There’s a lot of talk lately about harnessing the power of the Mommy Bloggers, any bloggers really. Bloggers are a passionate group, with some amount of talent, they’re easy to slip into verticals and the value has the potential to *virtually* explode.
It’s simple. Grab a bunch of moms with blogs, send them a baby sling and just wait for the sales to start rolling in.
Uh NotSoMuch
Not all links are created equal:
Tone: A link from a complimentary review would have more value to a publicist than one from a bad review (or even a lukewarm one). This is true almost all the time. Yes, there are bloggers who will play nicely with publicists. Lots of them, most of them in fact. If you put in a phone call and are friendly a blogger is likely to skip writing a scathing review.
It’s always about relationships.
Relevance: A link from a relevant blog is necessarily of more value. When I use my voice at Green Options to talk about the new dish washing liquid I adore. Yes, I realize I’m a loser for loving dish soap, lea’me alone! By the same token, Zig Zag might really want a link from me over at National Lampoon. Whatever the product, there’s a spot.
Readership: This gets tricky. If you want to use a blogger who isn’t self hosted you’ll have to ask them for their stats. They, in turn, will scream and yell or perhaps just sulk. Self hosted blogs are easily referenced at alexa.com or compete. Some blogs are new, and some will just never have much traffic. Some blogs are scanned and others will keep you engaged with interesting links.
Socially Speaking: Does the blogger cross promote on Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed or myspace? Do they show up at tech events? Can anyone but their mothers recognize them when they walk in a door?
Can you spot 100 influencers? Would you know where to spend your online media money?
Related Tuesday Tips:
Netiquette
Stumbleupon part 1
Stumbleupon part 2
Gmail Filters
Sending free products to mommy bloggers to review can be very powerful from my experience.
And sometimes readership doesn’t mean influence. I’ve had several “mid-sized” blogs who you would think from numbers/readership weren’t worth the time of day.
But they sent more sales, traffic and relevant leads than their bigger Mommy counterparts.
Some thought-provoking items here, as always. I really enjoy seeing what I do on my blog put into context of the bigger blogosphere — which you do so well, Jessica. Thank you.