How to make friends and not alienate bloggers

You don’t have to go that far back to find the first ever blogs which surfaced on the internet in the 1990s, however what started small has grown into what we now know as the blogosphere. In 2012, it was estimated that there were over 152 million blogs on the internet – some good, some bad and some ugly.

All this means that blogs are now read by millions of people across the world and provide a fantastic opportunity to showcase your product or service to your target audience. So the all-important question is, how can you make an impact with your product or service on the blogosphere? Well, here are Bring Digital’s five tips on how to work with bloggers.

1. Ensure that the blog you are approaching is relevant to your product or service. It’s pretty simple really – if you are selling kitchen appliances then don’t approach a blog about cats. Not only are you wasting your own time, but also the blogger’s.

2. Make sure you have actually read the blog you are approaching, this will ensure you have a better understanding of their style. Aiding our first point, only when you’ve read the blog can you truly understand if there will be any interest in your approach.

3. Nowadays you can’t just pay your way on to a blog, and neither would you want to. At Bring our Digital PR team pride themselves on their ability to build relationships with bloggers. It’s a common misconception that bloggers lack integrity, and this is simply not the case for the vast majority of bloggers, who will not be paid off to talk about a brand. So keep your wallet in your pocket and get to know the bloggers who talk about your industry.

4. This is not to say we should expect something for nothing from bloggers. If you are asking them to talk about a brand or product, you should expect to send them a sample of the product you want them to review. You wouldn’t recommend a product or service you’ve never tried to a friend, and neither would a blogger.

5. Be helpful, bloggers are always looking for ways to improve their blog, so be proactive and if you have expertise which can help bloggers out, let them know. We have recently been announced as speakers at theBlog On MOSI event in May where we will be sharing our SEO knowledge with 150 fantastic bloggers.

So there you have it folks, some pointers to help improve your work with bloggers. Just remember the golden rule, treat others as you would like to be treated yourself and you can’t go far wrong.