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Beautiful interior photographs by Twig Hutchison

{Editor’s Note – I have had Megan working with me for a few years now, and she’s pitched umpteen blogs for me – she knows her stuff! Do what she does and you’ll be well on your way to getting your work out there in the blogosphere! Jess}

One of my favorite ways to get press and market my creative business is to pitch blogs.

Now is the time to start polishing your pitching procedure so that you’re ready in October to share your holiday gift items with bloggers.  So today I thought I’d share my process with you to give you an idea of how easy it is!  Personally, I pitch one blog a day every other month to make sure my business is constantly getting the attention of customers.

Whether you’re pitching a guest post or a product, the steps are the same.

I start my pitching process by finding a blog!  I do a simple Google search (using the ‘blog’ setting to refine my look) for the topic I’m pitching.  If I’m looking to share my embroidery patterns, I search ’embroidery,’ ‘sewing,’ ‘crafting,’ etc.  I will also look through the blogs I’m already following and reading because I’ve probably commented a few times and built up a repertoire with them.

Then I have to decide if that blog is a good fit.  How do you know if a blog is a good fit?  I look for:

  • commenting readers
  • nice pictures
  • featured products or guest posts in the previous posts
  • regular updates
  • similar aesthetic to my business
  • they have the same target market (it’s not worth my time to pitch to a blog whose readers will not like my work)

If I feel the blog is a good fit, I will next look at the about page to get a better sense of the blogger.  Do I have anything in common with them I can mention in the pitch?  Is there a milestone they just celebrated that I can congratulate them on?  Most importantly, when I write my pitch, I want to make sure that I get across the point that I am helping them by giving them content.

This is what most makers are afraid of.

They feel that they are bothering bloggers.  But guess what?  The blogger’s job is to write up and share amazing content with their readers.  By sharing your work with them, you’re saving them time and energy!  You’re making their life easier!  Plus, you’re sending your readers and fans to their site as well because goodness knows if you get featured, you’re going to share it on social media.

So in your pitch, you want to send them a low-res image of your work along with a link back to your shop.  You want to explain why your work will make their readers happy.  Remember, it’s not about how this blogger can help you but how you can help the blogger and their readers.  Keep your pitch short and sweet.  Bloggers are busy and, like all of us, we tend to glaze over long emails.

Now it’s your turn!

Start small.  Pitch one blog a week.  See what happens.  Oh, and remember that October and November is the time to pitch bloggers for inclusion in their holiday gift guides and present posts.  If you wait until December, it’s far too late.

Bonus points: Look through the blogger’s list of links or sponsors.  You’re likely to find many more great blogs to pitch in there that fit your target market.

 

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