Egg recently released a new whitepaper called The Importance of Connecting Brands with Bloggers. If you’re not already working with bloggers to expand your visibility online, I recommend you read it.

You know I’m all about bloggers. You know I’m a strong believer in the fact that they can help you find brand evangelists and new customers. But did you know I help my clients through Egg connect with bloggers? We’ve helpd PicClick, the visual online eBay auction site, get the attention of fashionistas. And when Glitch Gear released its new line of Left 4 Dead apparel, we connected them with gaming bloggers.

And we get results. The blogs that write about our brands have gotten them hundreds of new visitors to their websites. Couldn’t you stand a few more visitors?

Download the free whitepaper now.

I got some steaks to review and we are currently doing giveaways of the product. Let that be my disclosure. I get paid in steaks. The products are excellent, and I wish they sold more variety in my area. (Still, Gary was nice enough to mail me some of their fabulous 100-calorie steaks). I didn’t used to eat red meat, but now, thanks to Chef’s Requested and a really good cook for a husband, I am a steak monster.

Just today I noticed that Chef’s Requested is holding a contest. The winner will receive $1500 to attend a blogging conference of her (yes, her.) choice.  They outline the rules here on Facebook. I love this. It shows again that they know that bloggers are key in helping them build their brand. And I certainly don’t mind passing it on to you.

If you’re a blogger, enter the contest. If you are a steak monster, buy the steak.

First you need to find a blogger that is passionate about your product. Or who can be. I hadn’t used True Lemon before working with them, but once I tried the product, I recognized it as unique to its industry, and I knew that other women would be excited about a zero calorie citrus product. So that made it easy. Search for your company name and see who is talking about you. You may have a brand evangelist you don’t even know about who would make a good candidate.

Next, find a conference that is a good fit for you. For True Lemon, a conference full of women and moms was ideal. It was a bonus that they all blog (more opportunity for them to spread the word). It may be a trade show or a technical conference, depending on your product and customer profile.

Now you’ll need to work out a package. If the blogger approached you about a sponsorship, she may have packages worked out in terms of what she will provide you. For True Lemon, I:

• Blogged about them using links before, during and after the conference
• Gave away samples
• Gave away bigger prizes
• Wore their shirt
• Took video interviewing people on their perception of the product
• Held a giveaway for non attendees on my blog at the same time

If you have samples, a conference is a great place to let them try it. If your product is bigger or more expensive, invest in some sort of promotional items that don’t suck and ask your blogger to distribute them. Contests are a great way to generate a buzz.

If you feel the need to draw up a contract, do so. Usually this is a pretty informal situation.

After the conference get a report back from the blogger on the feedback she received. Make plans and tweak what you did this time for the next conference. Find a way to measure results. How many people entered the contest? Did she bring new followers to your Twitter or Facebook account? More web traffic? Did she get business cards that you can use to send info to?

What about cost? We can’t afford to sponsor a blogger. The truth is: you can’t afford not to (I say that a lot, don’t I?). Think of it like this: if your company were to exhibit at the conference, you would spend probably $20,000 on a booth, marketing and display collateral and travel expenses. You can retain the services of a blogger for far less and probably get better results.

What do you think? Would you consider sponsoring a blogger as a new marketing tool?

If you have a blog, or have thought about starting one, you may only be thinking in terms of how your blog will help generate attention for your product or service. But have you considered working with other blogs to get publicity? If not, you’re missing a huge opportunity.

We’re starting to see wider recognition of bloggers as a part of the media. After all, they write their opinions, introduce us to new ideas and news and tell us what they think of products and services. How does that differ from what a journalist does?

As a company, it behooves you to work with bloggers that talk to the demographic you seek to reach. By building relationships with bloggers, you not only garner attention for your company, but you also show that your company recognizes blogs as being important channels of communication. And that says a lot to consumers.

How to Identify the Right Blogs

You want your message out there, but don’t reach out to untargeted blogs. If you’re selling a garden hose, don’t contact the blogger who writes about pet products. With a little research, you can identify the blogs that are already connected with your target audience.

