PR agencies target bloggers - and (surprise, surprise) they don’t always get it right

PR agents are making a dog’s dinner of dealing with bloggers as they are adapting to translating media relations to the online world. At least that’s the conclusion after reading an an interesting article on Problogger.net. PR consultant Erik Sebellin-Ross basically pitches his case to bloggers about why they’re being targets by PR agencies and explaining how the process works, from a PR pespective.The article gets interesting when you taking a peak at the comments, where bloggers get their right of reply. It doesn’t always make for happy reading. Generally, the blogsosphere (at least the sample of commenters here) seems confused as to why they’re being targeted - or worse still, the manner in which they’re being targeted. 

Here are a few of the responses:

…the majority of PR solicitations I get suggest that the main criterion for being pitched is “has a pulse.” Which is, I think, why many bloggers are so hostile to any pitch.

What perfect timing! I think at some point in the last three weeks my blog hit PR rep critical mass and I am getting slammed. SLAMMED. I’ve been fortunate in that all the “plug me, baby!” emails have been relevant and targeted, but WTF? Where did that all come from?

What REALLY bugs me is when PR folks don’t close the loop. They send me the mail, I answer it, and then… NOTHING. Typically, what happens is I’ll get mail telling me that such and such a product/service is available and I say, yeah, maybe my readers WOULD like to know about that. Hook me up, I’ll review it, sure. And I get nothing in return. No response. Nothing. It’s not like I can’t take no for an answer. But YOU mailed ME, remember? So why don’t you answer when I respond? THAT makes me crazy.

Give me a f’ing break. How about you take some time and actually read my blog before pitching me? It is a two way street. PR people acting like half of the information they send out is worth writing about is laughable. Half of the pitches I get aren’t even remotely connected to what I write about on a daily basis.

It’s not all bad news. Some of the entries talk about “great” working relationships with PRs and cite examples of getting loads of “swag”.

Apart from making the classic mistake of poor research and targeting, I think much of the problem is that PR people are generally treating bloggers like journalists. The problem is that the rules of engagement are different. Broadly speaking there are three types of blog: Media, Personal (like mine, the red rocket) and Business. Personal bloggers are the sticky wicket because they really don’t have any lords and masters. They don’t usually have advertisers (apart from the odd banner), can write what they like, respond to who they want to, and don’t even have to be balanced if they don’t want to. This gives PR people the willies and they tend to go back to familiar territory, which often just winds bloggers up.

Here’s my quick top ten guide for establishing a happy relationship with the blogging community:

1. Only target relevant blogs - track (and read) them for a short while using RSS feeds to make sure
2. Start small and work up - establishing good relationships with two or three bloggers is 100 times better than spamming dozens of bloggers with press releases
3. Think about their motivation for writing a blog (especially personal blogs) - if they’re campaigning against fox hunting, for example, and you’re doing the PR for the Countryside Alliance (there’s a tough brief), you’re never going to get them around to “your way of thinking”
4. Be careful when targeting anonymous bloggers - the potential for imbalance is higher
5. Be polite and explain why you’re getting in touch with them - ask their permission to receive press releases, products for review etc.
6. Respect their wish not to be targeted if they say no - tell your colleagues
7. Explain what’s in it for them - and keep your promise
8. Once you start the dialogue, keep it going and read their blog
9. Don’t use a blogger liaison strategy as a link-baiting SEO tool - your motivation should be based on valuing their opinion, not generating links to your client’s website
10. Start your own blog - you’ll be much more inclined to understand where they’re coming from if you actually do it yourself (you don’t need to tell your target bloggers this though)

Lastly, don’t cry if they don’t write nice things - bloggers are no more under contract to write something positive as any journalist (something they do have in common with traditional media channels). Oh and try to have some fun with it. Most bloggers are writing for pleasure, so it doesn’t have to be an unpleasant experience.