In my opinion, this is t
he most important part of being successful with press release campaigns. You need to start building up your network with important media contacts in your industry.
Journalists, writers, bloggers, industry leaders with a lot of Twitter followers — anyone who is a considered an authority in your field – should be contacted and cultivated.
This extra work can mean the difference between being ignored and getting picked up by the media. Sometimes you only need to be picked up by one ”right” person and the rest will follow.
There are different ways to start building relationships with media contacts:
a. If a writer published something about you or your company, always send a personal thank you note.
b. Follow them and other important key people in the industry on Twitter and engage in their conversations.
c. Give feedback and comment on their personal blogs.
d. Write custom-made content especially for that person’s niche.
e. Anytime you go to a seminar or a conference, find out what key media contacts will be there and try to meet them in person.
Send a personal thank you note
This one is truly a no brainer. With Google Alerts you can easily track who is writing about you or your company. Simply go to the page and find the writer or editor who wrote the article.
Once you have the name you can easily find their email address. Take a couple minutes of your time to send a personal thank you note through email. A lot of times you will get a positive email back.
You’ve now laid the foundation of a long and strong relationship with this person. I also would look this person up on Twitter and start following and engaging this person.
Follow key figures on Twitter
Start following important figures from your industry on Twitter. This is great way to not only connect and start interacting with them, but to get new ideas for your next press release.
If you do come up with a new idea for a press release, mention this person in your press release, something like: ”I came up with this idea after reading a tweet from <Key Figure>, who said …”
There are a lot of great tools out there that can help you find new, important and interesting people on Twitter. There are Twitter directories like www.twellow.com where you can search people by topic.
Use a service like www.tweetalarm.com to get notified every time someone tweets about you or your company. And believe me: you will see a lot of people retweeting your press release. A good way to build up more relationships is to send a reply back to each person thanking them for tweeting about you.
Give feedback and comment on key figures’ blogs
Use tools like www.alltop.com, www.technorati.com or blogsearch.google.com to find influential bloggers. These bloggers are worth connecting to and they also might be interested in writing about your news.
So how do you build up a relationship with them? Easy! Read their blog and give feedback on their blog posts. Make sure your responses are genuine and factual.
Don’t just say, “Hi, I love your blog” or some meaningless drivel like that. You’re not trying to flatter them, you’re trying to engage in the conversation and build yourself up as a credible source of information for their future blogs.
Write custom content
If you know a specific blogger is writing a lot about a specific niche, you’ll increase your chances of getting your next release being published by this blogger if your next release happens to be right up their alley. In fact, that’s the whole idea! Below is one of my custom press release for niche site I created for EBusiness Reviews which was picked by International Business Times.
Meet them in person
If you ever go to a seminar or conference, try to find out if one (or more) of your key figures also is attending. Make a point of meeting them in person. This is a very effective way to establish and build strong relationships.
What’s your opinion on building relationship with writers and editors?
About Bill Achola
Hey Bill,
Nice post and Thanks for sharing this post with us as building relations with other blogger is most important part of blogging and it really helps to make links with other and also helps to promote our blog.
Sudipto recently posted..best laptop in 40000
Great information, Bill. I’ve been looking to reach out to other popular bloggers in my niche lately and feel more confident after researching and finding helpful posts like this :)
Luis recently posted..6 Razones para tener una Tienda Virtual
Twitter: tasiagonsalvesb
says:
Hi Bill,
Just stumbled across your blog. This is great stuff! Thanks for the information.
Tasia Gonsalves-Barriero recently posted..SEO Fundamentals for Content Marketing
Twitter: QArea
says:
Hi! Awesome article! I like your suggestion .Commenting should be real and genuine . This will help you to know about the taste of the visitors . Ofcourse content should be real and unique. Thanks for sharring!
Nice post, The online business is all about making relationship and increasing your network. Sending a thanks note will really makes the relation better.
Anshu recently posted..Vodafone Internet Packs 2013 | GPRS Packs Plans 2013 Voda 2G | 3G
Yeah definitely! writers are the most important part of your website now a days as unique and fresh content has been very essential for Search Engine Optimization.