1. 1. Do a Search. Search for keywords that relate to your industry and products. Include blog” in the search. Visit each blog that appears relevant in this list.
2. 2. Read the Blog. You won’t get away with skimming the blog and contacting the blog owner. Do your homework to find out if the blog is a good fit. If you object to foul language, better to find out when reading the blog than to find it in a post about your company.
3. 3. Read the Fine Print. Read through the About page as well as any PR info that may be listed. Many blogs have specific instructions for what to do if you want them to review your product. Some charge. Gather all this information into a spreadsheet.
4. 4. Cull. Not every blog you come across is a good fit. Look for those with higher traffic for best results.
5. 5. Contact. Send a carefully crafted (read: NOT copy/paste) introduction letter that explains who you are and why you are interested in partnering with a particular blog. Mention specifics, as bloggers, like anyone, like to have their egos stroked. The more compelling reason you can give for why they should take time out of their schedules to work with you, the more likely you are to get a response.
6. 6. Follow Up. Bloggers are busy. Many have full time jobs or are raising children at home, so give it a week and send either a followup email or Tweet if you’re on Twitter (and you are, right?).

What’s Your ROI?

Unless you’ve got a tracking system that can tell you which sales came from a blog’s review of your product (and if you offer a service you don’t sell directly online, this won’t be possible), consider traffic your ROI. If you send a blogger your product, and it costs you $100, you want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.

The key in looking for a strong ROI is examining visitors to a blog. Before you decide to send any blogger a product, ask what their web traffic and RSS subscriber numbers are. If you send that $100 item to a blogger that gets 100 visitors per month, obviously your ROI won’t be as good as sending the same item to a blog that gets 10,000 visitors a month. And out of the number of people who view the post on your product, expect about 1% to actually click your link. That 100 visitors turns into 1 click, while the 10,000 visitors is 100.

Compare it to pay-per-click advertising. If you’re willing to pay $1.00 per click on Google AdWords, consider that your threshold of measurement for blog outreach. If the blog review gets 100 clicks to your website, you’ve spent your budget of $1.00 per click on a $100 item. But you want better than that, since working with bloggers requires more effort than setting up a PPC campaign. The lower that cost per click, the better your ROI. Now you just have to worry about converting them to sales on your site!

After the Post

Once you secure a few reviews on different blogs, don’t stand idly by! Help promote each review through whatever channels you use: Twitter, Facebook, your own blog or website, email, etc. Consider it similar to a press clipping and boast about it. Keep a list on your company’s Press page and link to all blogs that have reviewed your products.

Sponsorship to Reach Bloggers

Another way to reach masses of bloggers, who will then spread the word about your product to their audiences, is to connect with them at blogging conferences. Now, not every company can afford the hefty Exhibitor fees, which can mount up to $10,000 or more, but sponsoring an individual to go to the conferences on your behalf is a great way to infiltrate the conference and get in front of bloggers.

In 2008, Epson sponsored the Sparkplugging blog team at BlogWorld Expo. The team of 11 (I was one) wore Epson shirts and talked to people about the brand. Each blog post mentioned Epson during the conference. The team also held a special contest at the conference where people following the team on Twitter could get clues to solve to win an Epson printer. The buzz about Epson lasted long past the actual event.

For a fraction of the cost of exhibiting, a company can get products and marketing collateral handed out to conference attendees, videos taken of brand perception and new contacts made. It’s an invaluable tool in today’s ever-changing PR landscape.

No matter what you do, realize that PR is changing daily. Twitter, Facebook, blogs, bloggers and conferences are becoming new ways to reach wider audiences. Find your own method and see what works for you.

I just launched a new giveaway blog called GiveDaddy.com. We’re giving away a prize every day. It might be cash, a Starbucks gift card, soap, a book…you just never know. So far it’s been really fun, and I’m pleased with the positive response from my ever-growing social network.

But Marketing Eggspert/Susan, how can we support you in this new endeavor?

I’m glad you asked. Visit the blog and enter to win stuff. It’s not hard, and hey, you just might win.

