The *business* of software
Advice on "pitching" to bloggers?
Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone has any tips for how to "pitch" a new product to bloggers? Do you just send a press release to them or is it better to write a personalized email for each one?
What I'm trying to do with the pitch is to get them interested enough in the product to write about it, hopefully after trying it themselves. (But still, even a post mentioning the product and saying "this looks interesting" would be nice...)
Do I just say something like "hey, here's our new product. I thought you may be interested in it because it ..." and let them decide whether to write about it or review it themselves, or should I specifically come out and ask for a write up?
Any tips on formatting and/or content? I assume that it's best to "get to the point" as soon as possible, and to keep the email brief.
I was thinking of keeping the email really brief by starting it with a short introduction and then a listing a few of the main features/benefits of the product... I'd supplement the brevity by including some links to more information.
Any thoughts, suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. This will be my first time doing this sort of thing.
Thank you very much,
Michael
I was wondering if anyone has any tips for how to "pitch" a new product to bloggers? Do you just send a press release to them or is it better to write a personalized email for each one?
What I'm trying to do with the pitch is to get them interested enough in the product to write about it, hopefully after trying it themselves. (But still, even a post mentioning the product and saying "this looks interesting" would be nice...)
Do I just say something like "hey, here's our new product. I thought you may be interested in it because it ..." and let them decide whether to write about it or review it themselves, or should I specifically come out and ask for a write up?
Any tips on formatting and/or content? I assume that it's best to "get to the point" as soon as possible, and to keep the email brief.
I was thinking of keeping the email really brief by starting it with a short introduction and then a listing a few of the main features/benefits of the product... I'd supplement the brevity by including some links to more information.
Any thoughts, suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. This will be my first time doing this sort of thing.
Thank you very much,
Michael
Views: 3
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Neil Davidson on -
Michael,
Good question!
I suspect that people just delete press releases. I don't think an overt pitch would go down well either - big name bloggers probably get hundreds of unsolicited requests. People are often surprisingly helpful, but an out and out request for a product review probably wouldn't succeed.
If I were you, I'd try a couple of lines "Thought you might like xxx because yyy. Here's the link: zzzz.I know you're busy, so no need to reply". If you can customise it so it's clear that you know who you're writing too, and your e-mail is appropriate, and aren't just spamming people then even better.
Here's an interesting blog post too:
http://www.joshwhitford.com/2008/08/06/how-to-contact-a-famous-person/
- Neil
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Permalink Reply by Michael P on -
Hi Neil,
Thank you for the prompt response and good advice! I remember reading now that it's actually a good idea to pitch to the "smaller" bloggers at first, since the big-name bloggers often get their news from the slightly-lesser-known bloggers anyway.
Short and sweet sounds good, that's probably how I'll end up doing it...
Thanks for the link too, that's an interesting story with some useful advice (and good advice from Warren Buffet as well)!
Thanks again,
Michael
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Permalink Reply by David Locke on
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If you are trying to reach bloggers specifically, then does your product complements blog software? Otherwise, I'd guess you are trying to evanglize technical enthusiasts (geeks) that you suspect are blogging? They won't pay for software, but they would be interested if it is different, and I don't mean better, faster, or cheaper. Is it differentiated at the technology, product, or feature level?
The best way to reach bloggers is to blog. To blog effectively is to find related blogs, leave comments, links, and trackbacks to your blog. All of your comments and blog posts need to evangelize those things that you yourself believe about your software, except better, faster, cheaper--nobody believes those claims. Paint a picture of what can be done with your software that has never been done before. Don't pitch the product, pitch the world enabled by the product. What can I now do that I could never do? Or, is it just better, faster, cheaper? Is it software somebody else already sells?
If you want money, find a client. That would be an economic buyer, with an appropriate authority level. They don't blog typically.
Congrats on your progress to date.
David
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Permalink Reply by David Locke on
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Keep in mind that geeks hate marketing claims, so don't make any. Get them to download your product without pitching your product.
Say something like, PKJ v 0.4 is now available at your_link. We improved x, and z if you've been using v 0.3.
Or maybe you can extend a beta test invite. Free only works if you have exit barriers, so I hope you're not SaaS.
David
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Permalink Reply by Cranky Product Manager on -
As a blogger who frequently gets pitched but hardly ever bites, here's the Cranky Product Manager's advice:
0. No press releases unless it is a blog completely devoted to your company's products. The Cranky PM automatically deletes each and every press release she gets.
1. Read their blog for a few days first and see what they are about. Convince yourself, at least, that your announcement would be a good fit.
2. Write to them, opening with "I love your blog, especially your post on XXXX." Bloggers are, if nothing, a craven, praise-seeking bunch. Appeal to their massive egos. They'll know you're doing it, but still like it anyway.
3. Remember: the blogger wants to increase his/her traffic and number of subscribers. Explain why your offer will help the blogger achieve those goals.
4. Explain WHY you think their audience would be interested in your announcement. Maybe in a format he/she can directly cut/paste into a post.
6. Consider sweetening the deal for that blog's readers -- offer them an extra-long trial, a free ebook, a special preview, a raffle entry for free passes to the next user conference.
7. Consider sweetening the deal for that blog's author. Bloggers are often looking for material / stories. Offer up someone for them to interview (if it fits with that blog), link to their blog from YOUR company's blogs, take out an ad on their site, send them passes to your next user conference, treat them like they are a bona-fide member of the media and invite them to special press days, ....
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Permalink Reply by Mike Morris on -
Michael,
Version 1 of my product will be coming out shortly (~2 months) and I have also thought about this as a means of generating some buzz and giving the launch a kick start. The product is targeted towards developers/dbas/qa folks. In the spirit of the uISV mantra "keeping it simple", I think I'm going to do the following:
1) Reach out to those bloggers and podcasters who I regularly read/listen to and send them link to download along with a complimentary license key.
