For those of us who advise and pay attention to blogger relations in the industry, this week has been a hard one. I feel like others have done a great job covering and commenting on these stories, so I wanted to take an opportunity to share how I train staff to talk to bloggers.

Reposted from Talkshop.

This afternoon I made my way over to Suburban Turmoil to read Mommy Blogger Marketing 101. I found my way there after a colleague (and fellow blogger) sent me the link to Mom 101 and there was a comment about Mother Goose Mouse's recent post.

I love to read stories from bloggers of great interactions with PR folks. And I try to share these stories as best I can. When I train people on blogger engagement these days, my presentation is made of quotes of blogs.

I wanted to tell bloggers how we try to train account staff to do blogger engagement at Edelman.

1. I often get asked for my list of top mommy bloggers, top travel bloggers, top _____ bloggers and I always respond, "I don't have a list." Why not? We believe that we need to talk to the right bloggers and the right bloggers change for every account. It is time intensive to build new lists, but I think that the act of building a list helps the account staff learn about the bloggers and that the bloggers on the list are more likely to be really interested.

2. "What do you have that offers value to their lives?" In addition to product, can we also offer a chance to talk to a spokesperson? A way to do have prizes for their readers? An example is a blog tour we are doing right now with Wrigley Gum. In addition to 10 Step It Up with Extra kits for their readers, bloggers can interview a Wrigley nutritionist or Marty from the Biggest Loser.

3. Sometimes we say no. We have had products where the conversation just wasn't there or we didn't have anything tangible to offer bloggers. Sometimes the topic is just too private and bloggers wouldn't be interested, no matter how big the freebie or how big the news is to the company. Sometimes, blogger engagement isn't the way to go.

4. Pitch is a four letter word. We try really hard to stop people from saying "pitching bloggers" and talk about "engaging bloggers." It might sound silly, but by changing the word, we can change the mind-set a little.

5. Read the blog. Read the blog. Read the blog. Read the blog. And did I mention, you should read the blog. And then read more of it. It is so much easier to write a blogger if you have read their blog. You'll have confidence that this blogger might want to hear from you.

6. Let it go. The blogger didn't write you back? Take the silence as your answer, let it go and move on. It isn't easy to do, especially not when PR folks are used to pitching. Again, this is why we don't say "pitching bloggers."

That's not my whole training, but those are some of things I try to get across to account staff here at Edelman. Just wanted to let bloggers know that we're listening, adjusting and training all the time.