PR Buzz: Three Rules for Bloggers When Working with PR Agencies
Next month, I’ll be speaking on a panel at the Windy City Blogger Collective Conference about the best ways for bloggers to work with PR agencies (tickets for the event are on sale here). The conference schedule and fellow panelist lineup look amazing, and I’m so excited to speak about this topic. Sure, I feel confident about the subject matter, but my goal is to share real takeaways. Have you ever attended a conference with a panel that didn’t leave you with any tangible, helpful advice? It’s frustrating! With 12+ years in public relations, I have a lot to say on the subject, but I also know the importance of synthesizing talking points into relevant lessons. While I plan to share a lot more advice at the panel discussion, I thought that I might share a few initial insights.
Here are three rules for bloggers to keep in mind when working with PR agencies in 2016:
Rule #1: Numbers, Numbers, Numbers From unique visitors to pageviews per month, PR agencies value metrics. We leverage these numbers for client reporting, overall campaign measurements, etc. Please do not inflate your numbers on your media kit. Try to provide as accurate analytics – don’t just pull your best month’s numbers! Sure, you may get paid more money if your readership “appears higher,” but in the end, our clients can tell if your blog delivers results.
Rule #2: Meet Deadlines Deadlines matter. If the PR agency you’re working with doesn’t give you a deadline, make one! PR firms are accountable to their clients, which means we try to communicate any and all status updates. If you give us a deadline and miss it – we both look bad! It’s a lose-lose situation.
Rule #3: Get Creative Brands are looking to partner with bloggers in new and interesting ways – from being spokespeople for TV segments to creating content for their websites, there are countless cool and creative ways to partner beyond a traditional sponsored post.
We enjoy working with bloggers, and I hope that these rules will help bloggers bring greater value to brands and agencies in 2016.
Jenn Lake, Vice President