10 Ways To Get PRs Interested In Your Blog!
Monday, June 15, 2020
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We all get into the blogging game for different reasons. Some of us use it as a way to connect with other people and engage in a community. Others use blogs as a kind of online diary to document a difficult or significant period of their lives. And for some, a blog is an opportunity to ultimately develop another source of income. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The reality is if you’re dedicated if you’re regularly producing quality content, and if you keep SEO in mind, there’s no reason why your blog won’t begin to climb the ranks of Google.
We all get into the blogging game for different reasons. Some of us use it as a way to connect with other people and engage in a community. Others use blogs as a kind of online diary to document a difficult or significant period of their lives. And for some, a blog is an opportunity to ultimately develop another source of income. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The reality is if you’re dedicated if you’re regularly producing quality content, and if you keep SEO in mind, there’s no reason why your blog won’t begin to climb the ranks of Google.
For around five years now, I’ve worked as a digital marketer and a PR consultant, working alongside amazing bloggers and brands on some great campaigns. Most of the bloggers I interact with daily are lovely people — and they recently inspired me to create my own blog.
But for every enthusiastic and knowledgeable blogger I’ve spoken to, there is another blogger who doesn’t quite understand the rules we all have to live and work by as PRs. The reality is, we’re under a significant amount of pressure to get results for our clients. We need to work with savvy bloggers with thriving followings. We need to know they can write well, and we need to know their blog will stick around and grow in the years to come.
For bloggers, there might be some mystery about what we’re actually looking for. I’m here to shed some light on the matter and, hopefully, to help you on your way to some amazing campaigns.
Stay Away From Subdomains
It’s kind of heartbreaking when a blogger approaches you for a campaign. They seem perfect in almost every way, but they have made one big mistake... their blog is on a subdomain. I’ll use my own blog as an example. My URL is:
https://loveemblog.com
The above URL is seen as more legitimate and attractive to PRs than a subdomain, which would look like the following;
https://www.loveemblog.blogspot.co.uk
Subdomains are bad for SEO, so we stay away from them almost without exception. Thankfully, this is simple to resolve. Having your own domain is cheaper than ever. If you’re looking to build your blog into a business long-term, think of it as a necessary investment. For your own domain name, I would highly recommend using lyrical hosting for your needs. Their customer service is amazing, the process is quick and the plans are affordable. If you would like 10% off your own domain name or hosting plan, use the code LoveEm10.
Have Your Social Channels Visible on Your Blog
As PRs, we have to think of more than just your blog. Social activity is important to us. We want to know you have an active following that will like, share and comment on your posts. Make it easy for us to check out your social channels. Have links to your socials on the header of your blog, and we’ll see it as a signal that you’re switched on to what is important.
Getting Down to Numbers
Anyone deep into blogging knows about domain authority. Domain authority isn’t everything, but it’s certainly a factor. Unless you’re incredibly niche, odds are a client won’t want to work with you unless your domain authority equals or exceeds theirs. Not only will a higher DA help to elevate their DA, but a high DA is also reflective of longevity. It takes time to really build up domain authority, so a DA of 20 indicates that a blog has been around for a while. It shows a blogger knows what they’re doing and they’re likely to still be around in the years to come. You may also need to work on your stats. Brand won't want to work with brand new bloggers, as they won't be able to get the reach they're looking for. Establishing yourself is really important.
One of the ways I improved my stats was by using an online course or eBook. I get a lot of my traffic through Pinterest and Twitter. If you're looking to grow your Pinterest, here are 2 of my favourite Pinterest courses!
One of the ways I improved my stats was by using an online course or eBook. I get a lot of my traffic through Pinterest and Twitter. If you're looking to grow your Pinterest, here are 2 of my favourite Pinterest courses!
Pinterest Perfect | For Your Pinterest Needs
I love this course and use it almost every day! This was my favourite course to learn Pinterest, and it has recently gone through a massive update. I've learn how to quickly grow my Pinterest in a way that will be sustainable!
Pinterest With Ell | Master Pinterest & Increase Your Sales
Ell is an amazing blogger and offer lots of different courses. One that stands out the most is her Pinterest course which continues to help bloggers grow their traffic! It's a great course to try out, and you can do it in your own time!
Social Engagement
As hinted at above, social engagement is so important these days. Great content is, of course, important, but we don’t want to work with a blogger whose content will be quickly forgotten. We want the content to be shared, enjoyed, and engaged with. And the numbers aren’t everything. A small number of really engaged followers is more important to us than thousands and thousands of followers who just don’t care. If you're looking to improve your Instagram engagement, this is a really good eBook for doing so!
A Press Pack Always Helps
We can always do our own legwork, but if you want to make yourself more appealing to PRs (and if you want to seem more professional), a press pack always helps. Include key stats about your blog and social media, including audience demographics.
Related: How to make a killer media kit + Free media kit checklist!
Related: How to make a killer media kit + Free media kit checklist!
Have a Variety of Content to Share
Content is king. And for PRs, we like to see a variety of content.
