The blogging community is growing day by day becoming one of the most influential portals online when it comes to opinion sharing and promotion. Blogs are entering more niche markets and dominating the way we look for certain information on the web.

Award shows, promotional events, blogger outreach events and much more are being hosted to celebrate and interact with bloggers. That’s not all, product advertising, giveaways and company promotions are all being offered to bloggers big and small as an alternative to other methods of advertising.

As the blogging community grows so does the overall ethics, bloggers who work on their blog daily who produce quality content want to be approached respectfully as professionals – and rightly so. A lot of effort goes into creating a quality blog including design, SEO, imagery, finding connections, planning and writing appealing content. With this in mind more bloggers are asking to be approached fairly with the respect you would approach a business partner, but still to this day companies are going about contacting bloggers the wrong way.

So why are companies approaching bloggers? The reason is far beyond cheap PR! Better rankings, social interaction, ROI and quality connections can all be on the table when you do your outreach properly with a goal in place. Bloggers can offer quality links, social shares and advertise your product all in one 300 word + blog post.

So let’s break this down and take a look at who contacts bloggers and how they’re going about it the wrong way.

The SEO buff
The person who contacts you with a specific goal in mind, often asking for links back to a certain page or product with key words linked, or asking the blogger to publish an infographic or content piece which may be of interest to their readers.

The PR (public relations) guru
The friendly face behind the brand- this person is enthusiastic about their brand and they want you to be too. In charge of dealing with promoting the brand with a hands on approach, this individual’s job role includes working with bloggers to promote the brand and its products either by sending out freebies or inviting them to promotional events.

This is a very basic breakdown of the two job titles, obviously this isn’t a standard approach across all companies but it’s an insight into who is usually at the other end of the email.

So how can people who are outreaching to bloggers improve their approach? Here are some tips.

Address the blogger correctly and personally

Dear *blog title*

This first opening line is a bright neon sign pointing out the fact you haven’t even searched for the bloggers name. In some cases bloggers may not use their name but rather use a pseudonym, if so then take the time to go through their social platforms and blog posts to discover what name they sign off with. Not taking the time to address a blogger correctly looks lazy and comes off as unprofessional.

Take time to read their blog

I can’t stress enough how important it is to read the blog of the person you’re going to contact. Find out what their niche is, what they want from companies and what they do and do not like. Most bloggers list their terms and conditions with regards to working with other companies on their site and remember just because they have posted one content piece about their favourite restaurant, mascara or hotel doesn’t mean they’re moving to that niche.

What’s in it for them?

Your infographic maybe the best thing since sliced bread but what’s in it for them, what is the blogger going to get for putting it on their website? They know that if you advertise their infographic/product/event it’s going to be an advantage for you especially if links are involved, so make sure when you write your outreach email it’s not all about “me, me, me” but instead you outline their benefits whether it be a fee, a product or a chance to write on your companies blog.

Check out our blog post Website Owners Are Selfish With No USP for further information on how you can move the spotlight on to others.

Below is an example of a recent outreach programme we devised for Italian make up brand Deborah Milano UK. Offering bloggers a choice of make up products to discuss on their blog encourages them and their readers to interact online Deborah Milano UK store.

Stand out from the crowd

You may think your infographic/product/event is amazing but bloggers will receive loads of emails from companies asking for the same thing as you – “please write about X”. You need to make sure that not only is what you’re offering interesting to bloggers but that they’re not going to get a better offer in the next 5 minutes forcing your email in the recycle bin. Make it personal, make it exciting and make it blog worthy.

Be direct

Make sure your email covers everything they need to know about what you’re offering, what you want and what’s in it for them. Leaving crucial information out can instantly make bloggers delete your email, if you can’t be bothered to make sure you’ve included everything then why should they be bothered to chase for it?

Patience is a virtue

Don’t assume that they work as a full time blogger, this is very often not the case. Just because they haven’t replied to your email within 24-48 hours doesn’t mean you need to chase them for a reply. Bide your time, be patient and don’t be pushy.

Don’t forget to follow up

Working with bloggers is a simple way to form great working relationships, creating contacts that you can turn to time after time. But, all the hard work you’ve put in to working with the blogger you’ve approached can be forgotten in an instant without a courtesy follow up. No one likes to be forgotten about or unappreciated for the work that they have done so simply dropping them a thank you email can work wonders for creating a long term relationship.

So to conclude, be respectful, personalise your emails, be creative and offer some incentive. You don’t have to offer the world to a blogger just so they mention you, having the right approach and being nice can open up doors for you.

The Eventure approach

There are many different ways to outreach to bloggers, a quick Google will show you a vast amount of tools in order to find bloggers which may be of use to you but this takes time, time that you may not be able spend. At Eventure we can do all the hard work for you with our Outreach Programme, we can find, compile, contact and negotiate with bloggers on behalf of your business. For more information get in contact with us online, or give us a call on 0845 519 7503.