How to Pitch Ideas to Bloggers In 2020
As bloggers become more established and popular within their niche, they start getting a lot of requests or pitches from people for different reasons. This can be a problem because the more high profile the blogger is, the more pitches he/she gets per day, and these can sometimes run into hundreds of emails every day.
Now, if you’re going to be sending a blogger outreach pitch to bloggers, you need to ensure that your approach is right. This is the only way your pitch can get you through the door and earn you the desired guest post spot; otherwise it might end up in the email trash bin.
Here are a couple of things to consider when pitching to bloggers.
1. Be a Commenter Before a Pitcher
Once you’ve identified your target blog, become a true and active member before you make contact with the owner of the blog. Be genuine in your interactions with other readers in the comments section. If you add value to conversations you’ll be quickly noticed and the other readers will start seeing you in a different light as someone with niche authority. Once you’re able to establish a genuine connection with the blog owner, then pitching your ideas becomes easier.
2. Get the Personal Details Correct
It’s usually a turn-off for people if you fail to address them by their correct name. It shows a lack of preparation. So, if you’re going to be pitching to a blog owner, get your facts right. Details like the blog owner’s name, the name of the blog, any content that you mention, and so on, must be correct.
3. Show You Actually Know Them
Building on the previous point, you need to go further than just knowing their name and a few other details. Having some more information about things like the content they posted recently, something that’s unique about them, or asking them a question that indicates you’ve researched them and you’re really interested in working with them, goes a long way in helping your cause.
4. Personalise Your Email
An auto-generated email or one without a personal touch shows a lack of thought. Blogging is a personal and interactive medium so you need to be the same in your approach. When you communicate with the blog owner, use their name, mention their blog, and one or two of their articles that you’ve read. Show that you’re talking directly to them and not just sending bulk emails to thousands of people.
5. Introduce Yourself
Never forget to introduce yourself. A quick introduction in your email stating who you are and what you do is just fine. And if you’ve interacted with the blog owner before, it might be worth reminding them.
6. Be Brief
Ensure that your email is not more than 2 to 3 paragraphs. It’s always best to go straight to the reason why you’re emailing in your second paragraph. Bloggers are very busy people, so long emails are a turn off which’ll probably land in the trash.
7. Keep It Simple
Don’t over-complicate things. Be as simple and straightforward as possible in your pitch.
8. Make the Benefits a High Point
Your pitch will have a higher chance of being successful if it’s going to be of benefit to the blogger you’re pitching to and their readers. So, clearly detail your pitch to include what you’re asking for, and how it will be of benefit to the blog owner, their blog, and so on.
9. If You Need to Call, Consider Time Zones
If you need to call the blog owner, check to see where they are and the time zone. It might be a weekend for them when you’re still within working hours. Take all these things into consideration when planning your pitch.
10. Research
Take your time to look around the blog to see if you’ll find answers to some of your questions. Check out the About page and the FAQ page, if they have one. If your question is related to a topic, check on the blog to see if they’ve written about it or answered similar questions to the ones you’re about to ask. Also, if you’re going to be pitching an idea of a story, check their archives to be sure that they’ve not written about the same thing already.
11. Don’t Be a Stalker
Persistently emailing someone over and over again within a short period to ask different questions can be annoying and tiring. If you have a lot of questions to ask, it’s best to collate all of them into one single email.
12. Be Persistent
As a follow up to the last point, don’t be a stalker, but then again, don’t give up quickly. You can send a reminder email to find out if they got the first email.
13. Stay on Topic
If you want to pitch story ideas, you won’t be helping yourself by pitching stories that are not relevant to bloggers. Stay on-topic and only send stories that are related to what they blog about.
14. Stay Away from Press Releases
If you have a press release it’s best not to send it. Preferably provide a link to where it is posted online so that the blogger can link to it or refer to it if they want to.
15. Mention Your Blog
Most bloggers automatically seek out other bloggers. Mention your blog in your pitch, if you have one, and if you don’t have a blog, what’s stopping you from getting one?
16. Be Polite and Well-Mannered
Making inconsiderate demands, having unnecessarily high expectations, and being too familiar can at times lead to people sending your pitch straight to the bin. Don’t be too pushy but don’t take being polite to the extreme. If you can find a middle ground, then there’s where you should be.
Phew! That’s quite a list! Clearly, including all of these points in your next pitch might be a tough ask. However, you should try to incorporate some of them.
If you have any ideas or tips to kickstart your blogger outreach, or would like to get to know more about our blogger outreach service, feel free to get in touch with us.