Maybe it’s because of my journalism roots, but I never did like rags. In my POV, rags are newspapers and magazines that run every news release you’d send them, mostly verbatim.
Yeah, sure they were easy “hits” and helped make me look good to clients (not that I needed help — hardee har-har 
).
But, I figured they did not provide quality coverage, and their circulation numbers were not really “real” (though I did include them in client reports).
Solid media coverage comes from media outlets that take their journalism* responsibility seriously. They don’t publish everything you send — and you don’t send them everything you have.
A real PR pro has solid news judgment, knows his employer or clients’ objectives, knows or can find the appropriate media outlets needed to meet those objectives, and knows those media outlets.
That goes whether you’re talking traditional offline media, online media or social media.
So, I was thrilled to read about MomDot’s call for for mommy bloggers to get back to their roots for one week in August:
MomDot is challenging bloggers to participate for one week in August in a PR BLACKOUT challenge where you do not blog ANY giveaways, ANY reviews, and Zero press releases. In fact, we dont want you to talk to PR at ALL that whole week. We want to see your blog naked, raw, and back to basics. Talk about your kids, your marriage, your college, your hopes, your dreams, your house and whatever you can come up with for one week.
I’ve been involved in numerous blogger outreach efforts, including some sampling outreach where I’ve sought permission to send products to and sought feedback from bloggers on those products. In any type of outreach a PR pro does — whether with traditional or social media — there has to be value for both parties.
The PR pro has to give content, access, information, etc., — something that the blogger finds of value for his or her readers. Yes, in sampling, the blogger receives a product that he/she likely won’t return, but that’s fine. That’s not payola and should not dramatically influence the objective, pure blog post PR pros and their clients or employer should seek.
I’ve never paid — NOR WILL I EVER PAY — a blogger to post about a client’s product. If you do, that’s fine. That’s an ad. That IS NOT PR.
I will never tell a blogger what to write — or that he/she should even write at all.
I will never get upset if a blogger expresses interest in and says he/she will write a post, but doesn’t. Most bloggers still have jobs, lives, family, etc. You’re a PR pro. Bloggers very likely are not professional bloggers.
Now, I also realize that power moms — including mom bloggers — are hot. I definitely don’t begrudge a blogger — whether the person’s a mom or not — to earn a living and get some type of compensation to post on his or her blog. If the blogger has the talent and following, great. Get benefit from it.
But as a word of caution, as Trisha at MomDot seemed to say in her post, don’t forget your roots and the qualities that made you so darn popular. There are plenty of commercialized old and new media entities.
So,to all of you sought-after bloggers — as well as traditional media — please don’t loose your purity.
-Mike
Image of Rosie the Riveter. Also see Google search.
*I realize that, with few exceptions, bloggers are not journalists, and I don’t view them that way. Still, they do “report,” and usually it’s their opinion. That’s fine. Blogs are still media.
