Check out these useful tips to make sure your attempts to earn online buzz through bloggers are successful. These tips come from Michelle Tennant Nicholson’s Wasabi Club Newsletter. She is chief story teller for Wasabi Publicity.
1. It’s never appropriate to demand that a blogger cover your company and the personal touch goes a lot further than the full court press PR agency tackle!
2. DON’T BLOG-BLAST! Do your research. This is the time of old PR, new PR, and Web 2.0. Don’t “blog-blast” a bunch of bloggers that have nothing to do with your news.
3. Don’t try to fake out bloggers. They’re smart and they’re dedicated and above all they are really good researchers and savvy about the Web.
4. Make the virtual connection via your blog first. Send a note to the blogger making them aware that you covered their blog. But always keep Tip#2 in mind. Do your research and don’t note bloggers on your blog if there is no relation between the two.
5. Utilize Technorati.com to build your list of blogs to target.
6. Send your news on a timely basis in relation to the blogger’s schedule, not yours. If you know for instance on Thursdays they always review new technologies, new books etc. then keep that in mind when sending news. (Tip – Don’t send it the day you want it covered!)
7. Let bloggers know about the beta! What this means is it’s good to give bloggers the scoop on things early and count them in as part of your PR push. It’s a mistake at this juncture of relationship focused PR and marketing to do anything but!
8. Don’t send out the same old approach letters! Be creative and above all be brief.
9. Don’t ask a blogger to highlight your company or its Web site unless they offer to.
10. Don’t send anything to a blogger that’s not newsworthy and don’t ask the blogger if you can preview their post!
