Are you thinking of approaching bloggers to feature your work but not sure how to got about it? A while back I wrote some general advice on things to remember when pitching to the press and wanted to expand on that for pitching bloggers in particular.

Being featured on a popular blog can send much needed traffic to your website or shop. It’s also a great way to raise awareness of your brand with the people who matter, your target market.

Here are my top 5 tips for pitching to bloggers:

1) Research, research, research

Never send a pitch without doing your research first. Read through the blog you want to pitch to and make sure it’s a blog your target market read. Read through the archives especially the categories that your shop or product would fall into.

Look out for submission guidelines, the bloggers name and contact details. Find out as much as you can beforehand so you don’t waste what could be your only opportunity to make a good impression. Yes, research is time consuming, but to get the best results it is worth it.

2) Personalise it

We all know by now that sending mass emails is a no-no but often people forget this applies to pitching to bloggers too. Sending a mass mailout to your media contact list is not only inadvisable but also against the law. You can’t add someone to a mailing list without their permission, no exceptions. Instead send your emails one at a time, make it personal, offer an introduction to talk about your work and take it from there. Bloggers will appreciate the time it took for you to write something meaningful and personal to them.

3) Keep it simple

You don’t have to write an essay. A simple introduction to your work, why you are different and why the blogger should care is enough. High traffic blogs get sent masses of email a day so the blog editor will likely skim read your email and make a quick decision. Write a simple but interesting subject line and get straight to the point.

4) Be selective

Choose your wish list of blogs that you think would be the best fit and email them first. Think quality over quantity. Be selective in choosing only the best blogs that aim at your target audience. There is no point wasting time emailing blogs that your target market do not read even if they are your favourite.

5) Remember your point of difference

It is imperative you know what makes your products different from your competitors. You need to be able to sum it up in a few words and get the point across quickly when sending out pitch emails. Bloggers will want to know why they should feature you over someone else. Why should they care about another handmade business? Make sure you remember to tell them.

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Have you tried pitching to bloggers? Did you get any success?