How to pitch bloggers

It is especially important to use caution when pitching bloggers (or any other type of media for that matter) with the recent controversy of “PR Blacklisting.”

Pitching bloggers is different than pitching traditional media (i.e. newspapers, magazines, etc.) Although many follow unwritten ethical guidelines, they do not have the formal ethical guidelines that traditional media have. Additionally, bloggers do not have to report to an editor, thus they are usually much more candid about their opinions. Bloggers are unique, and although they do not usually have as many followers as traditional media, their followers are a very loyal, niche group.

When you pitch a blogger, make sure you stick to these guidelines to prevent your e-mail from getting Blacklisted:

• Personalize. It is NOT a good idea to send a “mass pitch” bloggers. Individual, personalized pitches are best. Bloggers are very picky. If they think you are sending out mass pitches, there is no way they will respond. Some bloggers even specify how they want you to contact them. Some prefer a facebook message followed by an e-mail. Others prefer a Twitter message, or Twit Pitch, and then a phone call. Make sure you know.
• Research. You may have heard the term, “PR begins and ends in research” in your public relations classes (if you haven’t, just Google the term and see what pops up). Before you even pitch make sure you read, read, read the blog. Get to know the voice of the blog, what the blog posts are usually about. Even read the “About Me” and the “About the Blog” sections.
• Check the dates. Is the blog updated frequently? If not, it’s probably not worth pitching.
• Is it mutually beneficial? Is the product, service, resource, etc. you are pitching relevant, timely, newsworthy and beneficial to the blogger’s audience?
• Find relevancy. Has the blogger recently written about a topic specifically related to what you are pitching? If so, mention this specifically in your pitch. (i.e. The message of my product fits well with your post on such and such date about such and such.)
• Proofread. Then proofread again. As with any pitch, make sure you not only address the correct person in the pitch, but also make sure you spell their name correctly.
• Stay organized. This is especially important when you are pitching a lot of bloggers at once. Your correspondence with each will be at different levels. I recommend an Excel spreadsheet to keep all your information in once place.
• Stay positive. I promise when you start seeing positive articles written about your client it will be worth all the time and effort you put into this project!

Additional Resources

There are also a lot of great articles out there (written by bloggers AND public relations experts) on how to successfully pitch bloggers. I recommend the following:

• “Luke, I am Your Blogger: How To Pitch From The Darkside”
• “How to Pitch Bloggers – 21 Tips”
• “Dear PR people”: How to Pitch Bloggers”
• “7 Ways to Successfully Pitch Bloggers”
• “How to pitch bloggers…the need for best practices and standards”