A blog post is the most valuable catch of all for social marketers and public relations professionals.
But so few of them know how to actually reach out to bloggers. In fact, out of the hundreds of e-mails I’ve received from marketers as a blogger very, very few have hit the mark and moved me to action.
Unfortunately, most of the e-mails and the thousands of marketing dollars behind them are a waste of time and Inbox space. Like this post-Superbowl e-mail I received from “Brian” at Dove.
The e-mail asks me, the blogger, to share details of the new Dove Men + Care body wash launch with my readers.
In exchange they would love to send me free samples for my readers and I. He also offers me a free behind the scenes look at the Superbowl commercial filming.
I don’t expect you or anyone else to read the entire e-mail but I’m posting it here because I wanted you to take a look at the sheer length of this thing.
I loved the kicker at the end mentioning a “Maximum donation of $500,000. No purchase necessary.” I immediately sent this one to the trash then went on about my virtual day.
To avoid landing in my trash bin, here are a few tips on how to best reach out to bloggers via e-mail:
1. Give us a URL to click. Somewhere in your e-mail – you must, must, must include a link to a Web page, a video or a social media page. Ideally the link is custom designed just for us and details your offer. How easy would it have been for Dove to embed the video of their behind the scenes footage into that e-mail? Then, with the video at my fingertips I would have taken a second to watch and then maybe shared it with my Twitter followers, or better yet, my readers.
2. It better be good. If I do open your e-mail you should be offering my readers and I something other than a free body wash set. To find out what is of value to bloggers – just ask us. Use Twitter to hold an impromptu focus group or have your social media firm do some digging by asking their blogger friends.
3. Be completely transparent. Drop the corporate speak and be yourself. The most effective e-mails I receive from marketers are 100% authentic in that the marketer outs him or herself as working for Agency X and then lays the offer on the table. Everything else goes into the spam pile.
4. Be brief. Our time is precious, make the best of it by investing in a copywriter who can keep your e-mail down to 200 words or less.
Speaking of brief… that’s it for now. More tips as they come to mind and as more examples land in my Inbox. Or for immediate tips contact Cement Marketing to run your next blogger outreach campaign.