Blogging Tips

Even though blogs rely heavily on search engine optimization and the blogosphere to spread the word, you don’t need to have your own public relations team to get a little media coverage. In fact, there are several ways you can do your own PR for your blog for free.

Create a Press Page

The first step should be for you to create at least a press page for the media to visit. This should have some basic information about you as a blogger and about the site, and contact information (in particular, ways to reach you right away for a quote). You might consider including some basic stats and data that you don’t mind revealing publicly.

Contact Your Local Newspaper

Local newspapers are interested in doing profiles of locals. Many times, they have a regular weekly feature that profiles a local, and they can quickly run out of ideas of people to profile. Grab your local newspaper for a week, and scour it for these types of features. Figure out the editor of that section, and contact that person to let them know about you and your blog.

A couple other options is to contact an editor of a section that fits your topic (such as the business editor if you write about technology) to offer to write a weekly column. If you offer to write it for free and they see from your blog that you can write, they will be tempted. Just be sure each column includes a blurb promoting your blog’s URL.

Write a Press Release

First of all, don’t bother to write a press release to announce you have a blog. No one really cares, and this isn’t exciting for journalists. Instead, look for a tidbit of advice you can offer, a top 10 list you can provide, or some timely insight you can provide tied to a holiday. This can be a good way to get pick-up from the media, who will cite the press release and your blog as the source of information.

Writing a press release doesn’t have to be difficult. Keep it tight, focused on the point, no longer than one printed page if possible. It should be third-person (with any statements by you provided as quotes), and add a one paragraph blurb at the bottom about you and about your blog. It should include your contact information, including a contact phone number if possible.

You can find lots of basic tips on writing a press release online, such as this press release writing how-to.

Distribute Your Press Release

You don’t have to dish out thousands to get your press release out there. Inside SEO provides this handy list of free press release distribution sites. Be sure to include a link to your blog, or even a bulleted list of relevant blog posts, in your press release submission to boost your incoming links.