10 steps to a successful outreach program

For this post, I’m showing how to properly invite bloggers to an event, but this list includes guiding principles that are applicable to any blogger outreach.

Preparation

1. Set expectations. Before you make any contact with bloggers it is important to set expectations with the client, such as how many bloggers you will reach out to, the number you hope will attend the event, and what the expected outcome will be. Ideally, you will have existing relationships with the bloggers you will be talking to, but this will not always be the case if you have a new client or piece of work. We tend to say that 10 to 15 bloggers is a good number to attend an event, but obviously this will vary depending on the project. Another consideration is that it can take an hour to properly research and investigate a potential blogger, so it is a time-consuming, but important process.