How to Pitch Bloggers: Quick Notes from the New Communication Forum

By Candida Kutz - January 28, 2005

by Tom Foremski for SiliconValleyWatcher.com

I went to the workshop on how to pitch to bloggers, which I thought might be so bad as to actually be good; but, actually, it was good-good!

The workshop was presented by Alice Marshall, founder of Presto Vivace Communications. Presented to you here are some of her insights:

+ It is OK to pay bloggers to review a product; but you must disclose that fact, and not only disclose it, but brag about it very visibly on your web site. Make sure the blogger discloses it too.

+ There is an A-list, or what [I] call the "Box-Office" of blogs, and competition to reach them is fierce. It's better to look at who the box office bloggers are linking to; because that's who they are reading, and those are the bloggers you should pitch to.

+ [You can] tell a large newspaper that they should cover a story because several of the leading bloggers are covering it -- that is something that has worked for [me] in the past.

+ Do not lie. You will be found out and exposed.

+ Try to do some original reporting, because other bloggers will link to you. If you go to an event, write up a report. You will find out how difficult a reporter's job is -- making those deadlines. It takes [me] at least a week to write up a report on an event.

+ Offer exclusives and access to company executives to bloggers; but make sure that the information is exclusive. This is also a way to push bloggers into acting: by putting a deadline on the exclusive story.

+ Read the blogs and leave comments -- those are always appreciated and build goodwill.

+ Don't be afraid to make a mistake; a lot of this is new, and you will make mistakes. That's OK; but make sure that you highlight them.

+ Do not travel under false colors. It's a huge mistake and you will be found out.

+ Salespeople usually try to be direct and honest, and do not want spin. They want a happy customer, because referrals are so important to sales. Engineers can be worse, because they get religious about things.

+ Blogging is great, because it means we are no longer at the mercy of a small group of editors who control the news outlets.

+ Clients of PR companies do not pay for mentions on blogs; but I think that they should, and I think that will happen.

+ Keep your moral soul! Do not use underhanded techniques.

+ We have to remember that blogging is still new and there is so much more to discover. It's as if we discovered America, and have just landed on the beach and are trying to explain it to people back in Europe.

Links:

Presto Vivace Communications

Alice Marshall's Technoflak blog

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By Candida Kutz - January 28, 2005 | Permalink | Comment | Category: PR Watch
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Comments (5)

Silicon Valley Watched:

Did I read that correctly? PR should pay for blog mentions? Pay for product reviews? I understand that blogging is still in its infancy in terms of developing a business model, but if it becomes a pay-to-play model it will have zero credibility with readers and with the PR community. Evolving blogging into stream-of-consciousness advertising is poor advice IMHO. It will be of little value to companies attempting to enhance their brand value.

Posted: January 28, 2005 11:08 AM

Alice Marshall:

If you or your readers are curious about Technoflak's original reporting, you can check it out here-
http://technoflak.blogspot.com/2004/11/tech-on-potomac.html

Posted: January 29, 2005 7:13 PM

Alice Marshall:

PR should pay for blog mentions? Pay for product reviews?

Not necessarily should, only that this is acceptable. It is the blog equivalent of the print advertorial. So long as no one is traveling under false colors there is no reason not to do this.

Credibility has more to do with the quality of the reasoning that the independence of the writer.

Posted: January 31, 2005 7:38 AM

Silicon Valley Watched:

A magazine full of print advertorials would not be of much interest to anyone. And as far as quality of reasoning, within a blog you have only a few hundred words to make a point. Not enough really to put forth a compelling argument (although I'm doing my best with this post.)

If blogger for hire is talking about the quality of a product or the soundness of a company's strategy, people will be highly suspicious of the few hundred words that blogger has chosen.

Anyway, if you are a blogger for hire, don’t waste your time then with PR people, you’d be best to contact the advertising people.

Posted: February 1, 2005 3:50 PM

Tom Foremski:

This says it very well: (I got this from the comments section on an entry about Nick Denton's latest Gawker Media blogs, over at buzzmachine.)

"I am the partner at BlackInc Ventures who signed this deal on Gawker's behalf. I can tell you unequivocally that Sony has no control over the editorial content of the Lifehacker site. Further, Nick Denton knows how critical editorial credibility is for attracting a large audience, which in turn provides value for marketers who wish to reach that audience.

Media businesses that have previously crossed the line between "church and state", or have blurred it on a regular basis, have quickly lost credibility, their audiences, and ulitimately their advertisers.

Further, smart marketers like Sony understand this important dynamic, and stay away from trying to influence editorial decisions.
Posted by Brad Bowers at January 31, 2005 09:55PM"

Posted: February 2, 2005 4:01 AM