This is an excellent presentation from GasPedal’s Word of Mouth Supergenius class, “How to Work With Bloggers and Influencers,” by Virginia Miracle (what a name – almost as good as Ryan Money!). I get a lot of questions about this topic and I always say – that is an entire presentation of its own. Well, now you have that presentation.

First, I want to warn you that working with bloggers is high touch. We’re opinionated as a group and can be egotistical (who else would keep it up?). We’re very active – in the top 10-20% of people online who are actively engaged in blogging and often active on multiple social networking sites.

They [influencers] want to talk to you, the brand, directly not to your PR agency. “You cannot just outsource working with influencers. It does not work. It will fail.”

Just like with any campaign, press release or blog post you should start with defining what you want from the effort. What are your goals? Is it to promote an event or campaign? Get feedback? Increase visibility? Say thank you to your best customers?

Next define what the bloggers might want from the effort. Do they like working with brands? Some really want to, others have no interest. Are they open to your message? If you’re Kraft and they are Whole Foods devotees it might not be a good match. This is really time consuming – there are tools to help but unless it’s a group you know well (for instance I know a lot of Utah bloggers) then it’s tough. The good news is if you find one you’ll often be able to find another (we hang out together). You find one blogger who fits and you can follow the links in their sidebar to their friends. Or look (do a targeted search on search.twitter.com) to see who they write to on Facebook or Twitter.

What can you offer them? It can be anything from fame to recognition with their peers (I think these are often overlooked as motivators). It may be a giveaway or free product. Some bloggers just want to be paid (this can evolve over time as a blogger has gotten more popular).

Remember that even though writing may be what we love to do, it takes time to write a good post. For example, my previous post took over 2 hours and I could’ve written for another 2 hours. It takes a lot of mental effort to write. If you add photos, video, etc. it could even take more. If you ask them to review your book, that is several hours of work to read, think about and write about your book. Even as an author I’m aware of what I’m asking when I request a review so I am very grateful when people actually take the time. I will link to them, comment, put it on my site, etc.

Be aware that this is a long-term relationship with a lot of give and take along the way. If you’re not up for that just pay for what you need (consulting, a post, a product review, advertising, etc).

Here’s the presentation:

How to Work With Bloggers and Influencers — presented by Virginia Miracle from GasPedal on Vimeo.

I was looking over my blog stats for the year – wow when I got spammed my traffic was hurt and it has never recovered. Also, Twitter has taken the place of blogging for me (not sure if that’s a good thing). When I don’t blog as often my traffic drops dramatically.

Here’s why I think blogging is still important – because blogs are referral engines. In fact, Companies with blogs generate 67% more referrals online than those w/o blogs according to @Hubspot research.

Speaking of blogs as referral engines, not only your own blog, but links from other people’s blogs are. Especially from influencers. Case in point: I got more visits to my web site from one buried mention of my blog on the Pioneer Woman blog than I did all year from Twitter (with several thousand followers and active participation). Our audiences are so different I’m not sure I got any repeat visitors from the link, but it illustrates the point.

There are several blogs who have sent me a lot of traffic – and most are people I know in real life or locals (live in Utah). This underscores how important networking with people locally is. Personal relationships matter A LOT. Unless you travel and go to conferences meeting people where you live is important. I got away from that at first and now as my topics are more competitive I try to make it more focused on Utah again where its less crowded.

Here’s my theory on Twitter: it’s like Google News, people scan the headlines but rarely click through. With my audience I notice people don’t click through to read my posts on Twitter, they keep it on Twitter. Do you notice that? There is a huge range in this from my experimenting with Sponsored Tweets.

Google organic searches are my #1 referral source and search engines send me the most traffic overall. This validates what I teach about SEO and I’m not trying to rank for keywords. I didn’t have products to sell. I write because I want to and I’m more focused on writing than keywords. In other words it’s more pleasure than business.

Random Facts about my Blog Traffic

• I get a lot more traffic from StumbleUpon than I expected.

• Bing is in the top 10 referrers and so is Facebook.

• Yahoo is not far behind and after that AOL.

• I’m surprised that Blogcatalog gives me that much traffic.

• # of referrals from ezinearticles: 13

What are the main sources of traffic for your blog?

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• 5 Tips for Using Sponsored Tweets (newspapergrl.com)

When I coach clients at OrangeSoda one of the things I tell them is to be specific. A part of that advice is to use a descriptive title for your blog post. Many times people use either clever or generic titles. General titles are boring. Clever titles often lose people. Read the title of your blog post to yourself. If it could apply to almost any topic or any business, then you need to re-write it.

Search engines don’t take people to the home page of your blog every time. They deliver information out of context. This is good because if someone is searching for a hotel in Connecticut to spend Valentine’s Day then your blog post might pop up. They type in “city, Connecticut hotel” and hopefully your blog post shows up high on the list, they find you and give you a call. I’ve seen blog posts about a business come up higher than the official web site for the business.

