LI: PR Opportunities: Which Ones Should You Take?

As a blogger with a niche, you get many opportunities to work with tons of brands with tons of perks. But, that does not mean that every offer is a good offer.

This post is all about choosing the right opportunity for you and the direction/focus of your blog/brand.

FIGURING OUT YOUR FOCUS

As a blogger, I think it is important to know your audience based on knowing where your focus area is. This area will be a bit wider for Lifestyle Bloggers, of course, and more focused for those with very specific blogging topics.

I am a Lifestyle Blogger, for those of you who don’t know. This means that I blog about a wide variety of topics. But, I have pretty much found my stride in posts about mental health, travel, makeup, fitness (coming soon), fashion, relationships, food, and books (of course).

So, any PR Requests sent to my blog’s email are usually, but not always, focused on these areas. With the exception of travel, simply because getting travel PR Requests is a HUGE deal because they’re paying for you and one other person to travel somewhere and blog about it. You have to be one of the best to get this type of chance (one day 😚).

WHAT TO DO WITH THE PR REQUESTS

For the PR Requests that you intend to accept, it is best to dive right into the research. For me, as a blogger of color, I have to check for a number of things before choosing to work with a particular company simply because I do not want to make it appear as though I support someone’s bad choices or beliefs.

After I conduct research on that, I look deeper into the product: what materials were used to create the product; how was the product produced; where is the product normally retailed; and the list goes on.

If these things check out, then I look at the package deal that the company/person is offering. Sometimes the offer is something that seems overly burdensome to the blogger, so it is best to check that the request is something that you, based on your ability and schedule, can do.

After checking all of these things, I’d say, go for it!

But let’s discuss the PR Requests that you are not taking:

For these PR Requests, it’s best to write/send a very nice “thank you, but no thank you” letter. This is you actually acknowledging that you’ve received said opportunity and that you are appreciative of the company even sending it to you.

This is just a common curtesy that you definitely do not have to do, but that you should do.

GOING TO THEM VS. THEM COMING TO YOU

Now, for the bloggers who are just finding their way in this world, it is so appealing to reach out to companies in the hopes of working with them.

A lot of the times, however, you are so excited about potentially teaming up that you send that request to any and every company that will even listen to you. Now, as a new blogger (I have no clue how long I will consider myself a new blogger) you may have to go the Reach Out Route as opposed to being the one who is getting the emailed opportunities and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But, you should still be aware of who you are reaching out to, how you should properly approach them, and what they are about.

In going to the company, be sure to present yourself and your brand well: (1) prepare a formal letter/request, (2) link your site, (3) give a brief blurb/bio about yourself and your blog (DA, site views, etc.), and (4) make an offer (you have to know what your work is worth in order to do this).

THE DOWNFALL TO IT ALL

The biggest downfall that I see with blogging here in the States is that blogging is not as big here as it is in the U.K.

Now, a lot of my readers are housed in the U.K. and some of them even blog. The overseas audience seems to be more interested in zoning out at the nearest scenic coffee shop and reading — books and blogs. It seems like people in the States would rather go places to geotag and take/post pictures. We don’t really live in moments here, we live for the moments that get us the most likes.

So, although blogging is dope when done “right” (whatever that means), I want to see more than just gossip blogs make it in the States. I want to see more blogging conferences where we all come together in the States. I want to see more support for bloggers and between bloggers on this side of the pond. I’m so ready for blog conferences guys, let’s get it going!

As much as this seems like a downfall, it may also turn itself into an opportunity. 😉

So, I hope that this was helpful to those of you just trying to make a dollar off of your Creative! Be sure to hit the like, or comment button and let me know what you think!