What's The Blogger PR Secret?

In case you missed Mom It Forward's #GNO this week?

I'll be pounding a redbull at 8:59 pm EST, cracking my knuckles and getting ready for Speed Tweeting at #gno tonight!

BarbaraJones

You missed a Doozy! It was an action packed panel of PR Maven Extraordinares!

Nancy Martira from Ketchum
Barbara Jones from One2One Networking
Krista Parry from Park City Mountain Resort
Rachael Herrscher from Today's Mama

What's the secret to making contact with PR professionals, and what really bugs them?

This seems obvious but don't make me search thru your blog to find oiut how to contact you—It's a crazy goose chase sometimes! —Barbara Jones

The panelists all had some great advice when it came to how to contact a PR Professional. They all agreed, first, make it easy for the company to contact YOU! And a media kit is something you should look into. Here's an example you can look over from Mom Blogger's Club. Also a subscription to ListPlanIt.com comes with several templates and PR 'lists'.

If your email sounds like you are just looking for free stuff, chances are it will end up in the spam folder. —Nancy Martira

When contacting a company or a PR rep., or even just chatting on twitter with a possible connection remember that they are just like you! They get tons of email and have a lot coming at them. The consensus was that you should send short emails, asking first whether you can send an attachment or a longer email. And yes you can send a 'ping', but calling them over and over or too much email isn't a good idea!

What are these professionals looking for? Do I have what they want?

Blog stats aren't the only thing companies are interested in. They want to know what you can do for them in all your Social Media outlets. Remember reporting to the client is the job of the PR professional, so you will need to share some amount of your information to make a legitimate pitch.

Traffic numbers are not the only metrics--promote your social media footprint on twitter, facebook, etc—Barbara Jones

Not every PR campaign is promoting a product, sometimes we're selling ideas. That's when great writers can shine.—Nancy Martira

Okay I just got an email from a representative of a company! Now what?

I say PR is not Public Relations it is PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS—Krista Parry

Bottom line? Don't be afraid to ask them questions, find out more about the product, more about what it is they want to get out the relationship. Share ideas you have for helping them get the word out. Feel free to brainstorm a little with them, they are going to appreciate new ideas, and be willing to listen to their thoughts too!

Think about diversifying your online presence - podcast, video blogging, product review blogs, etc... —Nancy Martira

Why PR needs bloggers? Because PR is storytelling and who can tell stories better than bloggers?—Danny Brown

If you want to host a product review, show me an example of a successful one you have already hosted.—Nancy Martira

Barbara Jones has been quoted as saying ROO is more important than ROI... What does that mean? ROO= return on objective. What is your objective as a blogger? What is the objective of the company or the agency? Try come up with innovative ways to fulfill those goals.

To Mom It Forward Members:

John Sternal has offered up his Public Relations ebook at a 20% discount (code: GNO). From examples of press kits to 'real' knowledge everything you'll need to perform PR for your business.

Oh my gosh, I got the deal! I don't want to screw it up! What makes a good review, article, campaign?

That's a great way to start. Show them that you really know and love the product; you're not just looking for a freebie.—Nancy Martira

The panelists really say it well here:

• You know the media will do stories on things like St. Patricks Day and daylight savings time. So build stories around them!—John Sternal
• I always like for the blogger to be authentic in their review. I don't like when it looks like a copy and paste from email. I brought a blogger out to Park City and some of their review was negative and that's ok. It's honest. —Krista Parry
• PR people are looking for people who resonate with their brands. So make sure you understand their brands just like they should w/ you. —Krista Parry
• What bugs me is saying you'll do the review or the promotion and then half a**ing it--Hi I'm giving away X, leave a comment-ugh—Barbara Jones

What should I do if I'm approached about a product/item/service but it's not a good fit for me?

Pay It Forward--If you get approached by PR, and the situation is not for you, suggest another blogger who could do it!! —Barbara Jones

Think of every email and phone call as an opportunity to create a relationship, even if the product/service/item isn't something you can get behind.

If a blogger I respect points me towards another blogger I will absolutely check them out. I often ask for recommendations. One of the things I love about the Mom Blogging community is how supportive and connected they are. When you connect me with a great new partner, it reflects well on you. Never hesitate to call out good work!—Nancy Martira

Everyone knows someone out there - it helps a ton to be able to say "So and so referred me" - it gets a lot of response. Share your contacts with each other - nothing wrong with asking "do you know anyone at XYZ media outlet."—Rachael Herrsher

Cathy aka CathyWebSavvyPR answered the question:

What quick information would a PR pro love to find on a Mommy Blogger's site?

PR people are hoping to find a match between our client/company/expert's product or info and your reader's interests and needs. The type of information a PR pro hopes to find on your site, includes:

A good About Us page, telling briefly what you and your site are all about (intro to the site and how it works, who your readers are, what niche do you reach, and who the sites author(s) are). A good PR Info page also tells us more reader demographics along with some site statistics/numbers (Readers surveys using survey monkey, and pollcast can provide some info; site stats like Google Analytics, twitter counter, Feedburner RSS reader stats, Quantcast, Clicky and Hubspot Site Grader can help with the numbers).

Also useful are sections on how you like to work: what you will do to publicize the promotion, what you need from us, and notes any success stories you've had (some of this can also be indicated is on a document that we can request - if your readers don't need to know the details.)

At it's best PR/blogger promotions - whether product reviews and giveaways or book promo tours and guest blog posts from experts - can be a win-win situations. To read more you can see the rest of Cathy's article here.