Twitter: Urbantemplates
says:
This is good stuff. A wedge from the conception to beings written about exists. But you are spot on with the graciousness, it’s always good to build and keep relationships. Keep up the great posts.
Twitter: ivanoakthorn
says:
Bill, another useful tactic I have found is proof reading. If you’re on someone’s site, and in the course of things you see something wrong, I find it’s usually appreciated if you point it out to them. I have started several good relationships this way. At the least, it gets a conversation started.
Ivan recently posted..Death at Work – Does Your Job or City Need 10 Safety Tips?
Twitter: Ajayudayagiri
says:
Great points!
Sending a personal thank you note can make the feel great of him self and he/she would be thankful to us in return. Moreover, giving positive replies to the comments can build insane relationship with writers.
Ajay recently posted..Cool Facebook Timeline Covers To Glamorize Your Wall
thanks a lot for the information..it’s a great idea,
here…i have found something usefull about Build Lists Faster with Video Marketing..
just click link below or Copy and Paste it on your Browser
http://www.slideshare.net/Mike_Marketer/build-your-lists-faster-than-ever
Twitter: blogrida
says:
hello Bill,
excellent! article ,we should have to develop a relation with writer because it take the blogger to a new range of success ,by making your writer happy it we help you to reach at the peak
thanks for your views
Twitter: prabhatrayal
says:
hello bill
nice article, and all the points and tips are good. sending a thanks you note and commenting on that article can help you build relationships. thanks for article
prabhat recently posted..BlackBerry 10 Released : Features and Specifications
Hello Bill,
This is indeed a nice post and straight forward is i must say. building relationship with your fellow niche blogger can really go a long way and it is proven to reduce one stress. Thanks
Babanature recently posted..10 SOLID WAYS OF GETTING 1500 VISITS PER DAY: TRAFFIC STUDY
Awesome!!!!!!!! i like your suggestion .Commenting should be real and genuine . This will help you to know about the taste of the visitors .We should take care of the content too. Content should be real and unique
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Twitter: princeerafe
says:
you really made your point on this article and i tell you that you are right, you can encourage your readers with survey or poll
bill thanks for this post and keep it up i love this blog
prince recently posted..HOW TO ADD FACEBOOK COMMENT TO A BLOGGER BLOG
Twitter: bill21430
says:
Thanks prince for the kind words, implement the actions and eventually you’ll will start to see the fruits of labour.
Twitter: ArdivJauhari
says:
This is a great post Bill, I am still new to the blogging world and always in the lookout to expand my network of influential bloggers. One method that has worked for me so far is to request for a guest blog, you just need to come up with a unique topic to write about that have not been covered a million times by other bloggers :)
Ardiv Jauhari recently posted..How To Market Yourself Like A Celebrity By Blogging
Having a good relation with my blog visitors is easy but to be social and accepted by influential bloggers or G+ profile players is hard.. Personal meet and thank notification are welcome traits to elevate to next level..Thank you!
Pranesh recently posted..Page Rank Update by Google – Feb 4 2013
I agree.
Some industries in small niches may have very few influential writers, who themselves, have found mutually-beneficial relationships with the bigger players and leave no room for the smaller fish in the pond.
But that doesn’t mean one should stop trying. Personal meet-ups and leaving lasting impressions can go a long way.
I always try to get in contact with the most influencing bloggers in my niche. Although in many cases I have failed to talk to them, I have still managed to get a few valuable advises from some of the top writers in my niche.
Thomas recently posted..Gazebo Building Plans
Twitter: bill21430
says:
Hey Thomas,to get the most contact with influencial bloggers, i would encourage if you can try asking them questions on how to do certain things within your niche and within a few months you will start to see results.
Bill recently posted..How to Trade For High Profits From the Inbox
Twitter: toughestblogger
says:
You really rocked it Bill, having a good relationship with readers is must and without any doubt readers are everything for a blogger. Without readers, no blog can stay alive.
Saqib Razzaq recently posted..14 Unusual Ways to Get New Blog Post Ideas
Twitter: bill21430
says:
Thanks Saqib, definately having a good relationship with top bloggers is the key to succes.
Bill recently posted..How to Trade For High Profits From the Inbox