Rules of Engagement for Blogger Relations

Here's a cheat sheet for your blogger relations program. If you follow these steps you'll have a lot more success and will be well on your way to establishing a credible voice for your company or client in the blogosphere:

Start With Research -- Every Blog Has:

• A unique point of view
• A particular way of interacting with PR (if they do at all)
• Opportunities to be part of their community/conversation
• Technorati authority ranking that tells you whether they are worth your time

• You can't just pitch old-fashioned PR pitches to blogs
• If you want any attention at all, you have to get involved through links and comments
• Once you've gotten involved, you can suggest stories
• You must read their blog and understand their point of view and style in order to be successful

• Some bloggers are more willing to accept freebies than traditional media
• Research will reveal who they are and what types of products and access you may be able to leverage into coverage

• Online mainstream journalists are more like traditional media than bloggers
• They have no strict publication schedule so you can be interviewed for a story or have one appear at any time
• Fact and opinion are mixed freely and often