Blog this!
Paid content, sponsored posts and brand ambassadorships – in theory, today’s blogger can be just as valuable to brands as mainstream media. But does blogger outreach actually work? In an article that first appeared in Encore, Nic Christensen investigates.
“I get approaches from PR companies constantly,” says blogger and author Kerri Sackville, with more than a hint of exasperation. “I have never done a sponsored blog, on my own site, but that doesn’t stop them from asking.”
“There’s also the things you get asked to review. ‘Dear Kerri, we know your readers would be fascinated to read about this latest line of cleaning products.’ Really? Because I don’t think they would be,” she says.
A prominent blogger, Sackville is increasingly inundated with requests from public relations firms performing what is known as ‘blogger outreach’, the tactic of approaching bloggers on behalf of leading brands that are eager to advertise to large online audiences.
Interesting that Fellt was not mentioned in this article. But then, this is an article about disclosure, so…
““We are definitely seeing some blogs which are nothing but paid posts and you have to question, is that the essence of blogging?”
That’s magazines essentially.
Thank you for writing this post, Nic. I personally think blogger outreach is something that needs to be taught from actual bloggers themselves. I wrote a book specifically to educate businesses and PRs how bloggers work and how they wish to communicate with businesses. While agencies are definitely helping to broker paid opportunities between businesses and bloggers, there are few who are doing a solid job at truly integrating a client with the bloggers own story.
I think you have missed an important business in this piece and that is Creative Jack Management. Not only is it run by a professional who has mastered all aspects of online and campaign management in her corporate role, but Dana is also a blogger in her own right so she actually understands how to integrate, how to pitch and how to bring campaigns to life that doesn’t make the blogger look or feel like a sell-out. For the majority of bloggers, appearing to their readers to be a sell-out is one of the biggest concerns.
I would definitely like to see a follow up to this article.
Blogs are hard work. Few blogs break through the billions of web pages to grab and hold your eye. Almost everyone has a blog. A tiny number make money.