Comments on: You’re Kidding, Right? Lessons in Blogger Relations

By: cv services

cv services — Thu, 27 May 2010 01:21:23 +0000

Wow! Thank you! I always wanted to write in my site something like thatThis is a great case study. Thanks for sharing. I think a blogger or web business can get an enormous amount of mileage out of simply participating in the conversation, particularly if they have something relevant to add.I found this post to be extremely helpful. We constantly talk about RPIE (research, planning, implementation, and evaluation) in my public relations class, and this was a great demonstration for students like me who want to see how these concepts are applied in real situations. I have also found it difficult to find resources that provide examples of different pitches, so your inclusion of those really helped me to understand how creative and tailored they need to be in order to be effective.

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By: Tony Karrer

Tony Karrer — Mon, 03 May 2010 17:59:49 +0000

Kivi – I see this all the time as well. I’ve recently been trying to suggest Topic Hubs as a strategy for companies who are serious about doing blogger relations. But my feeling is that most are not serious.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:01:56 +0000

My tips!

Read the blog you are submitting to – or at least the titles of posts! If it is not a good fit, don’t send your article to me.

If you are sending me an article to consider, please write a bio/resource box at the end and make it THIRD person. [Sally Jones, 42, lives with fibromyalgia and is the author of a new book called... "] Few people include this (which creates a whole other set of emails between us) and then when I ask for a 2-3 sentence bio, the majority send it first person and I have to rewrite it.

Say thanks. If you have a blog, or twitter or are on FB, and I post your article on my blog, it’s nice to have you let people know you’ve been published and send the link to it.

Don’t get angry at me if your article is scheduled 3 months down the road. I am balancing posts that are scheduled in advance and also topical content.

Expect edits. I won’t re-write the article, but a paragraph may be cut, a sentence reworded,etc. That is my job.

Write for the web. Add lots of paragraph dividers. (Make paragraphs shorter so they are visually easier to read.) Use just one space after your sentences. no 300 word articles please.

If you likely won’t follow through, don’t invest the time to begin with. I have writers send me items, then when I ask for a photo, bio, etc. they turn it into a long conversation about how they have another version now with new edits. Then I schedule this post to run. Then they email me again with more edits. Then they ask to just cancel it for now while they re-write it. (Sigh…)

Understand the web site’s theology. I have a readership that trusts me and I am vouching for you if I post your material. Many articles I receive may be okay “stand alone” articles/content, but since we are a Christian publication, I have to be able to go to your web site and see if it’s appropriate for me to recommend to my audience. If it’s all about crystals and New Age stuff, or a pitch for the latest juice that will cure all illnesses, I won’t be publishing the article, no matter how well written it is. That’s just fact, not personal.

Don’t be snippy. If you ARE a Christian and you are rude to me, I won’t be able to send people who are hurting (we serve the chronically ill) to your web site in good faith that you will provide them grace.

Don’t argue with me. If I tell you that the “article doesn’t meet my needs at this time” (those dreaded words) I really will not be publishing it, no matter how hard you try to convince me that Aunt Mabel’s bladder problem was cured by garlic and is PERFECT for my audience.

If I tell you that you are a good writer and ask for you to submit other items, please consider it! I do like good content!

Hope this helps! It sounds “defensive” and I regret that, but I get hundreds of requests from people who want their material on my web site and these are the biggest issues (and time drainers) I deal with.

By: Jack Dunigan

Jack Dunigan — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 05:49:26 +0000

Well written post! I am relatively new to blogging and Internet propagation of our message, behind the curve so to speak. But I am not a novice to the non-profit world having spent forty years directing non-profits and work presently in the field. Being solicited by people for promotion, favors, information is quite common.

In response to your two questions, I always look for or ask for a reciprocal transaction – what has the solicitor to offer me? What will I or my organization get in return? Admittedly I used to be more subtle but age has shortened my patience and I now just cut to the chase. Why, I want to know should I do you, the solicitor, a favor?

Second, I just don’t pitch bloggers for links or references. If they see a value in a link or posting a reference to me or my site, they will make the connection so to speak. If not, I have not demonstrated to them a worthy exchange of value.

In both cases the analogy of a bank account fits. If I don’t put money in, I cannot take money out. If someone wants to make a withdrawal from our relationship account, they need to put something in first. If I want to make a withdrawal from a relationship account I am beginning with you, I need to put something into it first.

I have done a significant amount of pro bono work in my career – consulting, directing, advising, writing. Without exception those who ask for pro bono favors are the most difficult to get along with and the most ungrateful.

I have just recently subscribed to your blog and appreciate your expertise and obvious skill in presenting it to the larger world. Thank you. I personally look forward to your next post on developing a social media policy. We don’t have one. We ‘re engaged in social media, but we have no policy.