If you have a business and would like to donate a product or service, email me. I’m also encouraging businesses that have overstock or last year’s model to donate those. It’s a terrific way to get traffic to your site from ours. And everyone loves free stuff.

Tell others. Put a link to GiveDaddy.com on your Facebook wall. Tweet about it. Be my brand evangelists because you love me. And I love you back for it!

I read a lot of blogs, mostly about marketing. I love Chris Brogan, and quote him often. I also read Small Business Trends religiously, as well as Drew McClellan’s The Marketing Minute.While I get tons just from reading these blogs, sometimes I want more.

I’ve met Chris in person a few times. We’ve chatted (when he’s not super busy, which is always), and he even gave a great testimonial for my new book, Internet Marketing for Entrepreneurs. I’ve found a way for us to mutually help one another. I ask him for small favors and I pump what he says on my blog and Twitter.

Anita Campbell, who runs Small Business Trends, is another great resource. I keep an eye out for her announcements when she’s looking for marketing pros to offer advice on social media and I get great book read ideas from her blog.

Other bloggers can be great resources to partner with, get ideas from, or learn from. Make a list of the bloggers you love and think about ways to expand what you’re already doing on your blog:

• Offer to guest post for them
• Ask them to guest post on your blog
• Connect with them on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with them
• Ask for case studies if you’re writing a book or ebook
• Share their blog posts with your audience

It’s also fun to meet bloggers in person, so attend blogging conferences like BlogWorld to network in person.

My first recommendation is to subscribe to the blogs you like via RSS. This saves you the hassle of having to remember to check a blog every few days for new content. It automatically comes to you. You can get blog posts a few different ways:

• Via email (my favorite)
• Added to your Google or Yahoo home page
• Through an RSS reader like RSSOwl or FeedDemon

Now, I’ll tell you. I have many blogs added to my Google page but I never visit it. When I open a Firefox page I have a direction and purpose so I don’t linger on my home page of Google. The way that works best for me is email. So every morning I check my email and scan the posts of the day on my favorite blogs. If they’re of interest, if I want to comment, or if I want to share them on Twitter, I click the link to the actual post. Otherwise, I delete it. It takes just a few minutes.

PS If you’re not already subscribed to my RSS, why don’t you practice your newfound skill by doing so now? Just look in the upper right hand corner for the Subscribe box!

If you blog or write articles to establish yourself as an expert in your field, you may find it hard to continually come up with interesting topics. Believe me, I know. I’ve written dozens of articles on marketing, identity theft, coin collecting, entrepreneurship, cars, roofing, etc. It’s hard to stay creative!

What I do to get inspired is see what others are saying on the topic. That might mean searching Twitter or Google for a keyword or phrase  to see what’s out there. I read a lot of blogs and websites. Then whenever I get an idea, even if I’m not in writing mode, I add it to my Outlook Tasks. That way the next time I’m scheduled to sit down and write, I have a list of topics readily available.

Another way you can come up with new topics is to think about your clients or potential clients and their needs. What do they need to know about your field? What solutions do you provide that you could write about? For me, people ask about press releases a lot, so I’ve got several blog posts about press releases (as well as ebooks and seminars).

Not sure what they want to know? Survey them. Ask them the topics they would like to have you write about.

Which reminds me: what do YOU want me to blog about?

What that means is that if I write a review of a Dell laptop (something I would LOVE to do, Dell) and they give me a laptop or pay me for the review and I am not up front about that, the FTC could “get” me. (Not sure what that would entail). Or if I give a fluff review because they pay me, that’s a no on too.

I get the idea. I am one of those few bloggers who disclose everything and refuse to do a review if it doesn’t meet my standards.  But how will the FTC manage the millions of blogs out there? How can they prove that a review is false?

I am interested to see how this regulation will work. I do agree that we need some sort of regulation, as well as a system where bloggers get paid for their work. If you were taking out an ad, you would pay for it, so why shouldn’t you pay a blogger to give her honest opinion on a product?

What do you think? Can the FTC regulate blog reviews?