2) I will not do step #1 until I have at least one or two quality screencasts on my site that illustrate the value proposition of my software (some quality screenshots as well). The rationale here is, these are busy folks who are probably inundated daily with lot's of email and other communications. Downloading software, installing it and trying it requires some effort. Watching a one minute screencasts and/or viewing some screenshots has a lot less friction..... and will hopefully lead to a download.
3) Will not patronize these folks in any way..... I know I wouldn't want this. The message will simply be, "Hey, here's some software I think you might find interesting. If so, maybe you could give it a mention in your blog/podcast/screencast."
Mike
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Permalink Reply by Michael P on
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Thank you all, very much, for taking the time to write up such helpful responses. This is excellent advice, and has given me some more ideas on what to write, and what to avoid.
Thanks again, I truly appreciate it.
Michael
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Widman on -
I intern/write for TechCrunchIT, and cross-post really important stuff to TechCrunch.
(TechCrunch is the top tech/business blog in the world.)
I also write a personal thinking blog, and am in the midst of launching a topical podcast.
My thoughts:
It's my job to find stuff relevant to my audience and walk them through why it might be important for them.
Sending me a press release does work--especially if I can write an interesting story by combining several news items.
And I do want to write about you. I just lack time.
So help me out. Be concise, be relevant to my audience, and be interesting to human beings.
Doing a little background research on me is very useful--not because I want to be flattered, but because it signals you care about not wasting my time (the less time per post, the more posts for my readers). Show me you understand this game, and I'll give you more attention.
Also--for embargoed news that other blogs might write about--if you give me explicit permission to post before anyone else--then I'm more likely to write about you. (This is mostly for news blogs.)
There's a great video of Mike Arrington talking at Stanford Startup School on how to pitch bloggers.
I'd say for me, the optimum e-mail length is two paragraphs with a very clear subject line. Any more and I start to tune out. Any less and you're forcing me to follow links/ask you questions--and I don't have time.
Note: all of this pertains to a news oriented blog. Topical/niche blogs are going to be far more specific.
FYI--I rarely get pitched directly by companies--mostly by PR agencies.
It's NOT HARD to distinguish yourself with a different style--even if your content is basically the same.
Remember, just as you're looking for press, I'm looking for interesting news.
So go ahead--pitch me. (Mention at the top of your e-mail that you're a part of the BOS Ning group and I'll give it a more thorough reading.)
I'd appreciate your comments on this.
I'm very much still learning what types of tech/business news actually solves your problems (rather than adding to the noise).
--
Jeff Widman
(401) 217-4327 | jeffw@techcrunch.com
jeffwidman.com | twitter.com/jeffwidman
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Permalink Reply by Justin James on -
As a "blogger" over on TechRepublic, I can tell you what works on me, and that is just about anything. I have had companies approach me with custom-crafter emails, comments on my blog, generic press releases - anything. And it all works. I read all of my email and comments to my blog carefully (indeed, I turned off all spam filters for the reason that these contacts often get caught by them). If you make contact with me, I will respond. And for most of the companies that have pitched stuff to me, I end up watching a demo at the very least on nearly all of it. Some of the most interesting companies and products that I looked at were ones that I almost didn't, based on their press release or initial email to me. I am glad that I follow up on everything. One good thing about using a PR firm instead of doing it all yourself, is that good PR people build a rapport with the bloggers they've worked with, their email doesn't get spam filtered, and so on.
In fact, I am rather shocked by how few PR firms work like this. There are a few PR firms that have my name and number, and as a result, their clients get really good coverage from me. Even if it is not in my field, I can usually direct them to the right person within TechRepublic. That's a slam dunk for them. If you do not have the time, energy, or resources to really build and maintain a quality network, I would suggest that you get in touch with a PR firm that will.
I would say that a much bigger challenge than "how do I convince them to move ahead, after reading this?" is, "how do I get them to read this?" Remember, you are sending unsolicited email. Press releases are often worded like spam, and spam is often formatted to look like a press release. Between spam filters and the eyeball test that people apply to their email, it is very, very difficult to get to the point where people are evaluating your pitch itself. One thing that will be helpful, is to research each person and find a means of contacting them that is their preferred method of contact. Most bloggers will have a "contact me" link somewhere, and those emails should come through to them with a subject line or sender address that makes it clear to them that it is a contact form item, not random junk mail. Jakob Neilsen (www.alertbox.com) has a lot of very good information based in scientific research about how to write effective emails.
Hope this helps!
J.Ja
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Permalink Reply by David Locke on
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As you collect email addresses, you might also get permission to sent them an email newsletter. That newletter could focus on how to do the various tasks that your application enables. Seth Godin used the term curriculum marketing in his book Permission Marketing. Webmonkey took this approach back in the dot boom. You would get a link in each email that took you to a tutorial. The tutorials led to other tutorials. You would get an email twice or maybe three times a week.
You can collect these email addresses on your website, and landing pages, as well as your blog.
When collecting data on prospects, all you need is an name, email address, and zip code. With curriculum marketing you send short surveys after you have some level of commitment. Use the surveys to sort out your subscribers in terms of role in the advocacy and buying of the application. You can then sort out your email list and send increasingly relevant content to different groups of users. An executive buyer, for example, wouldn't want to know how to .... They would rather hear about the business case.
David Locke
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Permalink Reply by Michael P on
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Wow, this is great! Thank you all so much for the help and advice with this. I'll be pitching to the bloggers this week! :)
Thanks again,
Michael
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Widman on
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E-mail newsletter is great idea for the niche/topical bloggers. Also consider reaching out via Twitter. People I know have had amazing success in quickly spreading awareness. Very quick to engage your target audience here.
Jeff Widman
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