Pitching Bloggers

Before the Internet, it used to be that traditional media (TV, print, radio) was the avenue PR people targeted for their pitches. But now with the predominance of Web 2.0 and nontraditional media platforms, that thinking is not longer extant. Blogs have become so ubiquitous both online and in the public consciousness, that it’s essential for PR people to reach them with their message. Yet there’s a method that needs to be scrupulously observed if you want key bloggers to pick up your pitch without ignoring it or worse yet, shredding it publicly to bits.

Following are six best practices to follow when pitching bloggers:

1)    Read more than the blog’s most recent post. Familiarize yourself with the targeted blog’s history and tone. What subjects pop up as frequent sources of conversation? Don't pretend to know more than you do. Frauds can be easily unmasked. Avoid this at all cost and do your research.

2)    Search the blog for any client or relevant product/industry mention to see if they’ve been covered. If they have talked about your client or product in the past, then you have an opening for your pitch.

3)    Subscribe to the blog’s RSS feed or e-mail delivery. This will make it easy for you to be up-to-date on all the news and information being posted on the blog.

4)    Participate in a thread on the blog and make sure this has nothing to do with your pitch. This will build a relationship with the blogger, which will ultimately be of benefit to you when you pitch.

5)    Send the blogger an e-mail—again unrelated to your pitch. Introduce yourself and ask him or her what info they would like in the future to jump-start the relationship.

Source: ragan.com