Each blog post is its own entry into search engines — its own web page. Some people write as if we know who they are and what they do. Chances are we don’t. And that we don’t care enough to find out (unless we have or you give us a reason to).

Why is it important to use descriptive blog post titles?

• A descriptive blog post title is good for SEO.
  Search engines try to categorize information for searchers who are looking for information. If your title is too vague then a search engine may not know what it’s about. They might index it incorrectly (or not at all). The title of your blog post is one of THE MOST IMPORTANT aspects of blogging when it comes to SEO. Don’t ruin the chance to get more targeted information into search engines by writing a descriptive title to your blog posts.
• A descriptive blog post title tells the reader what they are going to learn about.
  Readers want to know what they’re getting and make split second decisions on what to read. If you make them think too hard then you’ve probably lost them. Don’t just tell us what it’s about – sell it a little. Your goal is to make people want to keep reading. The more they read the higher the chances are that they will care or trust you enough to call you, comment, or participate in some way. And if they do that, chances are higher that they’ll become a customer, regular reader, etc.
• A descriptive blog post title helps people.
  When you write descriptive blog post titles it helps people get what they are looking for. They appreciate that. Most likely they are not reading your blog post, they are skimming over it to see if there’s any reason for them to read more. If you tell them what they’re going to get up front, they can judge if they found what they were looking for. Don’t make us hunt for it. Cut down on frustration and time people must spend to figure out what your blog post is about by saying it up front in the title.

Example of a Vague Blog Post Title:

This blog post is titled: It’s Not Too Late!

If you read that you’re first question is – not too late for what? To learn to play the violin? To tell that special someone we love them? To lose 20 lbs. before the next class reunion?

After reading further I found out that the blog is a local business – a hotel. It’s based in Connecticut and it’s called Interlaken – at least that’s what I think. Nothing on the blog really tells me who they are – I’m unsure if the blog is about things you can do in a certain city or the name of the hotel. But I’ll assume it’s the name of the hotel.

The first paragraph is vague too: Valentine’s weekend is here, and we do have a few rooms still available, so no worries – just give us a call and we can still take care of you!  (1-800-222-2909).

New Version of the Blog Post

Here’s the new title: It’s Not Too Late to Plan a Romantic Valentine’s Day Getaway in __ Connecticut

Valentine’s weekend is almost here. If you live near by or are visiting (city name) Connecticut we invite you to stop by the Interlaken hotel. Not only do we still have some rooms available, we have many Valentine’s Day packages for a last minute getaway. Surprise the person you love, celebrate and spend time together. Just give us a call — and we will take care of you!  (1-800-222-2909).

P.S. My next tip would be – use paragraphs in your blog posts! and Links! But that’s another blogging tip. This one is just about the title.

Have any examples of great blog post titles? Please put them in the comments (along with a link).

I learned from Scott Cowley on Twitter that my blog post was nominated for a SEMMY Award. There are 3 posts in the reputation management category to vote on – including mine. Please go and vote! While you’re there check out all of the great content and vote in the other categories.

The post is on Small Business Trends site. Anita Campbell is great to work with and wrote the forward to my book. So I’m honored to be associated with her and happy to be nominated. Yes, if I had the time this would make a good press release. It will have to be a blog post though. If I win it will be a press release

Naturally now that it’s nominated I wish I’d put more pictures in the post – it’s something I need to work on anyway. I’m trying to add more video and graphics but it’s mostly a time issue – plus I’m such a reader that I forget that aspect. Even after all of this time.

The SEMMYS are an annual awards event that started in 2008. Purpose: to honor the great content produced across the search and online marketing industry.

Categories include:
blogging, social media, reputation management, etc.

SEMMYS.org was developed by:

Just because it’s not as in vogue to blog as it once was, doesn’t mean that blogging is dead or dying. In fact, it’s as important as ever. Here are some recent studies that clearly show that blogging is still an important marketing tool.

If you don’t blog, pitch stories good and relevant stories to bloggers (who often need content).

3 studies about blogging to consider:

1. Companies who blog get more traffic, links and pages indexed by search engines

Out of 1,531 HubSpot customers (mostly small- and medium-sized businesses) 795 of the businesses blog, 736 don’t.

Companies that blog have far better marketing results. Specifically, the average company that blogs has:
• 55% more visitors
• 97% more inbound links
• 434% more indexed pages

To extend the benefit add these elements – a recipe for an effective small business blog.

Source: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5014/Study-Shows-Small-Businesses-That-Blog-Get-55-More-Website-Visitors.aspx

2. Bloggers get more followers on Twitter

A new study of 2,100 HubSpot customers reveals that companies that blog have 79% more Twitter followers than those that don’t.

