10 Ways to Build a Relationship With a Blogger

Getting a business’ message out is best done by talented, influential bloggers. Really good bloggers have the business savvy to know the best way(s) to reach interested readers who want your product or service. The best way to convince bloggers to share your business’ message is to reach out to them, build a working relationship with them and share your business message.

There are a number of ways to reach a blogger as a brand. You want to be sure first, that their style fits the tone and style of your website and your overall message. Make sure you effectively convey to them what it is that your company does and what your company’s goals are. The next phase is to focus on building a business relationship with them that will be mutually beneficial for both of you. Doing this will create a solid working relationship with the blogger who’s job will be to get your message out. Let’s take a look at other ways you can build a relationship with an influential blogger.

1) Comment. Commenting on another blogger’s posts lets the blogger know that you’re reading their posts and that you find value with the information that they’re sharing.

2) Guest Post. Send the blogger an invitation to submit a guest post for your site. This not only helps the blogger but it also helps your site as well because it sends traffic to both sites. Be sure to have the blogger include quality links within his post, which will also increase potential traffic to both your sites.

3) Blogger Post. Most bloggers would be very surprised to see a post written about themselves. That’s because they’re used to writing posts about other people or brands. By taking the time to write a post about the blogger, you’re building a business relationship with them as you provide interesting information about the blogger to your own readers. The readers get to learn more about the blogger and may take interest in the blogger’s posts and articles.

4) Interview. One of the most effective methods in relationship-building with a blogger is by conducting an interview. Posting the interview increases potential traffic but also serves as a great “how-to” for other bloggers who read their story.

5) Meet-Up. You’re likely to find many local bloggers at large business events, especially if the event is well-advertised. If possible, take the time to attend the event, meet the bloggers and network with them.

6) Invitation. Just as you may attend an event where there are other bloggers, you may also be the host at an event. This is an ideal business situation to get to know the bloggers. Invite the blogger to your hosted event, ask them to blog about it on their site and even (possibly) offer a give-a-way as a thank you for the bloggers readers. Give-a-way ideas can include a free ebook, a free software download or other items.

7) Email. As a fellow blogger or business owner, you’re probably very busy on any given day. Bloggers are busy business people as well, so emailing them with any related questions you may have may actually be a more advantageous way to get answers to your questions. The blogger may also have access to Instant Messaging (IM), Skype or other immediate forms of communication that may work for you both.

8) Social Media. Connecting with a blogger on social media is probably one of the most beneficial methods to building a blogger relationship. Most successful, full-time bloggers have accounts on the large social media sites like Twitter or Facebook. This is also a great way to share posts, find out information about them but to also share information about your company or website.

9) Divulge. Go ahead and tell the blogger the reason why you want to build a relationship with them. Is it to gain more traffic for your own site? Do you want to learn more about the way they do business? Are you interested in mimicking their style? Do you simply want to reach the blogger’s audience and sphere of influence? By being completely open and honest with the blogger, you’ll likely see that they may be more than willing to help your efforts, or at least point you in the right direction.

10) Help. Ask for the blogger’s help with a business-related topic. Whether that’s doing a site review or a marketing strategy, seek out their expertise on a business subject matter.

Establishing a blogger relationship is a great way to gain traffic, build a business and also creates an avenue of continued learning. It only takes a few minutes each day and perhaps a few hours a week total to put some of these ideas into action.