Big Up the Blog: The best ways to find and work with influential bloggers

Even though many may think that blogging has taken a back seat to other forms of online media, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Pumping out their never ending opinions into the online space, bloggers still make up an important part of many brands’ marketing campaigns. As networks change and evolve, the methods of working with bloggers change too. With ever rising popularity, bloggers have inevitably started mimicking each other, making it difficult to distinguish the truly influential users.

If you’re in the fashion industry, you probably already know that connecting with bloggers is a must. You may have also noticed that this mimicking and imitating is a common theme among fashion bloggers. WordPress, for instance, has made blogging as easy as taking sweets off a baby. With cameras, styles and designs all being shared, it takes a lot of diligence to find the right kind of influencer for your brand.

Remember – stats don’t lie. One of the most fruitful ways to conduct your search is to focus on the metrics. Look for positive trust and citation flows to find distinct differences between various types of bloggers. These stats will lift the curtain and allow you to see bloggers for who they truly are. It might take a bit of extra planning and effort, but the results are definitely worth it. You’re going to spend a lot of time developing and building a fruitful relationship with these guys, so it’s important to find the right ones.

A technique many marketers make in their pursuit of bloggers is create a huge list and fire away messages in a stock email. We’ll be honest – you’re wasting your time if you go down this road. Bloggers get hundreds of emails from brands and they can sniff out stock messages like a bloodhound. Instead, it’s definitely worth being direct, honest and authentic. Trust us when we say bloggers will be able to tell when you’re putting in the effort to speak to them. Build up some rapport and make some conversation to really nail that first impression.

Similarly to most online campaigns, setting out your goals is an essential part of blogger outreach. Put simply – if you don’t know what direction you’re going, it’s very easy to crash. Take some time out and sit down and think about what your goals are with this campaign, including who your ideal influencers would be. It could also be a specific product, specific tone or specific number of references. Also, if you can set some specific statistical aims, it’ll be much easier to quantify your whole campaign and see what needs changing for next time.

Ultimately, blogger outreach needs a bit more time and effort than traditional marketing if you’re going to get things right. Don’t be afraid of failing and always try experimenting – you might just strike gold.

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