Source: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5459/Small-Businesses-That-Blog-Have-102-More-Twitter-Followers.aspx

3. Blogs trusted and consulted more often than traditional media. Shift away from traditional media to blogs/social networks continues

This survey is from tech savvy women (who blog) but is useful. Women use social networks and blogs to interact, be entertained and find information about brands. Study finds they are twice as likely to use blogs over social networking sites as a trusted source of information.

45% of survey respondents stated that they decided to purchase an item after reading about it on a blog.

Source: http://www.blogher.com/blogher-finds-women-online-twice-likely-use-blogs-over-social-networking-sites-trusted-source-inform

Blogging should be a part of your pr/online marketing plans.

Whenever I go on a trip I subscribe to Problogger on my Kindle and then write blog posts and “to do” lists based on what I learn. This time it’s about one of my favorite topics, which is blogger PR.

Cirque Du Soleil – the offbeat circus/acrobatic show was smart. They teamed up with bloggers who were in town (Vegas) for Blog World this year. They invited 250 bloggers to see a show and then blog about it.

They point out that bloggers tend to give a lot of detail about the experience of watching one of their shows. The emotions and feelings, not just the facts. And a lot of bloggers, if they are really happy are also on Twitter, Facebook and other social sites. So you can get coverage on many different networks.

Benefits of Blogger PR

• Exposure to new audiences on each blog + any social sites the bloggers post to.
• Some bloggers post video and pictures from the show or event. This means more exposure.
• Search engine optimization benefits – blog posts tend to do well in search engine and come up when someone searches for your business or product name.
• Reviews – get honest feedback from bloggers about your product or service – bloggers tend to be great at this and are usually savvy and have strong opinions.

Payment and the FTC Guidelines
Most of the time it’s a trade – the bloggers don’t get paid but they don’t have to buy tickets. As of this year, bloggers must disclose that they were compensated (or got free products), per FTC rules. They have to Bloggers will find the positive to say about the experience, but the better it is the more raves there are. If by chance it’s a bad experience, bloggers usually won’t write anything at all. There’s not really a point in writing a bad review unless you need to warn your audience.

Why Hire a Blogger or Consultant for PR
You either have someone on staff who has strong relationships with bloggers or hire someone who does. This is important – if you email people who don’t know you and you don’t know the culture – most likely your request will be ignored. Unless you’re a big name or the offer is incredible. Bloggers should be treated like partners and not as employees.

I’ve been told, we can email the bloggers ourselves, why do we need to pay you to do it for us? Because the bloggers know my name and don’t know yours. I’ve been there for the behind-the-scenes talking between bloggers who get random emails from people they don’t know who act like they know them. Unlikely you’ll get a good response. And even if people come, part of the event is making sure the bloggers get the right information in a timely way and in formats they want them in.

In 2009 I participated or organized blogger PR. This was new to me until this year and I hope to do more in 2010. Here’s the list of events.

• Communal – a new restaurant opened in Provo Utah and invited about 20 bloggers to come for lunch and try it out. It was amazing and I’d go back even more if it were closer. Best new restaurant of 2009. I helped organize this.
• Grand America Hotel Spa escape. I joined 5 other bloggers for a night and a day at this beautiful and opulent hotel in Salt Lake City Utah. I was the organizer.
• Goldsmith Jewelers – Another Utah company who invited 30 or so bloggers to try a new line of bracelets. They did an excellent job and got a lot of buzz. Jyl organized this.
• Social Media Retreat – April invited several local bloggers to try out her favorite products and enjoy some time outdoors. This was a great event because it included a lot of Utah bloggers of all types, which isn’t always possible.
• The Melting Pot in Salt Lake City invited bloggers for some fondue. Jyl organized this.

Another highlight of the year was seeing Julie & Julia with a group of bloggers (we paid). I think that bookstores who bring in authors and movie theaters should do more blogger PR. I thought of doing a project for an orthodontist but I chickened out because I’m afraid of having to wear braces. This month I’m going to a cooking class with April to learn about making chocolate.

I’m using blogger my online PR book and DVD. I’ve gotten some great reviews and hope for more exposure to new audiences this year.

Yesterday I spoke to a group of Utah event and meeting professionals. I used this graph to show that meeting pros were using social media to promote their events.

I also learned that if you’re an event pro, this is the Twitter hashtag to use to share information on Twitter: #eventprofs

Meetings & Conventions Magazine did a survey to find out how meeting pros use social media. They are using what I call the big 3: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Ways meeting pros are using social media include:

post event information
post postevent photographs & materials
researching suppliers
researching speakers
reseraching potential employees
seeking jobs

I propose that more meeting professionals seek to have bloggers attend and participate in their events. Why? Because of the links, traffic to your web site and buzz it can create for your events.

