Little Blogging Tips Series: Pr Opportunities

Hey lovelies! Today I'm going to be talking about the slightly controversial topic of PR opportunities. Before I start this post, I'll quickly say that if you started blogging for the 'freebies' then there's really no point, because you have to work for it and you probably won't even enjoy doing it. That said PR opportunities are a pretty exciting aspect of blogging, as you often get to try new products or find out about new and exciting brands. So here are my tips for working with PR companies, going to events and how to get yourself noticed by PR companies. 

BE PROFESSIONAL

• Make it easy for them to contact you. One of the pitfalls a lot of bloggers stumble in to is not having their social media clearly shown on their blog. If a PR company has to search for a way to contact you, they will probably just give up altogether - so make sure the ways you can be contacted are clearly displayed. 
• Have a email address just for your blog. I'd recommend having your name or your blog's name so it clearly relates back to you or your blog. This really gives your blog a more professional touch. 
• Have a good 'about' page. Your about page is a quick way for PR companies to get to know who you are and whether or not they want to work with you. This is your opportunity to make a great first impression.You don't need to go into great detail about yourself, but giving an idea of who you are as a person or what interests you as a blogger is a good step forward. 
• Get a blog design that reflects your blogging style and who you are. You want a blog design that both looks professional and gives off a vibe of what your blog is about so PR companies can quickly tell if they want to work with you. 
• When you do get a PR opportunity, be reliable. Make sure you let the PR company know when your post will be up and make sure you do this pretty soon after receiving the product. Obviously if you want to trial the product for a while, that's also fine, but let the PR company know that you're doing this. Be wary also the way in which the PR company wants you to present the product, some are perfectly happy with you saying you were sent the product whilst others want to keep this fact as discrete as possible. 

HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN PR OPPORTUNITIES

• Use a site that works with bloggers and brands. I would definitely recommend Bloggers Required, a site I personally use a lot, as there are constantly new PR opportunities there. With Bloggers Required you apply for assignments, which can either be attending an event or trying out a product, and the brand will get in touch with you if they want to work with you. There are also sites like Brand Backer which are worth checking out. 
• Tweet companies when you do posts about them. This won't necessarily bring up immediate results, but this helps to expose yourself to PR companies who may want to work with you in the future. 
• Try emailing a brand. You'd be surprised that this sometimes actually works. In my own experience, I emailed a brand called Amie (which I am a big fan of) and asked them if they'd be interested in working with me and they actually were! Be careful though, don't just demand freebies, simply ask if they'd be interested in working with you or not and leave it at that. You're taking up their time so don't be big headed and assume they'd love to work with you and send you freebies right away. However, you never know they might just be looking for a brand like you to work with!

PR EVENTS

• Attending PR events can definitely be more than a bit nerve-wracking. I've been to around three and I still get nervous and feel out of place. The best thing to remember is to be confident and that many other bloggers will probably be a bit awkward too. When you go, make sure you have a camera so you can cover the event to the best of your ability! Also make note of any hashtags the event is using so you can use those later when you tweet or instagram about the event. 
• Another good tip is to put up your post about the event as soon as possible after attending it, I tend to do it on the day but within a week is perfectly fine. After you've done the post make sure you email it (or tweet it) to the PR company or brand. 

KNOW WHEN TO SAY NO 

• Integrity and honesty as a blogger is definitely the most important thing, so if you find yourself getting offered a dodgy PR opportunity you should probably think twice before you accept it! An example of a dodgy PR opportunity is when a site offers you $10 (or some amount) to write about their site. The problem about this is they are often scam sites, the typical ones being prom dress sites that always have dresses miraculously discounted. I've had about four of these, and I saw pretty quickly that I didn't trust the sites, so didn't accept their offers. 
• The big question to ask yourself is if the product you're being offered is really relevant to your blog or if it actually interests you. There's no point in accepting freebies just for the sake of it!

Here are all the posts so far in the series (just in case you've missed them!):

1. Blogging Basics
2. Standing Out From The Crowd
3. Ten Quick Tweaks

Thank you so much for reading lovelies! Did you find this helpful? Let me know in the comment section below!

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