Blogger outreach is also known as blogger relations. It refers to when a business entity secures the services of bloggers to create promotional content aimed at sparking the interest of their target audience about their products and services. Businesses often negotiate payment with bloggers for the service.
Yes, it’s a relatively new industry, so you might think that there are not many older people taking an interest in it, however, there are many 40 or 50-something-year-old bloggers in the business. Contrary to popular opinion, blogging is not problematic because the average age of bloggers is low.
As a content marketing strategy, blogger outreach can work for anyone. All it needs is to find the right person to partner with, or a professional blogger outreach agency that can boost awareness about your products and services.
There are different kinds of blogger outreach you can make use of as a business owner. You can choose to do a product review, features, posts, blogger events, and distribute freebies.
- Reviews
Businesses often gift bloggers their services or products in return for positive reviews. Posts are done on the blogger’s social media accounts via videos, posts, pictures, and so on. Followers trust the opinions of their favourite influencers, so a favourable review will often lead to a spike in sales from the blogger’s community.
- Features
Bloggers often highlight a product or service in their video or copy which will benefit their followers, recommending a place to visit or a satisfying product need that offers value for money. A feature is a more subtle promotion of your product to allow followers to pick up on where to purchase something, which may lead to more reviews in the future.
- Giveaways
This is a very popular way of generating a trend for promotion. The blogger may ask followers to follow a set of instructions to qualify to receive a free product or a free or discounted service at your business. These may involve a video challenge, or a hashtag, or both.
- Posts
Here, a blogger makes paid posts at your request. Posts come with a mention of your website or a link to where they can purchase the product or service that is being promoted. The standard practice is for bloggers to add in a public disclaimer so followers understand that it is sponsored.
- Blogger Events
Occasionally, bloggers organize meet and greets to mingle with their fans and allow them to have fun, sponsored by different brands, while products are displayed and advert banners/ souvenirs are distributed. Also, businesses invite them to their events in exchange for coverage as an alternative way of generating buzz on their social media channels.
Blogger outreach is not limited to what it has to offer to various businesses. As long as you design your product to suit the blogger’s niche, any business can partner with a blogger to benefit their brand.
Many people believe that bloggers generally have no interest in a product but just want to make money without putting in the work to promote their goods and services. This couldn’t be further from the truth: some bloggers are passionate about what they write about and will take a genuine interest in what you do. You will find bloggers in tech, real estate, movie, and finance industries as long as you are willing to create a suitable product.
Merits of using blogger outreach
Blogger outreach is beneficial for both bloggers and business brands. It has to be before an agreement can be reached. A blogger wants to be paid without losing any followers and as a business, you get to cement your brand in the hearts of your target audience using a familiar voice. What looks like a simple message or successful post is the result of years of hard work to build credence amongst their followers. If you are looking for an inroad into a certain demography or age bracket of people with a new product, blogger outreach is a perfect way to do it.
Before you enter into a blogger outreach
As a brand, you must select your blogger carefully. The wrong partnership can ruin years of hard work and could take a lot of effort to undo. Narrow down your list of potential bloggers to work with and develop a pitch that fits with the blogger’s strengths and interests. Demonstrate your unique selling point to them. It will stand you out amidst the crowd of people who send their pitches in daily.
It is best to not be ambiguous about what you can afford to pay. Come clean and make an offer that is commensurate with the perceived self-value of the blogger or they may back out of negotiations. Sometimes, you will get turned down, and that is all right. Focus on maintaining a relationship with them even if it does not work out. A deal that doesn’t fall into place today may work in your favour in future.
Blogger outreach is not as difficult as people make it out to be. You can benefit from the various marketing options that it presents, so long as you design your product and tailor your marketing strategy to suit the partnership.
