5 Best Practices for Effective Blogger Outreach

Between aspiration and belief there is the same difference that lies between an advertisement in a glossy magazine and a blogger. They could be selling customers the same product, but while one sells a vision, the other reality. This explains why (according to Technorati’s Digital Influence Report) consumers trust information and advice they get from bloggers, and that blogs are the third-most influential digital-resource (after retail and brand sites) when making a purchase.

Marketers are therefore, increasingly looking to bloggers as the new influencers to support their communications and SEO strategy. However, unlike B2B marketing, working with bloggers demands a different approach – an interpersonal one with just the right amount of professionalism and a dash of diplomacy. Because unlike savvy media buyers, bloggers are everyday people – a mum of three, a teenage shopaholic, a foodie etc.

How do we know this? Because Cision is home to the world’s largest and most up-to-date global blogger database and we don’t just store their contact details, we constantly engage with them to understand their pitching preferences, their pet peeves, the highs and lows of their blogosphere – which we share regularly on our blog as part of our popular Speedy Spotlights interview series.

In our latest whitepaper, we collate the intelligence gathered from our Spotlight interviews and break it down into five simple steps, giving you the insight you need to get smart about your blogger outreach strategy and help you to:

• Identify the right bloggers for your brand – the most relevant, most approachable and most influential
• Understand bloggers in support of your outreach – how they work, when they’re most receptive, and the best ways to reach them
• Engage with bloggers – to create and sustain mutually beneficial relationships
• Become a part of their digital network – to give your brand a voice among influencers and industry peers
• Learn the how-to on freebies and competitions – to understand what irks and impresses bloggers