How to pitch to a blogger

The value of getting your story covered by blogs and social media is now a given. The best way to get your get your story covered by a blogger is a different story. Blogs aren't like the press, and we're having to learn different tactics to those leant in our formative years in PR.

There's any number of tactics you can use to identify who to pitch to, how you offer your story, which way you communicate with the blogger and how you network. But here are three tips to get you going with pitching to  bloggers:

1. Link love: email the blogger a personal note with plenty of links. Using links will make your pitch more concise, and will use the phycological trick known as association to get the blogger to see you think like they do and increase the likelihood that the blogger will read the email and act on it (bloggers use lots of links too, you see)
2. Exclusives: I would say, the master statistician that I am, that 99.9 per cent of bloggers are not journalists. Yet because of the long tail, they have a disproportionate amount of media power. So send them exclusives. Give them embargoes, new photos, pre-briefings and launch-do's. When you email them, offer some juicy gossip. The works, as they say, works. Just beware the bloggers' code of conduct isn't quite as well-defined as traditional media
3. Informality: with bloggers being such an informal bunch themselves, they'll prefer this from the pitch you offer them too. You'll maybe only be given the option to contact a blogger by email or web-form. If youre lucky you'll have a phone number. In any case, the corporate style will sit ill at ease with your average blogger so speak to them at their level

 

Comments

[Ian]

I don't know if you picked up on the story on micro-persuasion (http://www.micropersuasion.com/2006/07/online_news_sto.html) about stories on internet news sites only lasting 36 hours.

Anyway, it adds to the weight of the blogosphere, since blogs will often pick up and follow up stories over a much longer period.

Two lunches are, of course, in order for a journalist who blogs. ;)

[Denins Howlett]

No.2 works for me - 1 doesn't and 3 sounds partonising.

Something else - deliver on what you promise - mega lesson IMO - otherwise you get flayed.

[Alexandra Pullin]

Wow we do sound a little narcissistic - such a shame that it is all true!

Although I don't think I know anyone who wouldn't agree with number 2. Everyone loves a good gossip - isn't that why more people receive popbitch than read The Independent?

I also like the way we bloggers sound a little dangerous, which is true in the 'uncontainable' capacity.

But I suppose that just brings me back to my first point again...