Make your events “blogger friendly” – meaning

1. Invite bloggers and treat them like VIPs.
2. Have a special section for bloggers (we like hanging out with each other).
3. Make sure there are enough plugs (for their computers, etc).
4. Make wifi easy and accessible.
5. If you have a blog be sure to link to their posts about the event.
6. Create a hashtag about the event so people can label their tweets and everyone can see them by using the same label.

Case in point (a rather dramatic one):

I recently attended an event at a local bookstore with famous blogger The Pioneer Woman. She’s a publishing sensation because her first cookbook made the NY Times bestseller list (here’s the NY Times article about Ree Drummond)Thank to her blog she had thousands of people willing to stand in line to meet her at bookstores all over the country. Some people waited over 5 hours to see her.

I blogged about the event. So did a lot of other bloggers (Like Carina and Allison. She linked to our posts). We linked to each other’s posts. I continue to get thousands of readers to my blog as a result of those new links.

Why did we get all of this traffic and attention (and is it deserved)? Because we blogged about an event that had a lot of uzz. I think the fact that we did it quickly (right after the event) and our posts got linked to. We’d all be linking to their book store too.

I’m not trying to beat up this store – I actually want independent bookstores to survive. Blogging is part of that because getting written up on a respected blog will introduce readers to new authors, get more people to your store, bring new people to your events, etc.

What if the event planner of this event (the bookstore) had done what we did? Every time they bring in a big name they could let bloggers know and invite them to a reception with the author. You get a famous librarian, you invite the librarian bloggers to attend. They write about the event and probably buy books and their audience buys books. You could even grease the wheels and have a copy for them and a few signed copies for them to give away on their blog.

Even if you’re not drawing social media extroverts like this group is, a blog is often well-respected by search engines and even one link can introduce you to new networks and higher rankings.

Think of how you might engage with bloggers with your events. Don’t leave it up to chance. Invite them. Think of it as media coverage that’s much easier to get than the traditional outlets.

The FTC has a deadline for bloggers to disclose when they get payment or free product or services. Starting December 1, they’re watching for paid endorsements online.  So when a blogger does a review they must disclose that the product was free or that they were paid to write about a product.

Violators can be subject to fines of $11,000 per violation but the FTC says the focus is on educating not fining people.

We all know that anyone can say anything online without a lot of scrutiny. For most of the mom bloggers I know they won’t leave a negative review or they’ll just opt out of writing about something they don’t like. So the reviews are positive. They have built the trust of their readers so there is little incentive to ruin that by marketing products that their readers won’t like or by lying about the benefits.

Now all we need to do is state that we’re being compensated.

I published 12 tips for finding something to blog about, here are more.

1. Summarize other people’s popular blog posts (like I did with Problogger’s). Bonus if there are a lot of comments or it’s a well-known blog.
2. Read comments on a post you like – that is how I discover many new tools and learn the most! Then I blog about what I discovered knowing most people don’t read past the first few comments.
3. If you take the time to comment on another person’s blog, turn that into a blog post and link to their post.
4. If you tweet about something it can often be expanded into a blog post.
5. If you bookmark something it can often be written about in a blog post.
6. Get ideas from email newsletters. They often don’t tweet about the content. You can blog about the great content or examples you read about.

I hope you get the idea that almost anything that you’re doing to promote your business online can turn into a blog post. I have to remind myself about this.

What inspires you to write a blog post? How do you remember to do it all?

Problogger‘s blog had a post about how to get your new blog indexed. I’m going to summarize it for you and me. These are taken from the post and comments. Create a “to do” list or hire someone to add your blog to these sites, preferably with keywords that identify what your blog is about.

• Get a link from an established blog. You could email and ask a related blog or hit up your blogging friends.
• Tell Google (I haven’t tested this, some say you shouldn’t have to or that this penalizes you. My guess is that it’s a good thing but you should test it).
• Add your site to webmaster tools like Google Webmaster Central and Yahoo Site Explorer
• Create a lens about your blog on Squidoo.
• Create an account at these blog communities: MyBlogLog, BlogCatalog, Blogged and NetworkedBlogs and note that you get your own URL for the page you create. Also, for sure get listed on blog search engine Technorati.
• Register with sites that give the “value” of your blog:  WebsiteOutlook, StatBrain, CubeStat, WebTrafficAgents, BuiltWith, WhoIs, QuarkBase, URLfan and AboutTheDomain
• Create a profile for your blog on social sites like Twitter, Delicious, StumbleUpon, on Facebook, etc. There are huge lists of social networking sites where you can create a profile and usually get a unique URL.
• Keep track of all of your URLs and link to them on your Google Profile page. I need to update mine.
• Sign up for ChangeDetection that logs when your site changes (and essentially creates new content about your site). Sites like pingler ping search engines when you change your blog.
• Add your blog to LinkedIn and make sure to change the wording of the link from “My Blog” to a keyword phrase like “Press Release blog“