The XShot is your solution to using your arm stretched out to take a photo of yourself or you and a friend (c’mon, we all have those). It makes it easy to take photos, and I was surprised that every one I took came out good (didn’t cut my head off). Here’s my video review.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk7svAXauyk[/youtube]

My apologies for the weird sound and bad quality video. I couldn’t use my Flip because it doesn’t have a tripod mount!

]]> http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/xshot-camera-extender-review/feed/ 2 http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/how-bloggers-create-pr/ http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/how-bloggers-create-pr/#comments Wed, 13 May 2009 13:51:00 +0000 Susan Payton http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/?p=939 You know I’m all over bloggers, but I may not have explained why and what role they play in terms of public relations, so here goes.

You know how you can send a press release to editors in the hopes that they’ll cover your news in their magazine or newspaper? The same can be done with bloggers.

The great thing about bloggers is they’re looking for interesting content to blog about. And sometimes they’re lazy. I mean, come on. Finding content for 3-7 days of posts is hard! Especially when you’re writing on 3 other blogs and running a marketing business. But enough about me.

So by sending them info on your product or service, you stand a pretty good chance of them interviewing you or doing a review of the product, thereby helping you reach a wider audience through their readership.

That being said, there are good and bad ways to go about pitching a blogger (much like an editor). Here are some tips.  And let me just tell you: the bad ones I get, I trash without reading beyond the first paragraph.

A good blogger pitch should:

• Show that you’ve read the blog and find your news a genuine good fit.
• Be customized to each blogger. Mention a post they’ve written that relates.
• Not offer an interview with your CEO on the numbers for the company. Bloggers want info on the product/service, not how great your company is (well, that’s the case for me).
• Provide multiple ways to contact you. Email, phone, Twitter, Skype.
• Not include photos initially. Say that they’re available upon request.
• Be interesting. Not boring.

Now all you have to do is Google blogs in your industry, that your audience will be reading. Find the owner of the blog’s contact info and reach out. Try them through Twitter too. You might get a more immediate response. Good luck!

Any questions?

I spend a lot of time reading other marketing blogs, so I thought I’d share some recent posts I’ve enjoyed.

Drew McLellan: The Marketing Minute – Wow…Gutsy TV Spot! But Will It Sell?

Chris Brogan – Say What You Want

Shama Hyder: Click to Client – Why I Quit Auto-Following on Twitter

John Jantsch: Duct Tape Marketing – Let Others Help You Sell

SeaWorld is smart. Not only did they invite us, they invited 5 pretty big bloggers who got a special behind-the-scenes tour of the new roller coaster they’re building. But all of us were pretty darn excited about our experience, and of course, we’re telling everyone.

But we’re not just calling our friends to tell them. We’re blogging about it. And we have a wide reach of SeaWorld’s demographic: parents, families, and kids of all ages. If we would have had a bad experience, we would have written about (not an issue). And people listen.

It’s smarter than a billboard (only local Orlando people would see), and has a farther reach. It’s cheaper than print advertising, and better targeted. FINALLY someone is paying attention to bloggers as a viable marketing channel!

Thanks to IZEA and SeaWorld for making this happen.

]]> http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/seaworld-reaches-out-to-mommybloggers/feed/ 2 http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/9-ways-to-be-a-social-media-moron/ http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/9-ways-to-be-a-social-media-moron/#comments Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:15:07 +0000 Susan Payton http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/?p=611 I often talk about what to do when it comes to marketing. Here I thought I’d tell you what not to do!

1. When creating a blog,  use the free URL that comes with the WordPress account. People will appreciate you being cheap. Why spend $5 for a unique URL when you can get one free??

2. Spam your Facebook friends. They like getting promotions from you daily. It makes them feel special.

3. On Twitter, by all means, always respond to someone following you with a link to your site. And send them discounts on products.

4. When making friends on networking sites, make friends with everyone. Young, old, American, Chinese, it doesn’t matter. After all, couldn’t everyone benefit from your product??

