Why Bloggers Need to Engage in Public Relations

by Carol Bryant

Are bloggers also Public Relations gurus? If you don’t consider yourself a PR maven, the start of October might be a good time to reexamine that line of thinking.

At our core, pet bloggers need to do their own PR. You might even be doing this already: Spreading the word on social media, ensuring your social media buttons are in place so blog posts are “shareable” and perhaps you pay attention to your Google rankings, analytics, and where you stand on Technorati. Here are some ways public relations have a direct impact on pet bloggers, including some resources for further PR usage:

According to U.S. Pet Market Outlook 2012-2013, “The U.S. pet market has yet to come fully into its own.” For pet bloggers, the sky’s the limit. “Pet parenting, and the ensconcement of pets as members of the family, is more than just a trend. It is a long term societal shift, favoring even greater spending in the pet market for years to come,” emphasizes MarketWatch and the U.S. Pet Market Outlook.”

Pet bloggers will continue to escalate as a go-to resource for information, health and wellness news, and if the latest product to hit the pet market is indded the greatest (or not). So with all of these consumers clamoring for the best information, how can you ensure your pet blog is found in an ever-expansive network of bloggers?

Mashable is one of my favorite go-to resources for social media information. Here is one of their many brilliant posts: A PR Pro’s Guide to Blogging.

You know those PR pitches that hit your inbox quite frequently? Are you sending out press releases and/or networking with others in the industry from a pet blogging perspective? Why not pitch yourself and make others aware of your blog? The folks at Constant Constant have a great primer on getting the blog word out.

Are you networking with fellow pet bloggers in the BlogPaws Community? BlogPaws is a Community of like minded, passionate pet bloggers, helping one another expand our networks and achieve our online goals. One of our hottest blogging groups is the Blog Talk forum. Join in and learn from others and share your own ideas.

Blog the News: One blog post I recently read went as far as suggesting that companies can stop press releases in lieu of news blogging for their particular industry. Though I do not completely agree, there is merit in a well-informed news style post and establishing oneself as an industry expert.

Pitch Mainstream Media: Take a blog post and make it a broader based more traditional pitch idea for other media.  Start with a pitch letter. A pitch letter to a magazine editor is very similar to a blog post. A pitch letter is exactly what it sounds like it would be: a letter personally written to individual journalists, writers, or editors (and more recently website owners and bloggers) that pitches a specific story idea to them for coverage. Here are some pitching tips for entrepreneurs, and after all, as pet bloggers, that’s what we are.

Are there any particular PR tips that have worked for you? Do you consider Public Relations one of the many ways you promote your blog?

 

 

 

Comments

[Wagthedoguk]

Great article and the points are true. It should be something make time for and check what works and what needs grooming.

[Robbi]

Crucial information for bloggers that want to get their names known and become seen as experts in their niche market. Also, if you're not your own PR firm, who will be?

[HutchAGoodLife]

Interesting post. I do wonder how you find your market though and how you make your blog stand out against all those others? (I'm talking more dog and cat blogs than guinea pigs because guinea pigs is a very small market!) How do you go about contacting people and what do you have to offer them?

Amy
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