Here are five tips on how to work with PRs as a blogger:

1. Be aware of your exposure

A PR's role is to garner exposure for their clients. This exposure is measured when they receive a brand mention in a print, online or broadcast publication. PRs then measure the value based on an Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE) rate.

This is the value assigned to an article if the PR has paid for that advertising space. The exposure value needs to outweigh the value of the product by a minimum of 3:1. PRs are starting to look at other measurements such as reach and impressions, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.

2. Use the correct terminology

PRs often receive emails from bloggers asking for free product in exchange for a post. Rather call the deal a trade exchange as opposed to free product and break down how they will see the value.

For example, you could present a blog post exposing the PR to your 17 000 readers, an Instagram post exposing them to your 10 000 followers, with impressions of 89 000 a week, etc. Show the PR that you care as much about their client’s reputation as they do and that you aren’t just there for a free product.

3. Know your niche

PRs are regularly asked by bloggers why they weren’t invited to a specific media launch or used in a specific campaign. They then have to try and explain that just by looking at their blog and social media platforms, they can see that their niche and tonality are not a match for the brand.

If the brand in question is a beauty brand and the PR looks at their page and sees that their focus is parenting and food, there’s a clear disconnect. Don’t try and be everything to everyone. If you’re a parenting blogger, become an expert in that field.

When you do everything, you aren’t an expert in anything. It then becomes difficult to motivate to work with you as there’s uncertainty as to what your niche is and why your audience is following you.

4. Do not pass on your PR's contact details

It is illegal to distribute a person's contact details without their permission. You are part of the chain of publication for passing on PR contacts and can be prosecuted. Please don’t do it.

Trust me, the PR’s, social media managers and digital marketers are already receiving loads of DMs from bloggers asking to work with them. 

It takes years for PRs to build the relationships with the bloggers they frequently work with and to build that trust.

Therefore, you should show the brand you love them already and want to work with them by showing them that they can trust you. 

5. Be patient

Understand that while PRs love having a database of influencers that they can tap into, they really do love working with you. Clients often have very strict guidelines of how Prs select influencers, and what criteria they need to meet.

If you do not meet that criterion, they cannot put you forward for consideration as you will not be suitable for the campaign. Therefore, bloggers who have brands contacting them meet the brand's stringent criteria.

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