Pitching Bloggers and Influencers

Over the course of my tenure in the social media world---both as a blog creator and brand representative---I've received and delivered countless pitches for campaigns intended to ignite interest in a brand through an independent blogger or social influencer who has built an engaged following.

Searching online will list a wealth of articles with tips and insights, yet many pitches still miss the mark. So I thought it would be fun to offer a "do this, not that" take, emphasizing the do. With crowd-sourced help from friends who have built a following via their blog and social channels, we offer our top "DO THIS" tip.

DO THIS: Make it Authentically Personal

Whether you hand-select the list of bloggers, work with an agency, or leverage one of the many influencer marketing platforms, review each influencer to:

Assure their content meets your selection criteria---brand alignment, quality and voice, level of engagement, frequency of posting, demographics, etc.
Learn about the person behind the content.
Understand what they're passionate about and what resonates with their community.

Then personalize your pitch. Authentically. Let the person on the other end of the email know you took the time to understand and appreciate their brand.

Assuming your end goal is for bloggers to understand and appreciate your brand, then share it with their community in an authentically personal way, the quality of the relationship starts with your pitch and the intention behind it.

BONUS TIP: If you're thinking "I'm pitching so many bloggers there's no way I can check them out personally..." consider analyzing your opt-in rate and the quality of content you get from mass mailings. Then try a more personalized approach and see what yields the best result relative to your campaign goals. In my experience, the more you curate the list for relevance, the more likely you are to see high response rates, quality content and enduring relationships.