5. When writing blog posts, write long paragraphs with no breaks. Bold words, bullets and numbers are for suckers.

6. On Facebook, use the picture of you getting drunk on your birthday for your profile. For your business.

7. You’re busy. Just use social networking for promoting your company. Why bother creating conversations?

8.  Just pickone social networking site. You don’t have time to try others.

9. Don’t bother learning more. If you’ve gotten this far, you obviously know all there is to know about social media marketing!

What tips do you have?

In a sea of Internet noise, how do you stand out?

Keywords.

You may not be into the technology behind search engines, but Google and pals have some very sophisticated algorithms that help them see patterns in what people are searching for. Think about it. You probably think in keywords. If you’re looking for someone to fix your sink, what do you type in? Probably “Plumber Orlando” (or whatever city you’re in.)

Keywords are useful in web copy, blogs and press releases. Anything that search engines can look through to pick out the good stuff.

Not sure how to figure out what keywords apply? Think of how you describe what your company does. Boil that down to a few words. What words are left? Those are likely your keywords. As an example, let’s pretend I own a marketing company ( ):

Orlando marketing

Marketing company

PR firm

Marketing and PR

Online marketing

From this list, use this amazing tool my friend Shannon Hutton introduced me to, SEO Tools, to better hone in on what people are searching for online. Input your keyword (I did Orlando marketing) to see what the similar keywords that people are searching for are. I got:

Online marketing Orlando

Web marketing Orlando

So when I write copy for my website, blog or a press release, I might want to use these keywords since they get better results than mine.

TIP: Don’t overlook both singular and plural words. People search for both, so use both.

Once you have your keywords, sprinkle your copy with these words. This will help the search engines assist people in finding you as the solution to their problem!

I won’t bore you with a lot of statistics, so here’s the nice condensed version from Anita Campbell. Still too lazy to click the link? Fine. I’ll tell you. It says people are paying attention to what bloggers have to say. You’re here, right? Hanging to my every word? Well it turns out people are tired of being attacked by commercials and cold calls. They actually listen to bloggers when they talk about brands.

Which comes naturally to us bloggers, by the way. Talking about brands, that is. I know I loooove talking about the good, the bad, and the ugly brands and what they’re doing in marketing and advertising. And I don’t get paid to do it. I’ll repeat that. I don’t get paid to do it.

So think about your brand and how you’re having trouble getting the word out. Consider blogs. Research bloggers who write about your industry. Follow them for a while. Comment on their blog. Then approach them about reviewing your product. But first, before you do, get some tips on what not to do by Back in Skinny Jeans.

• Small Business Marketing Tip #5: Marketing Your business with Creative Networking and Volunteering
• Small Business Marketing Tip #6: More ways to Market Your Business with Networking
• More Networking for Your Business

But while I’ve done it on a small scale locally in Orlando where I live, something magical happened this weekend at BlogWorld 08. I met so many amazing people, famous in the blogosphere and unknown (and in the middle). While I have some clear plans to work with some of the people I met, others are a question mark. And that’s ok. Because now that I’ve made the contact, if I or they ever have a project that would be good to collaborate on, it’s that much easier to connect.

The thing I have learned over the years, working with CEOs and Presidents and now meeting blog celebrities, is that everyone is just like you. I was a little nervous meeting these people (you may not know them if you’re not following the new media/Marketing and PR 2.0 niche, but they’re pretty well known):

• Brian Solis, blogger at PR 2.0 (here’s my interview wit him)
• Chris Brogan, social media guru
• Gary Vaynerchuck, crazy video blogger at Wine Library TV

But they were totally cool. So I got my confidence up and walked right up to these guys:

• Darren Rowse, one of the world’s best known bloggers @ Problogger (I had the balls to ask for an interview. He even gave me Australian Tylenol).
• Timothy Ferriss, author of 4-Hour Workweek

All weekend I was on cloud 9 from meeting these awesome guys and having real conversations with them. I learned so much, and I realized I can reach that level of expertise if I want to (not sure how I’d feel about people taking my picture all the time). And amazingly enough, most of them were willing to help me with projects. How great is that?

So my wrapup is that networking is, again, about that conversation. It’s about seeing how you can connect with people. I only met people I read online or who I have interest in. I didn’t meet them to say I met them. I met them because I’d love to be on their radars, and oh my gosh, yes, Darren, I’d love you to offer my clients’ products as an affiliate!

