Category: Marketing How to Spam a Blogger
I was considering titling this “How to Spam a Blogger” instead of “How to Get Free Stuff for Blogging,” actually I will title it that;)
Okay, now you are wondering what this is a about. Lately, I have been very lucky that people think I have an influential opinion and want to give me things so I will talk about them. One blogger recently got an Aston Martin for a day. Scoble wants to chat with Steve Jobs and I hope he gets that too. I did when I worked at Intel and saw him in the parking lot;)
What’s this all about Noah? This post is how to send a blogger a “pitch”, free stuff or get them to write about your product. I LOVE getting free things and WILL always write about it if you send them to me.
I will always disclose that if someone sent me something free and then:
a) Give your product away to my readers
b) Write an honest review about your service which you may not like.
Here is my suggestion on how to get a reasonably popular blogger to listen to you and maybe talk about your post:
1- Read at least 3 articles on the blogger’s site.
2- If they have an about page make sure to read it.
3- Create an excel sheet:
a) blogger’s site name
b) blogger’s name
c) a snippet about a recent post by the blogger
d) something you can relate to personally to the blogger
4- Do Mailmerge. I can’t stand getting a generic email from people asking me for things.
5- Track the dates and follow up with people.
6- Here is the generic email template to use:
Hey (blogger ’s name),
I really (verb) your (site name) and have been reading it for (period of time). I really enjoyed (reference post) last week and definitely agree with you. I noticed we are both (insert relevance piece). I am working with (company name) and they made this (adjective) (product /service name) which I thought you may be interested in. I know getting unsolicited email really sucks and I am sorry to annoy you I just thought you may want to know. Check it out and let me know what you think about it.
Cheers,
(Your Name)
Ideally, you have a relationship with the right bloggers (in a relevant industry) because of time and make it a mutually beneficial relationship (you send them cool stories and they maybe help you one day). However, I am not saying using this strategy will get you talked about but it will make it more likely. The ultimate strategy is getting involved in the conversation, care about the industry, comment on other blogs, send useful articles to different people and people will want to write about things you have to say.
Now on to the free stuff for you. I received a new Dragon naturally speaking software V9 created by Nuance. Here is my assumption on what the company was thinking:
CEO: ” I read about blogging in the Wall Street Journal and we must get them those damn bloggers”
VP of Marketing: “Yes boss. I heard of this spectacular site called digg and know a great pr agency who can get us some great blog press.”
CEO: ” Go do it Thompson”
VP of Marketing: “Yes Sir” and now the VP of Marketing thinks back to which friend he knows who has heard of blogs.
Anyways, the pr firm that emailed me said I just have to post this link. Done. Click it if you want to learn more.
1 random commenters will get their own $99 version of the software. Dragon is speech recognition software so when you speak into a microphone it types it out for you.
Great work Thompson!
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Noah Kagan wrote How to Spam a Blogger on November 30th, 2006 and there are 14 comments. There will be one more after you add yours, though. Read more posts by Noah Kagan.
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14 Responses to “How to Spam a Blogger”
November 30th, 2006
4:03 pm
Great idea. I’m going to start doing this and if I use Google Spreadsheets I can look it up whenever I’m online. Any ideas on using a blog to pay for college?
November 30th, 2006
4:19 pm
Cool - Mad Libs for PR Hounds! If my son were playing it, he’d fill it in with all kinds of potty humor.
I also enjoy getting free stuff for review, though it’s mostly books and such. I figure it’s one of the perks of being a blogger writing for free. The social causes and other organizations trying to get me to write about them don’t generally have as much money as the tech companies, so I don’t get cool things like software. I agree with you on the personalization in the email being critical — if I feel like the person doing the pitching doesn’t have a clue about who I am or what I write about, they definitely get ignored. But if they establish at least a semblance of a relationship through common interests or intelligent comments on something I’ve written, I will be more likely to listen to what they have to say and write about them.
November 30th, 2006
4:34 pm
Hey Noah,
I really enjoy your okdork.com and have been reading it for 4 months. I really enjoyed the book review last week and definitely agree with you. I noticed we are both male. I am working with http://www.alphagolfclubs.com and they made this awesome golf driver which I thought you may be interested in. I know getting unsolicited email really sucks and I am sorry to annoy you I just thought you may want to know. Check it out and let me know what you think about it.
Cheers,
joe
November 30th, 2006
10:56 pm
I like the advice. BTW, where can I get one of those SPAM characters? Nice.
December 1st, 2006
2:14 am
I’ve been thinking, “How can I make a V-Log, while at the same time WRITING a regular blog or at least be able to tell my hearing impaired viewers to “Click here to read the transcript of this video blog.”
I bet this Naturally Speakig software offers me a solution for my problem!
December 1st, 2006
2:34 am
[...] Original post by Noah Kagan [...]
December 1st, 2006
12:14 pm
How to Spam a Blogger…
You’ve probably noticed the “Pinged and Referenced by DigBack “ on this website. DigBack is a cool program that lets you find other blogs posts of similar content to your own, and puts a link on those blog posts back to your blog posts, all u…
December 1st, 2006
1:13 pm
A little off topic, but a lot of vlogs have been complaining about not getting products for review, etc., but I think your two points are critical — so go give Kevin and Alex @ Diggnation some pointers, because it’s almost every episode they are complaining about how no one sends them products to review, but IMHO it’s painfully obvious why they don’t — it’s because they dogpile opinions on products without drawing a complete picture, positive or negative, and set themselves up as “the guys who will only fully talk about the stuff they personally like.”
December 1st, 2006
2:56 pm
I think the problem I face along with other people interested in marketing is we are impatient. We want immediate results, immediate feedback and other quick fixes. This goes along with most of the USA who want surgeries for losing weight, etc…
Ramit told me something smart a few months ago about marketing months before you need it….
December 3rd, 2006
1:04 pm
Did you actually try the software? Is it any good? Just curious because being a damn lousy typist, it actually might be of interest for me if it works half way decently…
December 4th, 2006
12:34 am
Good job Nedra. You won;)
December 4th, 2006
1:03 am
Very cool! Thanks, Noah. I have a friend with a learning disability who is trying to get her nonprofit off the ground and this could be a lifesaver for her! She can speak her thoughts coherently, but when she tries to type up an email or report, her fingers do not translate well from her brain to the computer.
December 4th, 2006
1:06 am
Nedra,
I emailed you already but I wanted to leave a comment on how freaking awesome you are!
April 23rd, 2007
11:29 am
[...] Welcome to Noah Kagan’s Okdork! I am really glad you found me. Don’t go just yet. If you’re killing time at work, enjoy marketing, online communities and other business things; then you are at the right place. You should check out my Okdork Virgin Guide to get started. If you like what you read why don’t you subscribe to RSS Feed? Thanks again for dropping by and I hope to see you soon! - NoahI wrote a post on how to pitch a blogger and recently I got pitched to meet someone that was so great I had to post it for everyone. [...]
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