Today’s topic is something I find of great importance. No matter your subject matter as a blogger, your relationships with public relations companies are a HUGE part of how successful you become. PR agencies not only share exclusive news with you, but they are also able to connect you with brands & therefore influence your income as a blogger. So, today let chat How To Connect With PR Agencies.

Like any other professional relationship it is of great importance that you manage your relationships with PR agencies carefully & professionally. The reality is that most PR agencies represent multiple brands. The last thing you want to do is behave in a way that may cause harm to your relationships. By no means am I saying that you need to agree with anything a PR agency tells you, because that would be silly. I am constantly approached by PR. Whether it is to send me proposals, or to send me press releases & such. I have declined many proposals that have been sent to me by PR because it was either not right for my brand, or because the offer was simply not ‘good enough’ in terms of compensation. I have also had to deal with PR questioning when I am going publish press releases, in which case I inform them that I actually do not publish press releases. But no matter the scenario, I maintain a professional front. Even when I am being completely under-valued, I am not rude – even though I would much rather tell them exactly where to get off.  Professionalism with PR is key. Also, you may find that employees at these agencies move from one agency to the next. But before you even get to the point of being professional or rude, how do you make the connection with PR & develop a relationship?

Attract the brand’s attention

One of the best (in my opinion) ways to connect with PR of a certain brand is to get their attention by talking about their brand. A certain shoe brand made contact with me a while back, because they loved my outfit posts where I included their shoes. The truth is that I had purchased their shoes from my own pocket simply because I loved them. Me loving their brand alerted them to my brand. That is a fairly ‘natural’ way to make a connection. But even so, it may not necessarily work for everyone. However, I feel like it is super authentic when you work with a brand that you already adore. As much as PR wants a blogger with lots of influence, they also want someone who actually likes their brand.

Your blogging network

Making connections with fellow bloggers & like-minded people is important because you never know what it may lead to. It’s great when we can support each other as bloggers, & hang out at events. But there is much more to it than that. Bloggers are able to not only connect with each other, but also connect bloggers with others. It may be that blogger introducing you to their readership by tweeting you; or they may drop your name to relevant PR who are looking for new people to work with. Ok, I know what you’re thinking. Why would another blogger recommend you for a job? I agree that many bloggers are very protective of their relationships. But not all bloggers see the next person as a threat (for whatever reason that is). You would actually be surprised how often bloggers are asked to recommend other bloggers for PR/brands to work with. I like to think of it as ‘doing good’ when I recommend someone else. I can’t do it all, & there is more than enough work for everyone, so why not.

Introduce yourself

There is absolutely nothing wrong with introducing yourself to a brand you think you should be working with. If you do enough Google-ing you can find the email addresses of a brand’s PR representation. I used to send mails to brands I felt I connected with a lot when I was starting out. It is probably not the easiest way to get the brand’s attention, because chances are they received a bajillion mails just like the one you sent. But this tactic can work. The way I see it, you can send the brand a mail introducing yourself & your blog. Please don’t make it too long. You basically want to explain your content & your reach. The brand will could choose to open dialogue with you or perhaps they will just put your name on their media list.

Another way this could go, is if you introduced yourself, but also sent through a proposal of how you & the brand could work together. Think of some cool ideas & present it a way that will make them take note of you. What’s the worst that could happen? They say no. Your nose will not fall off, so don’t be shy or scared to put yourself out there.

I hope today’s post has helped you in some way. Even if it has given you the confidence to send a mail to your favourite brand. Remember, it doesn’t hurt to try.