Below is an Step By Step process that I developed for a current client to reach out to bloggers. I hope this helps others that are looking to reach out to bloggers to promote their product or service.
Step One:
1) The first step is to find the bloggers within the niche. Go
to Technorati , Google Blog Search , Google and search for
bloggers that are talking about your company. Look in web directories such as
Yahoo Directory, DMOZ and BOTA for blogs
in the industry. Forums are also a great
place to look as well. Also check out blogrolls from the sites you know are
relevant – it’s always good to know what the bloggers you’re reaching out to
are reading. PeopleBrowsr - is another site to help find bloggers. You can filter via location,
influence & communities to zero in on who is worth reaching out to.
Make a list of at least 20 bloggers that have blogged about your
company within the last 2 weeks. Concentrate on bloggers that appear to be
evangelizing your company, but also add some bloggers that are critical of your
efforts. You also need to reseach these bloggers. To do that you can Use sites like Klout and PeerIndex to note each
blogger’s influence. You can also experiment with Kred , Twitalyzer or TweetLevel,. You will want to keep track of these scores
as well on the spreadsheet.
Narrow
down your list to include the top ranking blogs within your niche. Research the
number of followers and the traffic to their websites. You can measure this by
using various tools such as; Alexa & Compete, just to name a couple. How frequently the blogger
posts is important but if they haven’t blogged in a while, don’t let that be a
deterrent. Your message might be the right one to get them blogging again.
2) After you have your list of at least 20 bloggers that are
talking about your company, go back to every blog and respond to the blog post
where your company is mentioned. Clearly identify yourself, and your position
with the company. Address only the topics presented, and any relevant information.
Invite replies from readers. Thank the blogger for the comment, and then go
back and email them thanking them for their comments, and let them know that
you are available for a short phone discussion or interview, if they are
interested.
3) Subscribe to the feeds from all the blogs you commented
on, as well as their comment feeds, if available. If your company has a blog,
add links to any bloggers that are evangelizing your company on your company
blog’s sidebar.
Get to know your bloggers and build
relationships. Follow your bloggers on Twitter – whether from your brand’s or
company’s account or your own – and talk to them. If you’ve got something
interesting to say, they’ll listen.
Take
every opportunity you can to make connections offline – such as industry events
and conferences – or even think about hosting a blogger event of your own.
Visit your list of blogs again, and read any new posts, and also
reply to any comments that were addressed to you, or relevant comments that
other readers have left.
4) Answer any emails from bloggers, and if possible, schedule
times to discuss topics raised with blogger on the phone, or via interview.
Don’t
just send a blogger a press release and hope for the best. Tailor your message
and demonstrate that you know why you’re writing to them. Which piece(s) of
content on their blog were interesting or prompted you to write to them? Write
to the blogger like they’re a human being but don’t be too over-familiar. Use
an open and friendly tone of voice and unless you really think it suits, don’t
be too formal. Get to the point!
Step Two and Beyond:
1) Every day you need to read the blogs and comment. This is the part of
blogger outreach that becomes daunting because it’s no doubt time-consuming—and
difficult to fit into your busy schedule. Yet if blogger outreach is a priority
for you (and it very well should be), this initial investment of your time will
pay off down the road. Just as it takes time to build a business, a Facebook
fan page or a Twitter following, it takes time to build a blogger outreach
network. But once you have that network in place, it becomes an invaluable part
of your digital outreach strategy.
2) At least twice a week, you should again check Technorati
and Google Blog Search for new mentions about your company.
3) After you’ve established relationships with some of your target
bloggers, feel free to reach out with a blog pitch. Before you send it, take
time to ensure your pitch is thoughtfully written. Also, be strategic. Tailor
your pitch to the blogger you’re reaching out to and you’ll be amazed at the
results you can see. Do not Mass email pitch. These almost never work,
and frequently backfire. Actually taking the time to talk to Blogger in THEIR
space is MUCH more effective. Don’t just send a blogger a
press release and hope for the best. Tailor your message and demonstrate that
you know why you’re writing to them. Which piece(s) of content on their blog
were interesting or prompted you to write to them?
Write to the blogger like they’re a human being
but don’t be too over-familiar. Use an open and friendly tone of voice and
unless you really think it suits, don’t be too formal . Get to the point! You want the blogger to
write something for you, so don’t make their life difficult. Attach images that
they’d otherwise have to take from your website, give them accurate
information, include links and make the information you’re presenting
straightforward.
Why this will benefit Your Company and all other online brands:
1 – It will get you noticed in the blogosphere.
This is a coordinated effort to reach out to bloggers and to engage them in
their space. What you are basically saying is that ‘I respect you enough to
take the time to respond.’ That’s HUGE! According to, BlogPulse there are close to 180
million blogs on the Internet. And although the vast majority of these are
hobby blogs, the power and reach of the blogosphere as a whole has become
undeniable. Bloggers are now seen as powerful and influential sources of information,
some rivaling even the largest media companies. Imagine tapping into a fraction
of this reach to help broadcast your company’s message. Sure, blogger outreach
is time-consuming, but when you consider that the largest investment is your
time, you can likely reap more significant results than you would through more
traditional channels of marketing or advertising.
2 – It will show bloggers that you
are serious about starting a conversation with them. This is why you can’t do
this once, you have to make it a habit to read blogs from your evangelists (and
even detractors). This wins even more respect among bloggers.
3 – It will get bloggers talking
about your company. It is still rare for companies to make a sincere effort to
monitor and respond to bloggers as part of a marketing strategy. It also
encourages bloggers to evangelize your company, AND, just as importantly, it
encourages OTHER bloggers to evangelize your company. This is literally
creating a network of bloggers that will be more likely to promote and
evangelize your company.
4 – It will greatly improve your
social media and marketing efforts. Simply talking to your customers and
potential customers in their space in the blogosphere is a wonderful way to
better understand them, but also to better understand how social media works.
It’s one thing to hear about how quickly ideas spread in the blogosphere, it’s
quite another to spend a few hours talking to bloggers on their blogs, and then
to see how quickly other bloggers link to your actions.
5– It shows bloggers that ‘you
get it’. This makes bloggers much more likely to pay attention to your company,
and blog about you, your products, and marketing efforts. Which means the
network of bloggers that are talking about your company is further expanded.
Which doesn’t hurt your company’s Google presence either.
6- Finally, say thank
you. And mean it. A quick email, a re-tweet, a link posted on Twitter –
simple things to show your gratitude, show-off the coverage to your audience
and (hopefully) reward the blogger with some lovely traffic back!
Best of all, all this is FREE. It just requires someone to manage it.
Examples
of successful Blogger outreach programs:
I told Blake that I knew what happened but Tyler said he was ok. Blake said he was not and that he was going to kick him to the office & I was supposed to come and pick him up. So I called Ty and he didn't answer. I text Ty & he didn't respond. So whats a mom to do but call the school.
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