messages that your campaign is conveying and make sure to explain ideas so that your publics can understand them. For example, banks that offer financial literacy training explain concepts in drastically different way to middle school children than they would to college students majoring in economics.

Finally, including an evaluation section is crucial. Your evaluation should measure how well your outreach plan has carried out specific strategies, objectives and goals. Did your financial literacy program influence people to start a 401k? Has public perception of your organization benefited from your strategic outreach attempts? This is also the section where you lay out which measurement tools you will use to evaluate progress.

Crafting a strategic outreach campaign can add immense value to your organization. If effectively implemented, strategic outreach can have long-lasting, positive community effects as well as boost your organizations reputation. Has your organization engaged in strategic outreach? Do you have any advice to those starting strategic outreach initiatives? Let us know!