So in networking, think about what you bring to the table. As someone said at the conference, don’t come to a party and drink all the beer. Bring a six-pack. If you go into it with an open mind and heart, you’ll be surprised what you’ll get back. If you go into it wanting new business, you’ll be disappointed. Marketing karma, baby.

Here’s a great post by Teresa Morrow on Sparkplug CEO with tips for networking for your business.

But my answer has now changed, I am happy to say. I flew Southwest to BlogWorld 08, thanks to Epson, and here are the highlights of my trip.

• Checking in curbside in both Orlando and Las Vegas was effortless. It took all of 5 minutes each time.
• Each flight leg arrived early, by 15-20 minutes (perhaps this is built into their strategy? Plan to take longer so customers will be pleasantly surprised when you’re “early”?)
• While there was no hula hooping, the flight attendants were very friendly, as if they actually liked their jobs. There were a few bits of humor thrown in that made the trip enjoyable. Oh, and check out Wendy Piersall’s flight. Her experience was a leetle bit different from mine…in a good way I think!
• Even though they didn’t offer a meal for my 5.5 hour flight (a bone I pick with all airlines) their snacks were more than just the old standby, peanuts (although why you thought peanuts would be cute to pass out at BlogWorld I will never know).

So now moving on to the fact that Southwest was a sponsor of BlogWorld. I’m always keen on large corporations sponsoring blog events. It shows that they understand that bloggers have a place in spreading the word about a given brand. I spoke to Brian Lusk at the booth, and he told me they have a blog written by people throughout the company. And indeed they do. Here’s a hilarious video from the winner of Southwest’s Ultimate Blog-O-Spondent Contest.

I’m happy to give two thumbs up to Southwest. Not only have you cornered the customer service market, you also are ahead of the flock in recognizing bloggers as a means to spread your message. Just like I did here!

Marketing is no longer about one source (a phone book ad, a commercial, etc) broadcasting to many. You know this as well as I do. You HATE when advertisers push their products at you. So why use that method?

Now it’s about an engaged, interactive conversation. Between you and me about the amazing restaurant at the Las Vegas airport. Between your customers about a particularly good (or bad) experience they’ve had with your product. So there’s conversation taking place regarding your business…why wouldn’t you want to join in?

I’ve been really on the fence about Twitter as a tool, but after BlogWorld (you feel like you’re in every session even if you’re not if you’re following the people who are there) and after meeting).

Jessica Smith, fellow Sparkplugger and Twitterer extraordinaire, I now get it. It’s a network of conversations. And not all about what people are doing. There’s a lot of great stuff about blog posts worth reading, new businesses, news, you name it. And that’s just one channel.

I also learned a lot about Facebook from Shama Hyder. While I’ve had a profile that I have used to connect to old friends, I’m now looking at it in a new light. One problem I have is understanding who my audience is. With tools like Facebook and Twitter, I will be interacting with them so directly, I’ll know what they ate for breakfast.

So I’m so excited about what I learned at the conference, and I plan on sharing it with you over the next few days/weeks (I have a lot of posts to churn out while they’re still rattling around in my head).

But what I want you to think about is:

• Are you throwing your marketing message at people? Are they receptive to it?
• Are there ways you can participate in conversations in your industry? If you’re not ready to jump into Facebook or Twitter, consider these baby steps:
  • Joining networking groups within your industry. But you have to PARTICIPATE for this to work.
  • Serving on an advisory board.
  • Proving yourself as an expert that others come to for information.

These are just a few ideas. But once you start one conversation, you’ll find it easier to get involved in more. If you get on Facebook I think you’ll find people encouraging you to get on Twitter (and vice versa).

For people like me who work at home, I think joining the conversation is twice as important. We tend to get disconnected, just by the fact that we don’t have a water cooler to stand around talking. If you don’t get out and go to trade shows or networking events, it’s even more important that you join a conversation online. And I think you’ll be surprised how that develops into new clients.