Blogging Basics: How PR Chooses Who To Work With

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Last week in my blogging basics series, we talked about how to reach out to PR companies and the thoughts around bloggers being paid.  The comment section turned into an amazing lot of information, too.  So, be sure to go back to that post if you haven’t read it.

This week, I am continuing with the questions that some of my PR contacts and some mommy bloggers answered for me.  To me, this is a great look into their minds.

How do you choose who to work with or who to continue working with?

I like this question and love some of the answers.  I know that some bloggers have been mad lately because they feel like PR companies are picking favorites… well, of course they are!  Just like I pick favorites!  You find the same companies on my blog over and over because I really like working with the companies, respect their mission, and LOVE their PR people.  The companies feel the same way with the bloggers… they work with the same bloggers over and over for basically the same reasons.  Then, they pass that bloggers info on to other PR folks they know. Kelli – 3 Boys and a Dog

1. Correct spelling and grammar are key!  If I pass along a review to the client that has mistakes it looks terrible for the blogger and for my company. –Lauren @ ASAP Public Relations
2. Someone who treats me and my client professionally. You may not like the product I send you, and you have every right to give it an honest review, but just be professional. – Darlene Chan
3. There are many different factors but usually it depends on the interaction and communication between us and more importantly, if my readers enjoy the product/service! - Amy @ Marvelous Mommy
4. Is it something I think my readers would be interested in?  Is the PR person reasonable, and are the terms fair?  If you want to review my review before it goes live, I bow out.  If you want the item back, no dice.  But if you want a fair review, warts and all, and are pleasant to deal with, I will probably want to work with you. – Stephanie @ Information Central

What is the ideal product review from your perspective?

The difference in attitudes on this one amazes me.  Everyone out there is looking for something different.  learn what the PR companies like and deliver that OR deliver what your readers want and hope the correct PR companies for you contact you. In my opinion (as a consumer who reads reviews online before buying) a great review has a few details about a product including features, twitter, facebook, links, etc, but also the blogger’s opinion and an honest disclaimer.  I really don’t care if you got paid for the review if I can tell it is an honest review and you tell me that you received some compensation for it! Pictures and/or video are nice, but not a requirement for me. Kelli – 3 Boys and a Dog

1. Details on the product, images and links back to the brand’s site. –Lauren @ ASAP Public Relations
2. A great product review is a thorough product review. That means don’t simply cut and paste a press release – that’s not exciting to read. Showcase how the product intersects with you and/or your family’s life and make it personal. I also think including a lot of great photos and visuals – even video makes the review more exciting. Brands also love a shout out to their Facebook/Twitter profiles as well. – Marie @ Team Mom
3. When I see a review and blogger has done and I see some personal notes, pictures and get the feeling that they are genuine when speaking about our products…that goes a long way, not just for us but for the reader as well. Anyone can copy and paste from our website but making it personal says a lot. – Trina @ Happy Family Brands
4. Honest and genuine – whether good or bad. Our brand is all about personal self-expression, so we love seeing personal photos and stories of how a blogger (or her family) utilizes our product. April @ Carolina Pad
5. The ideal product review is one that shares information and opinions on the product from both a parent’s and child’s viewpoints. It is thought out and highlights what the blogger thinks of the product. It does not primarily consist of information one can find on our websites or in our emails to the blogger (although it is completely fine for this to be part of it). It gives readers a reason to go check out the product or company if they are interested, either because of a giveaway or through links. Jennifer @ Knowledge Adventure

How important are stats to you?

Again, there is some varying opinions on this one.  Since starting my Media Kit Design business, I have been able to see this one from a PR perspective.  Unfortunately, stats to me are mighty important.  Obviously, I want to put my product I the hands of the person who is going to get it the most exposure.  That means the person with the highest page views.  On the other hand, if I am looking more for backlinks then the stats don’t matter as much to me.  Kelli – 3 Boys and a Dog

1. Very important.  Unique Visitors and traffic show a client how many people will actually read the review.  If a blogger has 5 visitors a month, it is not very PR newsworthy.–Lauren @ ASAP Public Relations
2. I know lots of PR folks that won’t work with a blogger with less than a specific # of followers.  That’s silly to me.  I will work with a brand new blogger if they reach out to me, and I will work with a blogging veteran… it totally depends upon their blog and what they are offering to their followers, whether 10 or 10,000 of them!  Fact is a brand new blogger might only have 10 followers, but if their posts are great and interesting, that won’t be the case for long, and then I can say, “oh yeah, I knew her way back when she first started!” –Denise @ Simple Green
3. They are somewhat important but if I see a blogger that their stats are not the best but their blog reflects an organic lifestyle and seems genuine then I will give them the opportunity to work with us.  – Trina @ Happy Family Brands
4. Important, but not the only factor. We want to see that a review drives some type of action, so there is never one stat that is more important than another – it’s the big picture. – April @ Carolina Pad
5. Stats are somewhat important to us. We also put a tiny bit of weight on how many giveaway entries a blogger gets on a review to determine whether or not we would like to work with that blogger again. However, we will give almost any blogger with a legitimate interest in our products a chance and will continue to work with them if they prove to be good to work with.  Jennifer @ Knowledge Adventure

Credits:

1. Jennifer @ Knowledge Adventure oversees blogger relations for the JumpStart and Math Blaster brands. She has worked with hundreds of bloggers and maintains the JumpStart and Math Blaster blogs.  If you would like to work with Knowledge Adventure, you need to fill out this Blogger Form.
2. April Whitlock, Director of Brand Management at Carolina Pad – the industry leader in fashion school, office and organization products. If you would like to work with Carolina Pad, contact Sara Erwin, our Partnership Associate atserwin@carolinapad.com and complete our online form.
3. Amy @ Marvelous Mommy has been blogging since June 2009. She is a motivated, dedicated blogger and mother with a talent for writing! Marvelous Mommy was recently voted site of the month at rantsnrascals.com and is rapidly gaining many new followers!
4. Denise Dochnahl Marketing Specialist & Blogger PR Manager at Simple Green. Happy to have new bloggers contact me – ddochnahl@simplegreen.com!!
5. Lauren Busch Singer is president of ASAP Public Relations, a company specializing in cyber publicity for children’s products, fashion, lifestyle, entertainment and eco-friendly companies.  She has worked in the Public Relations industry for nearly 20 years and has extensive background in securing coverage and exposure for all of her clients.  For further information, you can contact Lauren at Lauren@asapprod.com.
6. Darlene Chan is a book publicist specializing in web PR for authors. She has placed authors’ work on many blogs that target on a specific readership. Darlene also books public appearance, guest blogs and giveaways for her authors. Her client list includes authors Monica Holloway, Elizabeth Brundage, Daniel H. Wilson and Laura Shumaker. She can be reached at dchanwork@gmail.com.
7. Marie Baker Social Media Director from Child’s Play Communications/Team Mom. She has worked with numerous campaigns connecting brands with bloggers. As a blogger herself she has the upmost respect for how time consuming and hard bloggers work.   You can feel free to have bloggers reach out to me at mb@childsplaypr.com.
8. Trina O’Boyle is a Social Media Editor at Happy Family Brands. Bloggers can contact her at trina@happyfamilybrands.com
9. Stephanie at Information Central is a freelance writer, author, photographer, garden blogger, and woodworker.  She would love to work with garden oriented brands as she works to bring information on best practices in vegetable gardening to her audience.

Stay tuned for next week’s Blogging Basics post when we will see what being a Brand Ambassador means across the board.

Feedback time!  How do you feel about the above responses?  Agree?  Disagree?  Do you find it helpful?

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