I'm in a unique position where I sit on both sides of the fence as a journalist/blogger and as a publicist. Let me tell you, both sides are equally challenging. As a publicist, I worry that busy journalists aren't receiving my messages, as a journalist, I worry that potentially great stories are slipping by my attention. In today's world most of the designers and brand owners are pitching the bloggers directly instead of using people like us to do it, I understand you might think it's something so easy that you could do it but you have to make sure whatever you do in the name of your brand needs to be professional and ethically.
So here are some tips that will come handy to you when you are pitching to the bloggers.
- Make sure it is personal – if possible beyond just the right name!
- It must be relevant (and therefore interesting) to the blogger and their audience.
- Keep it short – everyone is busy, so get to the point.
- Read their blog thoroughly, comment on it in a helpful way and check out any pitching guidelines.
- Engage with the blogger in advance – use Twitter and Facebook to share their content.
- Make it easy for the blogger – give them everything they might need – facts, images, links, etc.
- Make it win/win by giving the blogger or their readers something – an exclusive, an invite, a discount, a competition – be creative!
- Make the subject line impactful or it won’t even get opened.
- Do follow-up. Most bloggers are very busy so they might miss the first pass, but do it in a friendly, polite way.
- The big one that sums it up: Don’t ever spam them!
Hope this help you to create the perfect pitch to bloggers!
