When bloggers ask for free products, be generous

When a blogger asks you for a free copy of your book, ebook, CD or other product, resist the urge to say, “If you want it bad enough, buy it.”

You wouldn’t say that to a journalist who called asking to review your book, or a music reviewer who called asking for your new CD to review, would you?

Jay Ehret of The Marketing Spot blog emailed me this afternoon asking if he could have a copy of my ebook “89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases” to review.

 Instead of saying yes immediately, I visited his blog, took a look around and liked what I saw. I concluded rather quickly that he’s the expert he claims he is and that his readers, who follow him for his small business marketing tips, are indeed part of my target audience. 

I was having problems with my email this afternoon so I called him instead and we chatted for a few minutes. Later, I sent him the ebook. He emailed me back and told me he wrote about me on Twitter:

“Press release tutorial. Free via email or buy the ebook. http://tinyurl.com/pwnu7 Just talked to the author, Joan Stewart. Super nice.”

He hadn’t even read the ebook yet and already he’s giving me publicity on Twitter. 

Even though most bloggers don’t view themselves as journalists, you need to pay them the same courtesies you would reporters, editors and broadcasters. In some cases, publicity generated by bloggers can be more powerful than publicity in the mainstream media because unlike the MSM, bloggers love to link to each other. (See “How to Pitch the Best Bloggers and Create a Publicity Explosion.”)     

By the way, I’m always super-impressed when bloggers take the time to call and introduce themselves. The same goes for potential joint venture partners. A telephone call lets me hear the enthusiasm in their voice (or not). Even after a short phone call, I feel like I’ve really connected with them.