Wondering how PR works when it comes to wedding blogs, including what promotion is available to you for free and what you can expect to pay for? Here’s what to keep in mind when allocating your time and budget, as well as a roundup of easy pitching pitfalls to avoid.
First of all, what exactly is PR?
Public relations is often thought of as a way of “getting free promotion”, but PR is really about finding the best way to communicate with different audiences to build a positive brand image for your business.
What will wedding blogs publish for free?
All reputable bloggers feature weddings, styled shoots and sometimes article submissions for free. Bloggers are prepared to invest the time in packaging and promoting this content because it’s mutually beneficial, resulting in fresh content for their readers and an opportunity for you to showcase your brand.
What is considered paid content and why?
Anything with a sole focus on business promotion falls into the paid category. If you’re intending to land clients with your content, it’s essentially an ad for your business, and bloggers will expect compensation for time spent editing and marketing these types of posts.
What if I hire a PR professional?
Hiring a PR team to pursue free promotional opportunities can be a cost effective way to gain exposure, but only if the right kind of content is created. Some blogs will still choose not to publish this kind of content without a sponsored post fee.
What are the most common reasons requests are turned down by bloggers?
– Sending a generic email to multiple platforms at once.
– Not personalising your message with the name of the publication or editor.
– Submitting content that doesn’t align with the tone, style and readership of the platform.
– Sending a time-sensitive request only a day or two before your event – most blogs pre-schedule their content at least a few weeks in advance.
– Requesting a promotional post about your product free of charge, or offering a product voucher in lieu of payment.
– Offering an exposure exchange (“you promote us and we’ll promote you”) in lieu of payment.
– Sending messages that are just too vague (e.g. “Let’s collaborate”) – it’s important to be clear about what you would like to do.
– Requesting “dofollow” links within paid content – this goes against Google’s policies.
– Asking for sponsored posts to not be disclosed as such – this goes against ACCC guidelines.
So, what is a good strategy?
We’re definitely not saying that mainstream PR strategies can’t be effective in the right context, but wedding blogs often run differently to more traditional media outlets and so need a different approach. It’s all about creating partnerships which benefit both the publisher and the brand!