There is a lot of buzz around Blogs lately. Initially, it was about how to commercialize Blogs and now it’s about how to communicate your message to Blogs through Public Relations tactics. I thought it would be helpful to share my five-step process on how to begin a Blog Outreach program. I hope these basic guidelines help you cultivate the right relationships within the Blogosphere.
1) Put a communications plan and timeline together: What is your objective? Why do you think Blogs are a target media outlet? What types of Blog publications are relevant to your business?
Note: Cultivating relationships with Blogs takes time. Incorporate this into your plan and timeline. Never pitch or use angles you would use for typical Public Relations, think of Blog Outreach as anti-Public Relations. Remember, Blogs are not about you or your company it is about the Blog editor and their audience. The best approach is to identify the human side of your business, develop that story so that it is not commercial but personal. Weave that messaging strategy into your plan and remind yourself that that Blog Outreach is not like picking up the phone and calling a Wall Street Journal editor.
2) Identify top-tier Blogs: Go straight to the sources. If you are a Public Relations person then you know that getting coverage in Reuters and Associated Press automatically gives you coverage in numerous publications. Similarly, a well-positioned Blog will syndicate to hundreds of other Blogs. You can use Blogdex (http://www.blogdex.com/) to determine the potential. And, of course, there are other ways.
3) Draft the story: Know the Blog you are about to correspond with, research his or her posts find out what matters to him/her then write an email that has a personal touch and resonates with the Blog editor. Ensure, of course, that your message is short, concise and consistent because, after all, PR is also about managing your company’s message. Never ever blast a boilerplate email "pitch" to a Blog.
4) Measure and adjust: Make sure your client or you have the ability to single out your Blogs to determine how much traffic they are sending and whether they convert for you. A conversion can be any action you want a visitor to take on yours or your client's website.
5) Expect the worst: You will get indifference. Don’t take it personally, and don’t persist…well known Blogs do not need to respond to you. Why? They have enough content to talk about. Also, you may get flamed publicly for poor communications tactics.
I realize this is very high-level, but it should provide a good foundation for a Blog Outreach program. Ultimately, it is about the story you are trying to tell to the Blogs and how well they know you that will make it a successful program. Remember, Blogs are a type of publication just like Newspapers, Magazine and online media are. They each require a different mode of communication, a more personal touch.
Note: There is a major Search Engine Optimization tie-in with Blogs. If I get enough interest or comments, I may share with you all how you can integrate your Blog outreach with your Search Engine Optimization efforts.
How can Blogs be used most effectively to drive more relevant traffic and gain natural search rankings?
Posted by: Matthew | June 30, 2005 at 03:55 PM