I love everything that Darren Rowse does on ProBlogger.net — for years and years! Well, his quality is always top and his advice is generous and spot-on. Although I am excerpting all of the 21 things Darren recommends, below, there is a lot more good stuff associated with each one, so head on over to read 21 things you need to do in order to properly pitch a story to blogs. The short comments after the points are mine! (Via ProBlogger.net via Drew B’s take on tech PR)
- Comment First Pitch Later – This is great advice, we find
- Personalize it — Be sure to send from your real email!
- Get their Details Right – Dear Sir/Ma’am won’t work!
- Show You Know Who they Are – Always be contextual
- Introduce Yourself – A real person must send the pitch
- Keep it Brief — Short, sweet, and plaintext if you can
- Highlight Benefits — What is the gift? No gift, no pitch
- Keep it Simple — If they’re interested, they’ll ask for more
- Research Your Question — Your bloggers knows more than you do
- Consider Time Zones When Calling — In fact, don’t call bloggers
- Don’t Stalk — True, but also be aggressive and persistent
- Be Persistent — Stick-to-it-ive-ness is always rewarded
- Avoid Press Releases — Link off to an online Social Media Press Release
- Keep on Topic — Be clear and only gift or ask for one thing only
- Be Polite and Courteous — Pretend you’re not in PR ;)
- Free Stuff Works, But…. — Your gift doesn’t need to be swag
- Mention Your Blog — Bloggers distrust PR folks without a blog!
- Link Up — Bloggers notice it when you link to them — link up!
- Give an exclusive — Always offer online content to bloggers only first
- Don’t Include Anything You Don’t Want Blogged in your Communications — Someone will always full-text-post your email!
- A word on Embargoes — If you want to know, visit ProBlogger.net!
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