Specifically, we’re looking for two types of content:
- Content that demonstrates your own personal voice. What makes you, you. Why people follow you. What separates you from every other blogger and gives you an edge. Essentially, we’re looking for your personality and your viewpoint. Content only you could write — proof that your website isn’t just a link farm.
- Content that shows you have worked with other people or businesses. We want to see how working with you will look like — a finished product. This can be anything from sponsored content to product reviews and giveaways.
A Respect For Your Own Blog
Sometimes content doesn’t work for your blog. That’s completely fine. If you’re a mummy blogger with a focus on attachment parenting, for example, it makes no sense for you to accept sponsored content from a performance management software company. It doesn’t fit in with your niche, it’ll confuse your followers, and it won’t look good to Google. There’s nothing wrong with saying no from time to time. It demonstrates you have the right amount of respect for your blog. Off-brand material on your blog is seen by PRs as a red flag, so be cautious about accepting everything that comes your way.
Be Reasonable With Your Demands
When it comes to sponsored content, it’s okay to have submission guidelines. We’re more than happy to work with them. But if we’re submitting sponsored content to you and we have to work our way through a 20-page PDF of guidelines, we’re going to think twice about working with you. Believe it or not, this does happen! In most cases, it’s just going to be too much work for the result.
Understand that Sometimes We Need to Work on a Gifting Basis
While some of us represent multi-million-pound companies, the vast majority of PRs represent SMEs. These companies have a limited budget, or perhaps no budget at all. They want to work with you, but sometimes they are only going to be able to work on a gifting basis. If we, as PRs, discuss gifting opportunities with you, please understand it’s because we’re working with serious restraints. We won’t be turned off if you simply say you aren’t able to work on a gifting basis, but those who are will be more likely to get more work, more often. And we’ll remember you in the future when bigger clients come on board.
Remember: We Talk to Each Other!
As I said, most bloggers are lovely human beings, and it’s a delight to work with them. It’s why we have ‘regulars’ we use all the time. It’s great to build relationships and trust with bloggers, and it certainly speeds up the process. However, we aren’t always so lucky. Sometimes we come across some truly rude (and outright unprofessional) bloggers.
We have dealt with bloggers who cut off contact for no reason mid-collaboration. We’ve dealt with bloggers who are short and abrasive. We’ve dealt with bloggers who act like they’re above compromise. The thing is, acting like this will gain you a reputation. As PRs, we do talk to each other, and we do blacklist certain bloggers. We can’t afford to not. For smaller businesses, one bad collaboration can do damage.
I hope this has been helpful. I know it’s intimidating starting off and building up a blog. This is something I’ve learned first-hand recently as I’ve started my own. When it comes down to it, PRs want to hear from you. They want to build relationships with promising and established bloggers, so never feel afraid to reach out!
About the Author
Samantha Lyon is a digital marketer, PR and owner of Yet Another Mummy Blog. You can follow her on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date with all of her amazing posts & content. Thank you to Samantha for writing this helpful blog post. Hopefully, you have learnt what PRs are looking for in a blogger!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. It means that if you click them and make a purchase, I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you. This post also contains links to 3rd party websites were their policies may be different to mine.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. It means that if you click them and make a purchase, I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you. This post also contains links to 3rd party websites were their policies may be different to mine.
13 comments
Amazing post! This is very useful thank you!
ReplyDeleteThis is super informative and will be helpful for me moving forward. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a useful blog post! I've spoken to Samantha before too :) It's so important to know all these things as a blogger!
ReplyDeleteJenny
http://www.jennyinneverland.com
Your post offered many examples to highlight your points. I think it would be helpful for anyone trying to do freelance work or earn more money from their blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, I have been thinking of buying my domain name for ages, but I keep putting off as it seemed in the past quite expensive, and did not use the whole title of my blog :)
ReplyDeleteNic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes
This is such a helpful blog post, posts telling you how to reach out for sponsored content are great but actually this would be so helpful in backing up your approach.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing x
Very useful information!! Thank you for sharing it!! Haven't worked with a PR yet but it is nice to know what they are looking for!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of this! Im a PR practitioner as well and it's important to have substantial content and number of followers. Also, theres nothing bad with X-deal. It can be a good starter to connect with brands and build your reputation in the PR community.
ReplyDeleteThis was incredibly useful! I'm going to work on monetizing my blog (hopefully some time in the next year), and these are all tips I'll have to keep in mind moving forward. Great stuff!
ReplyDeleteThis is an amazing post. I had done several PR post (I guess I can say that) over 2-3 years I had done some mistakes that I've learned in the hard way but in the end I think when a certain brand regardless how big or small they're contact a blogger it's a big deal in order to grow your blog.
ReplyDeleteMichelle
http://www.brokebutflawless.com
Thank you for this wealth of knowledge. I've been meaning to get a host for my blog, but at the moment, due to being unemployed and not having much money, it's going to have to wait. But, hopefully in the near future, I can get hosted!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very helpful post - I've only recently started working with brands and I'm still learning something new every day. x
ReplyDelete- Charlotte / charlottesspace.com
This was such a helpful read! We have just started working with a couple of brands and looking around to try some more, thanks for sharing x
ReplyDelete