I HATE the term ‘blogger’. I can’t help thinking it sounds like ‘blagger’. And that is why I try not to use the term.
Put simply, I’m a trained journalist and I specialise in travel.
That’s not to say that travel bloggers aren’t useful and if you look at my work, I blog. So I’ve come full circle.
But how are travel bloggers and freelance journalists useful to our industry and how do you make the relationship work?
KNOW YOUR BLOGGER
There are some very good writers who have business acumen and spend time working out their strategy, understanding their audiences and planning their approach. As long as the content is credible and professional, a tourist board or hotel chain should not be interested in the writer as much as the audience he/she can reach, and this audience should be the same as your target audience.
A writer may approach you with editorial ideas. Think about how you can develop the relationship. Don’t assume they are asking for free accommodation and trips for nothing. Discuss their project plan.
Avoid the blaggers. They are more interested in the fact that they travel, rather than the industry of travel. They are more interested in the destination, rather than the experience. In short, they are more interested in free accommodation and trips for the sake of it. Of course, everyone likes to get something for free but blaggers make a career of it. They write for themselves, not for your audience.
SOMETHING FOR NOTHING
In the real world you don’t get something for nothing. That’s why blagging, in the long term, doesn’t work; it’s not a sustainable relationship.
As a business you’re looking for return on your investment. For the time and money you spend hosting a blogger or journalist, what are you getting in return? How do you measure the impact of the editorial you may receive? Look at your chosen blogger/writer’s audience figures, reach, social media channels, approach, etc.
What editorial messages do you want to promote and which writers are going to be receptive to them? For example, if you have a family-focused promotion you want to push, you’re not going to approach the blogger who specialises in solo travel. So do some research and work out who is out there and what they do. You should be taking as much of an interest in this resource as they are of you.
This is a business relationship. It is a partnership of equals and both sides demand respect. Research writers who specialise in what you do, and reach out to the same audience as you’re interested in. Contact them. Strike up a conversation and find the common ground.
You will both have business aims to achieve. Don’t be tempted to move into parent/child mode. Remember that all editorial is independent or should be if it is credible. It is the views and experiences of an individual, and sometimes it’s not all rosy.
If you receive negative coverage try to find out what went wrong and why. Is there a follow-up piece that you can work on together to put things right?
If you are determined that all editorial coverage will be positive and perfect, it is not editorial coverage that you need. You need to pay for advertising. In advertising you can tell people how great you are. In editorial someone else tells the world how great (or bad) you are. It’s an independent, third-party endorsement. Which is more powerful? I know which avenue I’d chose, and for one time only, I’m biased.
By Helen McClure