Nuvota

This is a reprint of our guest post for understandingmarketing.com

Have you ever wondered how to get bloggers to write about you, which can help your PR efforts? It can have the same impact, or an even higher impact, as being mentioned in a newspaper article. The important thing is to do it systematically and carefully because approaching a blogger is slightly different than approaching a member of the media. It’s all about strategically approaching bloggers, building relationships and getting them to write about you in their blog posts (blogger outreach campaign). Now let’s look at how to best structure your approach to learn how to get bloggers to write about you:

Step 1: Know your goals

It is critical to be very clear about your goals. What is your primary objective in reaching out to bloggers? Do you want them to review your product? To write about your company? To write about you? By identifying one key goal, you will focus your approach and it will significantly help you craft a tailored message when communicating with bloggers.

Step 2: Develop your blog selection criteria

The next step is to establish criteria that will help you select blogs for your short list. This should happen BEFORE you start researching blogs. There are a vast number of blogs out there, so you need a systematic approach for selecting them. Consider things like a blog’s number of visitors, visitor demographics, main content / niche, style, history and more.

Step 3: Research the “Blogosphere”

Now that you have formulated a solid framework for selecting blogs, you can begin your research. The term, “Blogosphere” refers to all the blogs out there, implying they all make up one big blogging community. It’s important to first identify the blogs you want to target in order to find out how to get bloggers to write about you.

Start your research by going through the various blog directories. Blog directories are like the Yellow Pages, listing the majority of blogs out there by category. This will help you save time. Please refer to 20 Essential Blog Directories to Submit Your Blog To for a list of blog directories.

Step 4: Connect and contribute first

After having done your research, you should have a very solid list of blogs that meet your criteria. Now begins the courting phase. I generally recommend that you first spend some time connecting with bloggers before asking them to do something for you. Post comments to their blog posts, send them links to information they might be interested in, and connect with them on Twitter and Facebook. These are just some examples. The important point here is that you first give bloggers something of value by being a resource or contributor.

Step 5: Craft personalized messages

Now it’s time to craft a personalized message for each blogger.  Be very brief and concise in your message – especially popular bloggers receive tons of these requests each day. Think of bloggers as your customers, whom you are trying to convince to “buy” your product by means of advertisement. Have a catchy headline to which the blogger can really relate, and have a clear “Call to Action” (e.g. you can check out our new product at XYZ.com). Send these messages either to their email addresses (most publish these in the ‘contact’ section of their blog) or via social media to get their attention and entice them to write about you.

By following these steps you’ll have more success in knowing how to get bloggers to write about you.

Now let us know what you think. Any stories you can share? Or do you have any outstanding questions?