I always get e-mails from readers asking how to approach with PR companies and brands and what is the best way to work with them. I think a lot of bloggers these days start blogs because of the samples, but I just want to say that if this is the reason you blog then it probably won’t last very long. It takes a lot of hours and hard work to get to a point of receiving samples and you have to truly love blogging to put in that amount of effort. However if you pour your heart and soul into your blog and now want to start working with brands I have a few tips on how to approach companies.
Introduce yourself
Firstly you need to introduce yourself. This can be done a number of different ways, through twitter, Instagram or e-mail. I would say the most effective way is by finding an e-mail for the brand you want to work with and sending them an e-mail introducing yourself and your blog. I would give a little information about your blog and why you think it would work with that particular brand.
Mailing List
In the initial e-mail I would strongly recommend you do not ask for samples or send a shopping list of things you want to try as this gives the wrong impression. I would however ask to be added to their mailing list and this way you can keep in the loop with all the new launches and information.
Be Polite
Always be polite and never demanding, PR’s get a lot of e-mails from bloggers everyday and if you don’t come across well in your e-mail they may not reply.
Meet In Person
Once you’re had a few e-mails with a PR I would always recommend trying to meet for a coffee as this is the best way to build a relationship. This way you get to know the brand a little bit better and it helps them to put a face to a blog.
I hope you found this post useful as I know when I started a blog I had no idea about how to approach PR companies and brands. Do let me know if you have any other questions and hopefully I can shed some light.
