How to pitch a blogger
- Fri, February 20 2009
- Filed under: Social networking and web 2.0
I get asked to cover different initiatives all the time here on the blog. Most of the pitches stink. They are self-aggrandizing and really hard to follow. Worse, people attach press releases and expect me to comb through a release to determine how the story is relevant to my blog—and if it is, to start from scratch writing it up. If I like the content—for example it’s a great study—I write back and ask for five bullets summarizing it. Why? Because while I used to be a journalist, now I have a full-time day job. I don’t have much time for reporting. And a blog entry is not a news article anyway. So I’m not willing to spend an hour putting together a post.
Here’s how you pitch a blogger:
1. You actually read their blog
2. You explain in the first sentence how your idea is relevant to their blog
3. You write a short, pithy summary of your idea in bullets that can be cut and pasted into a blog if the blogger likes it
4. You even embed links for them
These simple steps will greatly increase your chances of getting covered.
Last night, I got pitched by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids to blog their campaign. They did a good job. I’ll tell you why: they did all of the above to promote their new report, Deadly in Pink, which takes the tobacco industry to task for targeting girls and young women in their marketing. Better yet, they gave me a cool widget that summarizes everything they’re doing. All I had to do was plop it in and add my commentary. Here it is:
My only improvement on this widget would have been a big call to action with a one-click way to join their crusade. The end of the video and the buttons below it don’t exacty nail that, but it’s close. I’m disgusted by the tobacco industry when I watch this, but i’m not really sure what to do about it.
If you don’t have the money for a widget, don’t worry. Even a bulleted list is nice for a blogger.
By the way, if you watch the video, take note: tobacco companies are really good at marketing. After all, they’ve managed to sell something deadly. Check out the values they play to: empowerment, stylishness, self esteem.
Your organization can tap into those same values for good. CARE does it all the time. Steal tobacco’s marketing savvy and use it for good!
Comments
Great advice! Thank you so much for posting this and giving us a specific example. I will write up one-sentence summaries and bullet-point lists for bloggers and let you know how it works out for our campaign.
Hi Katya,
Thank you for the VERY helpful and specific advice. I love your blog!
Kirt
Great tips Katya! I’ve been debating on whether to try the bullet point styling to pitch bloggers and now I’m definitely going to give it a try.
HAH!
Katya… I am finally starting to read blogs, and this is very good advice.
Sorry for commenting on such an old post
Thanks!