How to Create a Killer Blogger Outreach Strategy

Are you using the most influential bloggers in your niche to your advantage? If not, your blogger outreach strategy could be better. With this in mind, here are a few ways that you can create relationships with bloggers and promote your products via blogs that are read by thousands of people.

Create Company Goals

Before you begin reaching out to relevant bloggers online, it is essential to put a few goals in place. What do you hope to get out of a collaboration of this kind? Knowing whether your main focus is to drive traffic to your site, build brand awareness or see an increase of sales via blog referrals can affect the way you reach out to bloggers and form the basis of your blogger outreach strategy.

Seeking Out Brand Relevant Bloggers

Finding a blogger that you could potentially create a commercial relationship with can be tricky. It isn’t simply about finding a blog that aligns with your brand; it is also about finding a site that is updated regularly with engaging content and has a powerful social presence.

Build a Relationship

Working with a blogger on a one off campaign to promote a particular product or to create a buzz around your brand may get you the coverage you desire but, by building a relationship with a particular blogger you can achieve true brand advocacy. There are many ways of cultivating a strong relationship with bloggers:

• Create a blogger newsletter to inform your blogger database of new and exciting opportunities and make them feel like they are a part of your brand.
• Create an exclusive blogger network and provide them with the opportunity for additional exposure by choosing a blogger of the week to share with your own social following.
• Reward them for their loyalty by sending them products that have yet to be released to the public.
• Invite them to an exclusive blogger event.
• Ask them to guest post on your company blog.

Get Creative

A standard press release isn’t going to inspire your industry’s most powerful bloggers to work with you and starting an email with Dear Blogger sadly isn’t going to cut it. Bloggers appreciate a personalised approach and a bespoke email goes a long way. Bloggers will differ in page rank, readers, DA and social followers, so be prepared to take this into account during your communication with them.

Tools and Techniques

There are certain tools that will make your search for relevant bloggers simple. Google Blog Search is one of these tools and it not only helps you to search blogs by entering keywords, it also helps you discover the bloggers that are already talking and tweeting about your products. Bloglovin is also an essential resource for outreachers. If you have a Twitter account, send out a tweet with a request for niche relevant bloggers to get in touch.

Takeaway

• Research is essential before you reach out to bloggers with a pitch. Read the blog itself and make a note of the blogger’s name and contact details in a spreadsheet. Don’t forget to customise your pitch.
• Blogger outreach is a two way street. If a blogger features your brand in a blog post or collaborates with you on a campaign, return the favour by re-tweeting and sharing their posts on your own company social media platforms.
• Don’t forget to keep in touch. Create a blogger newsletter to solidify the relationship and provide bloggers with the opportunity of future collaborations.
• WMG owns an enviable ‘little black book’ of bloggers which features industry influencers from almost every industry.