As part of the recent Australian Beauty Bloggers Weekend, beautydirectory held a seminar to help advise bloggers on working with PRs. The seminar began with managing director Jackie Maxted discussing her top ten tips on building PR relationships and what is expected from both the bloggers and the PRs when it comes to product reviews and events. While not all bloggers wish to be professional bloggers”, it never hurts to know how to interact with other people that are a part of the same industry. We take a look at Maxted’s top tips on blogger/PR relationships.
1. PR people are marketing and communication professionals and they are there to help you, so approach them with friendly respect. You will generally find that they would like to talk to you.
2. If you are invited to an event, make sure you RSVP. It’s fine to say you can’t make it (and if that’s the case, maybe ask for the information/press kit to be sent to you) but don’t say you will be attending and then not show. If an emergency arises and you can’t attend, let the event organisers know as soon as you can.
3. Allow the positive human relationship between you and a PR person to evolve and grow. PRs are often friendly and approachable people - that is their job - and it will be beneficial to both of you if this is reciprocated. It might be a good idea to select a few PR agencies with brands that suit your blog and style. Work to create and develop relationships with these PRs first.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask for an invitation to a launch event or a media briefing, but be prepared that the answer might be yes or no! It might be a good idea once you have heard about an event that has happened, to contact the PR person and explain what benefit you could have given the client had you been there - this may encourage an invitation next time. You will probably need to justify why you feel an invitation is appropriate (the size of your audience, the demographic, a particular blog/feature you are writing) and be prepared to prove statistics from Google Analytics or something similar.
5. Ask for a product if you would like to try it - but be aware that PRs have budgets for product samples and they are charged with the responsibility of using that budget professionally and appropriately. Like point 4 above - have a good reason, and like Point 4 above, the answer could be no. If you do mention a product or brand, you will help to enhance the relationship by sending the appropriate link to the PR so they can see what you have written.
6. Be prepared to talk about your blog in a professional snapshot”. This means having key bullet point information about your blog (brief biography, the purpose and philosophy, the beauty content - how often you write about beauty and the angles you cover) as well as site metrics which include audience, page views, time on site, loyalty etc. Ideally your blogger media kit” will contain proof of traffic alongside the metrics (a screen grab of the Google Analytics page).
7. If you receive an unsolicited product and press release from a PR there is no obligation for you to write about that product. Some PR people will call you to find out if you received it, whether you plan to write about it and when. Don’t feel hassled or obliged. It is highly unprofessional to hound and pester and you do not have to respond to this. If you didn’t like the product and do not want to recommend it to your followers, you are not obliged to do so. If you have time, communicate your honest response to the PR if/when they call, but also maybe explain why and take the time to give your feedback. This can be very useful to the PR in going back to their brand to talk about the campaign results. Also it is not unreasonable to expect that a PR person should have read and understood your blog and its contents before sending anything to you.
8. PRs build relationships because they want something from you! Ideally they would like you to write a positive review about their product or brand. Be aware that if you receive products and attend events, this is the start of a professional working relationship between the two of you and that this comes with a responsibility to act professionally. There is an etiquette that goes along with this - observe the beauty editors who have been doing this for some time and follow the code. Listen carefully to presentations, make notes, ask appropriate questions, don’t take anything from the event unless it is personally handed to you and its always good to thank the host for having you (especially if you would like to be there next time!).
9. Maintaining a good working relationship with a PR agency does not mean that you can’t write anything negative about a product or brand. The best way to do that is to communicate your honest product experience and discuss how that might be handled. Sometimes a negative review in the right context might be better than no mention at all - sometimes it can be better to say nothing. Most importantly, if you want to maintain the integrity of your blog and your readers’ interest you will need to maintain your authentic voice. If you become too hampered by expectations of brands and PRs, your blogging will lose this.
10. Sometimes you won’t be invited to events, sometimes you won’t be given products and sometimes brands PRs won’t even find the time to talk to you. PR budgets and its resources are limited and they need to choose where to focus their time and effort best, on behalf of the brand and where they see critical audiences. They have the right to include you or not. It’s not personal – it’s about spend and reach!
Some simple administrative tips - if you can only receive packages at a certain time or you would like them to use a special address, let the PR person know. This can also be included in your beautydirectory entry. Similarly if you have a job and are only able to talk at certain times of the day or week informing the PR of your general availability (or unavailability) will prove beneficial. Along similar lines, let them know how you like information and images to be supplied - file sizes, style, type of info you are looking for is always relevant to pass on to the PR and will save them time and resources.
