Micah is a publicist who has worked in numerous industries from consumer electronics to private equity. He’s very big on using the bloggers as publicity tools. You can check out his company’s FeverPitch Media Blog or follow him on Twitter, or both!

I had spoken before about the benefits of reaching out to the bloggers and getting exposure for your business that way. But, now I want to talk about the best way to do it.

Traditionally, companies or their PR agencies call the media (or fax/email/whatever) and “pitch” them a story idea. The media knows the deal and knows why you are calling. They know you are “selling” them something. In my world, I sell stories. They don’t always love it, but 99% realize that it’s part of the game.

Well, bloggers are different and need to be approached differently. If you want to connect with the bloggers and get them to talk about you or your website or product or whatever, you can’t be a salesman. You need to be their friend.

Do not try to force things on them just to get them to post it. Think about them and their blog (you should really apply this to traditional media as well). What type of information do they like to talk about? Then think of the best way to package your information so that it’s of interest to them.

When I send something out to a blogger, I usually couch it with “I thought you might find this of interest for your blog.” And I really mean that. I want to come across as a friend or associate, not someone spamming them. Do not spam the bloggers, it’s a great way to get shunned. Send information that really might be of interest to them and they’ll see you as a helpful associate, not an obnoxious salesman.

I know all of this may sound obviously, but as a blogger myself, you wouldn’t believe the stupid stuff that I get sent to me.

Another good idea (and this applies to traditional media as well), is to send bloggers information that doesn’t benefit you at all. If you happen to see an interesting story on, say, dieting, send that to your diet blog contacts and let them know that it doesn’t have anything to do with you, but you thought it might be something they’d like. People appreciate this because it shows that you are thinking of them and their agenda, and not your own. This will make them more receptive the next time you do have something that benefits you.

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John Halderman writes about personal growth and online marketing , helping people take command of their income, personal growth and wellness. He is also on Twitter

Most of us start out alone in this online business endeavor. We spend hours studying and learning what to do – internet marketing, web page building, copy writing, advertising, business systems, SEO, article marketing, e-books, newsletters and more. Everyone we buy information from tells us that, “this is it” – this is how you do it, but it’s not – is it!

How true, if you haven’t figured it out yet, you soon will, there is more than one magic bullet that will launch you into instant success. Of course it takes information, methods, tools, effort, time and . . . good friends and associates. Yes, friends and associates. Second only to persistence this is how people become successful in this internet marketing game.

Let me explain a bit. If you study successful online marketers, you will discover that they don’t do it alone, not even the so-called ‘gurus’. They have found and associated with others who help with idea exchanging, tech support, mentoring, business association and masterminding. Successful people realize the power of associating with others. When you collaborate with others, everyone wins. Even if you are the one helping someone, you are building a relationship, which will become beneficial to you.

People can inspire, motivate and assist in ways you can not know until you are interacting. When going it all alone you can easily get stuck on something you don’t understand for a long time. This can stymie your motivation and progress. Having no where to turn for assistance and motivation. is one of the biggest reasons many people give up on their business development dreams.

So how do you locate other people to associate with? Well, this is just like creating any other friendship or relationship, you need to take an action first. Potential collaborators and partners are all around, you just need to let them know that you are. Now don’t run out there, find a well-known top marketer, walk up and ask them to do a deal with you.

Of course we all want to get hooked up with people who are already very successful to do business with, but stand back and take it from their perspective. They have probably been approached by many seeking to do a deal which is usually more one sided favoring the requestor. They are like most in business, they are already very busy with what they are already doing. And why would they drop everything for a project or joint venture with someone they don’t even know?

Now I’m not saying that you can’t make a business like request to someone to do a joint venture with, because you can, I’ve done it However, you need to make sure that you are offering the right kind of benefit to the people you are approaching. And, if doing business together works out and provides the other party with what they expected, you may have begun a good business relationship or even a friendship.

Many times though the people you want to associate with are real busy and hard to get in touch with so meeting them socially first may be the way to go. With all the social networking and blogging going on there are plenty of ways to begin interacting with many people. People will tend to do business more readily with people they know. You’ve heard the term, “old boys club”, well that’s friends doing business with friends and acquaintances.

So, how best to find people to interact with? Seek them out and let them know you are around.

Some ideas;
* Interact on blogs, leave comments,
* Interact on forums, make comments, ask questions, etc.,
* Operate your own blog and encourage interaction,
* Join social networking sites and interact,
* Join a coaching group and interact with everyone,
* Go to live training events and seminars and interact with people,
* Be helpful to others as often as you can,
* Offer bonus products that enhance what someone else is selling,
* Find out how you can assist with someone else’s promotion

. . . And more.

I’m sure you have some additional ways to find people and build relationships.

One important thing, don’t always be pimping your stuff all over the social networks, rather, first be social and helpful. The trick is to get to know people first. Sure, let them know what you are doing, but don’t push it on them. When you are building relationships is not the time for the big sales presentation, trying to get the other person to but into what you want.

Yes, relationship building can take time but this is how you really find people to associate with. And there are so many ways to do it, just choose the ones that you can fit into what you are doing. Set them up, set up a schedule for yourself to participate, and go!

So, how do you build relationships?
How do you give to others and provide value?

Together we can build up a nice resource list here.

. . . Add yours below.

John

Pictures ref:
upload.wikimedia.org
www.kids4peaceatlanta.org

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When I say press coverage, I don’t mean the opposite of giving a wide receiver a 12-yard cushion (sorry, my Eagles just played in the NFC Championship game and I’ve got football on the brain). I’m talking about media exposure for you, your product or your service on the internet.

I’ll be talking about this quite a bit and to start, let’s talk about the importance of connecting with the bloggers. So, why are the bloggers important?

Well, it’s pretty simple: the media landscape is changing and more and more people are getting their information from blogs, just like you are doing right now. I’m not knocking traditional media outlets like newspapers, magazines, radio and television, but let’s be honest, the media is shifting away from that.

The days of the two-newspaper cities are quickly coming to a close. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is in trouble, as is the Philadelphia Daily News. I’ve even read that the Old Gray Lady’s print edition is in serious peril.

I don’t think print is ever going to go away completely, but circulations are down and online readership is up.

Perfect example is the websites of newspapers. Newspapers aren’t stupid, they know the deal. Go to your city newspaper’s website and I guarantee you will see blogs. The Wall St. Journal, USA Today, NY Times, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer…they all have blogs. They know that blogs are just too fast with the information and that people won’t wait until tomorrow morning’s newspaper.

Like I said before, I’m a Philadelphia Eagles fan. By reading blogs online, I know that Brian Westbrook missed practice at 3:30 PM on Thursday. Why would I wait to read the same thing in Friday morning’s Inquirer? I wouldn’t, nobody would. Blogs have the news faster than anyone, and that’s a big reason why people read them.

Sure, bloggers will never completely take over. Traditional journalists are held to credibility and accountability standards that most bloggers aren’t. But, there are more than enough bloggers who have that “street cred” and the number of them who have it is only going to grow. It’s very important to recognize the PR importance of blogs for you and your business. You need to reach out to them in order to maximize your company’s exposure.

Next time we’ll talk about the best way to reach out to those bloggers and get them to write about you.