Blogger Spotlight: Michael Adams, Michael 84

Authored by Michael Adams, a T-shirt and fashion designer from Newcastle, Michael84 is one of the most prominent men’s fashion blogs in the UK. In this Spotlight one of our top-ranking men’s fashion bloggers chats to us about how he measures the success of his blog, why he thinks we should stop talking about bloggers being compensated, and how he thinks PRs can improve their blogger outreach.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what made you start writing your blog Michael 84? I started Michael 84 around 2009. I’ve been creating various things online since about 1999, from websites to forums, fully blown eCommerce websites and blogs, so it’s always been something I have been passionate about. I had a few blogs over the years but didn’t really have a specific topic or focus, so when I created Michael 84 it was going to be about men’s fashion and lifestyle, and also incorporate my life and things I am interested in which other guys are too.

How do you measure the success of your blog? It’s hard to measure success because it’s all relative.

Creating great content which gets lots of people reading is something which I love. If it gets shared or talked about on social media that’s also great, as well as being recognised by brands and industry insiders.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a blog? Start a blog for the right reasons. If you’re writing about your passion make sure you focus on that, don’t get sidetracked into writing a blog post about something you don’t like because someone will pay you a small sum of money. If you’re going into it wanting to make money, it’s a business like any other, so make sure you have a business plan and don’t be afraid to invest.

How do you work with marketers and PRs? I’ve worked with many PRs and marketers in various ways. It could be a product review, product launch or even a store opening. I’ve collaborated on large projects and campaigns for big brands, and worked with independent start-ups from places like Indiegogo and Kickstarter too.

How do you use social media to promote and share content? What are the challenges? I love social media, and I use it to amplify my content, as well as talking to other bloggers, brands and my readers too. The biggest challenge as far as a blogger goes is that it’s very difficult to stand out when not only are there other bloggers but regular people sharing things. Of course the flip side is that you have a built-in audience of people to share your blog with – over 300M on Twitter alone.

What can PRs do in working better with you? I think PRs are doing well, and have got better over the years, and as with everything there are always some that are better than others. I think as long as they are clear from the outset what they’re looking to achieve. It always makes the relationship a lot easier when both sides know what’s expected.

Do you feel bloggers need to be compensated for the work they do? 

I have always hated the word ‘compensated’ in the blogosphere, I have no idea where it came from but we need rid of it. If you hire a plumber or plasterer you don’t compensate them for work, you pay them. I think that bloggers should be paid, if they have an established blog and are an authority with experience.

However I believe newer or smaller bloggers need to pay their dues and get experience before demanding payment.

What do you feel about sponsorship disclosure? I think sponsorship should be disclosed, but sometimes it’s so blatant that you shouldn’t really need to write a one-liner under a post. If someone starts a blog post with, “I’ve been working with…” it’s fairly obvious that there’s a partnership of some sort. I’ve read others that try to write naturally then drop in a brand which is obviously a sponsored post and it goes undisclosed. They really should be disclosing those.

List three best practices PRs need to follow for better blogger outreach?
Make it personal and start emails with the bloggers name.
Be direct – tell the blogger exactly what you’re looking for from them.
Don’t dictate terms – if you’re contacting a blogger they should have their own terms for things like content and payment, ask them what they are.

What will be big in your blogosphere in the coming months? I am just focusing on creating great content, I have been concentrating on writing more in depth articles and I’ve got several more coming soon.