How Well Are You Reaching Out to Bloggers About Your Brand?

When it comes to online marketing, one of the best ways to organically reach out to web users is by utilizing the popularity of blogs. Oftentimes online entrepreneurs will initiate their own blogs in an attempt to capitalize on their ability to link products with real people. But an ironclad tactic for the non-writers among us is to reach out to existing bloggers about providing their readers with information concerning a product or service. It’s an easy and honest way to let people learn about what you have to offer. With that said, reaching out to bloggers about using their site for commercial purposes is easier said than done.

Bloggers are more times than not particularly passionate people. They’re especially passionate about their blogs, and when offered the chance to premier a product or service the initial reaction is often one of revulsion. They aren’t for sale, nor is the trust they’ve established with their loyal readership. When flat-out asking blog writers if they’re interested in promoting your product or service for a fee, don’t be surprised if they never write back or write back with some serious self-righteousness.

So how do you successfully reach popular blog writers? It requires a little bit of “thinking” like a blogger. Your introductory email must be as eye-catching as a popular blog title, or else the blogger will probably delete it along with the dozen other similar requests that appear in her inbox everyday. Your email must be persuasive and to-the-point, similar to a strong blog post.

But above all, you must know your audience. In this case, your audience is blog writers.

The passion of a blogger must be incorporated for the marketing tactic of blogger outreach to be successful. The fundamental first step is to take the time to read the blogger’s posts. It’s not enough to simply see a tech blog and contact the owner; by being able to cite specific articles and describe how they incited you to initiate outreach with the writer, you make them know you read their content and weren’t simply robo-emailing. That goes a long way in the mind of a writer and will increase your odds of forming a successful business relationship.

When discussing business, place the power entirely in the hands of the blogger. Tell them that the content surrounding a link is entirely up to them to create. Make it a point to say that you aren’t interested in content that directly endorses you (when it comes to backlink based SEO that’s irrelevant anyway.) That sounds so much better than simply requesting for the blog owner to churn out some quick content for a check. Chances are, a successful blog writer will be much more willing to casually plug a product per their own style of writing rather than simply do the bidding of a paying marketer. Both will net you near-equal results if approved, but only a cordial effort to contact a blogger will increase the likelihood that you will be emailed back.

There are hundreds of thousands of writers working within the blogosphere. They provide the key to millions of web users getting to know your brand. Make a dedicated effort to utilize blogs for your brand, but don’t forget that it isn’t as simple as borrowing a standard play from the marketing outreach playbook. Bloggers need their egos stroked and they need to know you want their opinion, not buy-off their integrity. Keep that in mind, and you’re certain to come into contact with more bloggers than you otherwise would.