How To Tuesday: Creating PR Through Blogs

Written on September 29, 2009 by Susan Payton

Here’s another post I wrote for Bill Stoller’s Publicity Insider.

If you have a blog, or have thought about starting one, you may only be thinking in terms of how your blog will help generate attention for your product or service. But have you considered working with other blogs to get publicity? If not, you’re missing a huge opportunity.

We’re starting to see wider recognition of bloggers as a part of the media. After all, they write their opinions, introduce us to new ideas and news and tell us what they think of products and services. How does that differ from what a journalist does?

As a company, it behooves you to work with bloggers that talk to the demographic you seek to reach. By building relationships with bloggers, you not only garner attention for your company, but you also show that your company recognizes blogs as being important channels of communication. And that says a lot to consumers.

How to Identify the Right Blogs

You want your message out there, but don’t reach out to untargeted blogs. If you’re selling a garden hose, don’t contact the blogger who writes about pet products. With a little research, you can identify the blogs that are already connected with your target audience.

1. 1. Do a Search. Search for keywords that relate to your industry and products. Include blog” in the search. Visit each blog that appears relevant in this list.
2. 2. Read the Blog. You won’t get away with skimming the blog and contacting the blog owner. Do your homework to find out if the blog is a good fit. If you object to foul language, better to find out when reading the blog than to find it in a post about your company.
3. 3. Read the Fine Print. Read through the About page as well as any PR info that may be listed. Many blogs have specific instructions for what to do if you want them to review your product. Some charge. Gather all this information into a spreadsheet.
4. 4. Cull. Not every blog you come across is a good fit. Look for those with higher traffic for best results.
5. 5. Contact. Send a carefully crafted (read: NOT copy/paste) introduction letter that explains who you are and why you are interested in partnering with a particular blog. Mention specifics, as bloggers, like anyone, like to have their egos stroked. The more compelling reason you can give for why they should take time out of their schedules to work with you, the more likely you are to get a response.
6. 6. Follow Up. Bloggers are busy. Many have full time jobs or are raising children at home, so give it a week and send either a followup email or Tweet if you’re on Twitter (and you are, right?).

What’s Your ROI?

Unless you’ve got a tracking system that can tell you which sales came from a blog’s review of your product (and if you offer a service you don’t sell directly online, this won’t be possible), consider traffic your ROI. If you send a blogger your product, and it costs you $100, you want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.

The key in looking for a strong ROI is examining visitors to a blog. Before you decide to send any blogger a product, ask what their web traffic and RSS subscriber numbers are. If you send that $100 item to a blogger that gets 100 visitors per month, obviously your ROI won’t be as good as sending the same item to a blog that gets 10,000 visitors a month. And out of the number of people who view the post on your product, expect about 1% to actually click your link. That 100 visitors turns into 1 click, while the 10,000 visitors is 100.

Compare it to pay-per-click advertising. If you’re willing to pay $1.00 per click on Google AdWords, consider that your threshold of measurement for blog outreach. If the blog review gets 100 clicks to your website, you’ve spent your budget of $1.00 per click on a $100 item. But you want better than that, since working with bloggers requires more effort than setting up a PPC campaign. The lower that cost per click, the better your ROI. Now you just have to worry about converting them to sales on your site!

After the Post

Once you secure a few reviews on different blogs, don’t stand idly by! Help promote each review through whatever channels you use: Twitter, Facebook, your own blog or website, email, etc. Consider it similar to a press clipping and boast about it. Keep a list on your company’s Press page and link to all blogs that have reviewed your products.

Sponsorship to Reach Bloggers

Another way to reach masses of bloggers, who will then spread the word about your product to their audiences, is to connect with them at blogging conferences. Now, not every company can afford the hefty Exhibitor fees, which can mount up to $10,000 or more, but sponsoring an individual to go to the conferences on your behalf is a great way to infiltrate the conference and get in front of bloggers.

In 2008, Epson sponsored the Sparkplugging blog team at BlogWorld Expo. The team of 11 (I was one) wore Epson shirts and talked to people about the brand. Each blog post mentioned Epson during the conference. The team also held a special contest at the conference where people following the team on Twitter could get clues to solve to win an Epson printer. The buzz about Epson lasted long past the actual event.

For a fraction of the cost of exhibiting, a company can get products and marketing collateral handed out to conference attendees, videos taken of brand perception and new contacts made. It’s an invaluable tool in today’s ever-changing PR landscape.

No matter what you do, realize that PR is changing daily. Twitter, Facebook, blogs, bloggers and conferences are becoming new ways to reach wider audiences. Find your own method and see what works for you.

Posted in Blogs, PR

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