Whether you’re launching a book or introducing a new app, plan to spend time researching and pitching bloggers who do product reviews.
Cision has published its list of the Top 50 New Product Review Bloggers, a great starting point. Authors and publishers, add to this list three more bloggers who review books::
- The Compulsive Reader published by Magdalena Ball.
- MyShelf.com published by Brenda Weeaks.
- New Book Review published by Carolyn Howard Johnson, who suggests this list.
But don’t just click on the name of a blog and start pitching. Take the time to research the blogger.
Here are 7 important tips.
1. Study the blog.
Read several posts to determine if the blog is a good fit with your product. You should be able to determine the blogger’s target market fairly quickly. Look for an “About” or “How to Pitch Me” or “Contact” page.
If you can’t find this, do a Google search. For example, I Googled “how to pitch the mommyhood chronicles“ which is Number 2 on Cision’s list. I found a very detailed page that explains her Product & Review Policy and her policy for offering giveaways. Skipping this step can cost you a review.
If the blog isn’t a good fit, move on.
2. As you’re reading the blog post, look for personal tidbits about the blogger.
Does she talk about her kids? Does she tell you the name of her dog? Does she mention where she went on vacation? Those are all valuable nuggets that you might be able to work into your pitch.
See my step-by-step instructions on How to find the name of a blogger’s dog, cat or kid in 60 seconds.
3. Write a short, succinct pitch that’s no longer than one screen of type.
Explain the product and the problem it solves. Don’t give all the details, only enough to see if the blogger is interested.
See an example and how Personal details in your pitch is your ticket to publicity.
4. If they’re interested, ship the product.
Don’t send ANYTHING unless you know they want it or you’ll be wasting time and money.
Email them to let them know when you have shipped the sample and ask them to let you know when they receive it.
Keep a detailed list of which bloggers you have pitched, and which ones you’ve shipped to.
5. If you don’t hear anything, follow up to see if they received the sample.
Things fall through the cracks on this end. That’s why I appreciate it when people follow up. But don’t follow up more than once.
6. Create a Google Alert for the name of your product.
Some bloggers who write reviews won’t necessarily take the time to send you the link. A Google alert will let you know who’s writing about you.
7. Thank the reviewer and share the link.
After the review is published, send a handwritten thank you note to the reviewer, even if it wasn’t a five-start review.
Also share the link to the review on the social media sites.
What tips can you add to this list? Has your product received decent reviews? If so, share the link here.
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Hi Joan!
Thank you for mentioning our list and for offering these detailed tips! #3 – keeping the pitch succinct – is a good idea for so many reasons, including that the writer will most likely read it on mobile.
Thank you again!
Best,
Lisa
Social Media Manager
Cision US
And thanks, Lisa, for mentioning one of the most important reasons–mobile–to keep the pitch short. Appreciate you stopping by. My Publicity Hounds love your list.
You’re very welcome, Joan! That list is one of our most popular – it’s an extra fun one to pull together because the bloggers love it as much as PR!
Have a great evening,
Lisa
Good tips, Joan. Certainly huge value in doing this right. One thing I would say is that I think Google Alerts are increasingly unreliable at picking stuff up. At this point I could do a plug for Inkybee which tracks blogs for outreach (and does a hell of a lot more), or another option that I use for real-time monitoring is Mention which is much more reliable and comprehensive across all platforms.
Hugh, I love Inkybee and I encouarage Publicity Hounds to sign up for the 30-day trial. Many are on on super-tight budgets, however, and might have to fall back on Google Alerts and Mention at https://en.mention.net/. By the way, I’ve heard Google was planning to eliminate Google Alerts.
I’d like to send you an e-mail Joan however my web browser won’t allow me to click on your link above and be connected. Could I get an e-mail address to send you a question. Thanks a ton
Sure, Diane. Send a question or questions to me at JStewart@PublicityHound.com. Glad to help.
Hello Joan,
Thanks for your ideas!
Perhaps I agree with your idea about mentioning some personal information i know about the blogger.
But for business writing, maybe it is better not to beat around the bush.
I will quickly delete a long email if I can’t understand its purpose in the first seconds.
Liu, the trick is for the person pitching to write one short sentence that catches the journalist’s attention, and follow it with the pitch. This is particularly helpful if you’re commenting directly on a personal fact that ties into the pitch, something that lets you know what they have cover. Example: Let’s say you’re pitching the editor of a small home improvement magazine. You read the “Letter from the Editor” in the front of the magazine and learn that the editor has a dog named Missy. You want to let her know about your new dog door. Your first sentence would let her know that you know about her dog and that as a dog owner, she and other readers might be interested in knowing about a home improvement that can keep pets and their owners a lot happier.