Arbenting

By Blake Poutra

Have you been trying to contact a blogger and not able to get the end result you are looking for? There is definitely a right way and a wrong way to contact a blogger within your industry. I previously did a guest spot for Design Shard that covered the Top 10 Tips to Get Exposure from a Blogger and that was only half the story. Since I already covered the right things to do, it makes sense for me to follow up with what you shouldn’t do. The following list is 10 No-No’s When Contacting a Blogger:

1. Don’t insult the blogger.

If flattery goes a long way, then insults go even further…but in the wrong direction. Insulting a blogger can give them the opportunity shed negative light on you and/or your company in front of the same audience that you wanted to be featured in front of.

2. Don’t send a mass email.

This is a big pet peeve. Bloggers don’t want to regurgitate the same information as the rest of the blogging community and will avoid mass e-mails to ensure they don’t. By the way, mass e-mails are very easy to spot.

3. Watch your punctuation and grammar.

Sloppiness is a big turnoff. If I get e-mail that is poorly or hastily written, I’ll delete it without even finishing it.

4. Don’t insist on anything.

Be polite and ask for help or a review or opinion. If you get rejected, take the time to thank the blogger for the consideration.

5. Don’t get pushy or complain.

This one goes without saying. Beggers can’t be choosers. *Note, there is no shame in begging for exposure; it’s called hustling.

6. Don’t be a troll in the comments section.

Every blogger reads the comments and some consider that to be the pulse of their site. It is one thing to disagree and yet another to ALWAYS disagree. Picking apart a post that a blogger has spent a long time creating can leave a bad taste in their mouth.

7. Bring your A+ game.

Sometimes you only get one good shot. Provide examples of your best work, or best angle on a story. Second rate work or information is not worthy of the blogger’s time.

8. Don’t be irrelevant.

Make sure that the blogger you are pitching caters to your audience. Don’t go to a thimble collector and expect them to feature your design portfolio.

9. Don’t just opt me in to your marketing campaigns.

Don’t get me wrong, marketing lists certainly have their place on the Internet. But only when opted in, and not forced in.

10. Don’t contact me in a way that you wouldn’t want to be contacted.

Remember the golden rule. It works on the internet as much as it does in the real world.

Are you guilty of some of these gaffes? It’s not the end of the world if you are, just be aware that some of these could be the reason you aren’t getting the blog love.

About the Author

Blake Poutra works for You Design It, where you can design t-shirts online. He maintains a t-shirt design blog and is a fan of all things design.

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