Trade Tips: Ways to Fix aFailed Pitch to a Blogger

Helpful hints for public relations and marketing professionals.

By Nicole Hayes

Pitching media persons is a key function of most public relations professionals.

There are rules to follow when reaching out to editors, producers and reporters. But what about bloggers?

What would make a blogger want to read your news anyway when they’re more driven to pump out their own news?

• PR Daily author Cassie Boorn writes that only a small percentage of pitches are actually read by bloggers (as most pitches stink).

• So what can you do to fix a bad blogger pitch?

• Here are five tips to assist in your next pitch …

They don’t know you.1

PROBLEM: Bloggers receive hundreds of emails each day not only from friends and family, but from readers with questions, editors at their freelance writing gigs, and PR pros with pitches.

They don’t know you.1

SOLUTION: You need to start building a relationship with a blogger at least three months before you ever need to use it.

• Meet up with them at a conference, comment on his blog, or retweet his blog posts.

• Connect with him/her in a way that makes your name recognizable when it shows up in his inbox.

Your pitch is too long.2

PROBLEM: If your pitch requires scrolling, has bullet points, or includes a press release, no one is going to read past the first line. Bloggers don't have time to scroll through all the intimate details of your campaign.

Your pitch is too long.2

SOLUTION: The initial pitch only needs a few things:

• A mention showing you know the blog and understand how the blogger works with brands.• The name of the brand you are reaching out about.• What you are asking the blogger to do.• What you are offering the blogger.• An offer to send over more information if he or she is interested.

They don't want to give your product away.3

PROBLEM: Bloggers learn early on that hosting giveaways on their sites can drive a lot of traffic—but all of that traffic will disappear once the giveaway ends.

WIN IT!

They don't want to give your product away.3

SOLUTION: Generally, the only bloggers who want to host a giveaway on their sites are bloggers who rely solely on advertising revenue, because a big jump in traffic translates to more money.

Compensate them for hosting a giveaway, or find out what the value of the prize would need to be (or what kind of prize would naturally appeal to their readers) to incentivize them to host it.

They don't want to drive readers away from their site.4

PROBLEM: Why would they send their readers away from their blogs to enter your giveaway? Even if you are giving away a trip around the world with Dennis Rodman, you are asking bloggers to send their dedicated readers away from their sites.

They don't want to drive readers away from their site.4

SOLUTION: Buy an ad in the blog's sidebar, host a sponsored post to drive traffic to your giveaway, or find a way to make your giveaway exciting enough that the blogger wants to promote it.

Your story is only interesting to you.5

PROBLEM: Getting editorial coverage from bloggers is really hard and rarely happens. When you ask a blogger to write about your brand without any kind of compensation, you ask him to promote a brand for free on his blog.

Your story is only interesting to you.5

SOLUTION: First, look at the content the blogger organically writes, and find a story he would organically tell.

Second, look at the blogger's interests and what goals he has, and find a way to offer him an opportunity that helps him reach a big goal: meet a celebrity he's obsessed with, attend an event he's dying to go to, etc.

This presentation was adapted from our Voice Matters Blog.

To learn more about McKinney & Associates, visit www.mckpr.com

McKinney & Associates was founded in 1990 with a commitment to social justice that has prevailed for more than 20 years. From the beginning,

McKinney passionately and skillfully practiced Public Relations with a Conscience for local, national and international organizations.

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