To blog or not to blog -- that used to be the question. Today, as bloggers create a vast, ongoing dialogue across the media landscape, the question of whether or not to blog has been replaced by how best to gain blog exposure for your company and its messages through bloggers who can influence your target audience.
Armed with a knowledge of emerging best practices for reaching and winning credibility with bloggers, your chances of influencing the people who influence people who are important to achieving your business goals are excellent.
Know your target bloggers. Who are the bloggers with the greatest potential influence within your niche? Reading the "About" page of a blog is a quick and useful way of determining whether your issues and products are relevant to the blogger. To be 100 percent certain, the best test is to subscribe to the blog for about a month. In that span of time, you will begin to understand the blogger's motives, learn who else is monitoring the blog, and follow links to establish a network of blogger relations.
Speak your blogger's language. When you identify a blogger who might be interested in your company, find out how to communicate with them. Bloggers have their contact preferences and personal idiosyncrasies. If you want to make a strong impression, take the time to personalize communication and show that you have actually read their blog. Focus on building a rapport.
Refer or link to the blog. One of the most meaningful ways to show appreciation to a valued blogger is to take every opportunity to refer or link to their blog. The added bonus in adopting this practice is that linking is like passing out a business card online to make the blogger aware of you.
Be persistent. Even with a well-founded knowledge of a blog's preferences and priorities, sometimes your timing will be off and your first attempt to get exposure on a blog won't happen. As the saying goes, if at first you don't succeed, try again. Being persistent (without being annoying) will eventually pay off.
Nurture the relationship. Don't get complacent and fall out of touch once you make it onto a blog. Like all good relationships, blogger relations need continual nurturing. Neglect this one simple rule and all your hard work will be wasted.
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