Thus spake Mark Evans – tongue firmly in cheek and successfully getting his final laugh of the night as he leaped from the podium at Third Tuesday last week.
Mark is a journalist-turned-blogger. He left newspaper writing at a surprising time in his career as a youthful but highly regarded senior tech reporter for the National Post. Today he is a pure blogger at online start-up b5media. When I heard about his move, Web one-point-oh words like bubble, start-up, VC, dot com and uh-oh crashed into my brain. But things seem to be going well for him.
Ably hosted by Michael O’Connor Clarke on the beery Third Tuesday Toronto stage last week, here are three lessons Mark gave to PR people who want to pitch bloggers on story ideas, products, etc.
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Familiarize yourself their style, tone and interests first, just as you would with journalists.
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Build relationships. Start with a couple of bloggers who you know and trust. Get involved in the blogosphere before pitching. (Couldn’t agree more. It seems to run counter to the spirit of the blogosphere to write an occasional blog, or to pitch bloggers, when you don't read or comment on other blogs).
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Simply ask if they're interested before pitching. Most bloggers want attention; they check their stats frequently. Odds are they will say yes, send me stuff, and you’ve established friendly grounds just through the ask.
All common sense for a by-the-book PR type, but it’s good to hear it validated from someone with Mark’s unique perspective. I asked his opinion on free media passes for bloggers at paid events. I’m not satisfied I’ve found the answer yet. I manage media relations for an annual event of 1,500 participants and 80 journalists. The event has grown over five years only because of the wonderful bloggers who understand the sense of humour with which the event was created. Every year we have bloggers show up requesting free media passes. We’re at limited capacity and the event relies on ticket sales. How can one ethically decide which bloggers are allowed in?
Mark clearly respects organizations that incorporate blog relations appropriately into their communications strategy. It was one of the more enjoyable presentations I’ve seen at any social media event in the last year - partially because he was so accessible. Thanks again Joe and Terry for another great TTT.