Two focuses of my blog are Blogging/Writing and Business/Entrepreneurship. When you start a blog, you have to think about ways to get your messaging out and expanding your reach. There’s a lot more to it than just having insightful and well-crafted pieces. The following contributed post is entitled, The Best Blogger Outreach Ideas.
* * *
Blogger outreach, sometimes known as influencer marketing, is when bloggers and businesses work together to create promotional content. In most cases, the business will provide the blogger with samples of products or services in return for a review, or offer as prizes in a giveaway hosted by the blogger. Sometimes both are done, to maximize the results. Blogger outreach can be an effective part of a digital strategy to build brand recognition.
Image – free for commercial use
The type of blogger outreach that you decide to do and that will work best for you will depend on your business, and there are lots of great options to choose from. You can manage your own blogger outreach, or you can work with a company like FATJOE who already has a list of contacts for you to work with, cutting a lot of work out for you!
Sponsored Posts
These are posts that you pay a blogger to write and publish, with mentions of and links to your brand. The amount a post like this will cost you will depend on the influence of the blogger, as well as the kind of post you want. Make sure you agree on terms beforehand.
Remember that the Advertising Standards Authority states that a blogger must always declare when they have been paid for a post, so they will need to use a clear disclaimer on the post you pay them for.
Product Reviews
Another option is to send out your products to bloggers in return for a review, whether in the form of a blog post, photos on social media, or videos. Remember that bloggers will not guarantee a positive review, so make sure whatever you send them is great, so that what they tell their followers about you is good.
Product Features
A product feature is similar to a review. However, instead of reviewing it, the blogger will feature your product as part of a larger post. For example, they might include your jewelry in a gift guide around Christmas time, or mention your walking shoes in a post about a hiking trip they’ve taken.
Giveaways
Giveaways can be incredibly effective for both the brand and the blogger. The brand provides the prize and the blogger will host the competition, which could be on their blog, YouTube channel, or social media channels. Giveaways are a great way to gain followers and exposure.
Blogger Events
If you prefer the idea of real-life to digital, then running a blogger event could be for you. You invite bloggers and other influencers to attend an event that will showcase your brand, such as launching a new product range, in exchange for them covering the event. This is a great way to boost your brand with coverage from a lot of bloggers at once.
You could create event hashtags to give you a clearer idea of what the return on investment is. Blogger events do take a lot of time and effort to organize, but the payoff can be well worth it.
