Thanks to Brad Shorr for contributing today’s guest post.

Last November, Barbara wrote a valuable post on how to be a great guest blogger. She offered some great advice about both how to approach a blogger and actually write an effective post.

Important stuff, to be sure!

Getting published on other blogs is tremendous for brand awareness, establishing your credentials, and SEO.

In terms of SEO, guest blogging has really become a hot topic, as people are getting the message that Google is overlooking or penalizing those cheap and easy links, while rewarding quality links – like the ones involved in a quality guest blog post.

Since scads of people are looking for guest post opportunities, a strong pitch is vital. With that in mind, Barbara invited me to share some beneficial tips that work for me, as I find myself on both sides of pitches several times a day!

Here are three pitch tips I’ve picked up: I hope they help.

How to Pitch a Blogger on Writing a Guest Post

1. Define what you’re looking for.

If you approach bloggers haphazardly, it will show and you’ll get a lot of rejections. It’s better to create a model of the type of blog you’re looking for, and go after those opportunities with laser focus.

Things to consider include –

a.) Subject matter – Can you write authoritatively about the blog’s themes?

b.) Style – Can you write it the way they want it?

c.) Authority

- PageRank

- Subscriber

- Number of comments

- Social media presence

- Reputation

- Other factors

d.) Receptivity to guest authors

2. Give the blogger everything he/she needs to evaluate you.

If your pitch email leaves a lot to the imagination, don’t be surprised to get a rejection or a no-response. Bloggers are too busy to be proactive in filling in your blanks. In my pitch letters, I like to include:

a.) A brief explanation of why I could write an effective post on this particular blog

b.) Two or three links to other posts I’ve written that are as similar as possible to the style and/or subject matter of the blog in question

c.) How soon I could submit a post if asked to write one

d.) One or two topic ideas (including a title and thumbnail description)

e.) Express a willingness to write on other topics if these are not suitable, or if there is something “hot” the blogger wants covered

f.) End with a definite call to action, such as, “Would you like me to proceed with one of these topics?”

3. Follow up.

Pitching is selling, and all good sales people follow up. If you don’t hear from the blogger within a few days, it’s perfectly fine and totally professional to ask if he/she has had a chance to review your inquiry. When you follow up:

a.) Be polite and professional

b.) End with a call to action (see 2f above)

c.) In some situations, you might say that if you don’t get an answer within a few days, you will offer the topic(s) to other interested bloggers

Inherent in all of these tips are the need to do your homework, and to take a personal and customized approach to each pitch. This may seem obvious, but on pitches I receive, only a handful do those things. It’s too bad, because my suspicion is a lot of writers are much better than their pitches.

Over to You

What pitching techniques are working for you?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today’s guest post is by Brad Shorr, @bradshorr on twitter.

Brad Shorr is Director of Content & Social Media for Straight North, a Chicago web design company. The firm works with middle market B2B firms doing everything from online payment gateways to safety leather gloves. Join Straight North on Facebook and Brad Shorr on Google+ for conversation on SEO and other Internet marketing topics.

 

Keepers – these all are. In late December, I cull through all wiredPRworks blog posts looking for the best of the best to share. Here’s the 2011 lot. You’ll find inspiration, ideas, trends, news and stories. What’s missing? What would you like to see here in 2012?

Rocks and Ripples

Although this post does not directly address social media marketing or PR, it is my top choice for a number of reasons: it features my son [with his permission], it tells a story, it responds to an inspiring story and it features a video. Everyone I send it to writes back about how they like it. I hope you will, too. Thanks to my son and Tim Sanders for the inspiration.

“You’ve got to go create a ripple.”

Those words came to me as our youngest son and I tromped around the woods. Early in the evening or late in the afternoon, depending on how you measured it, we were doing what we do best: an adventurous young man now, once a boy, coaxing a mom to overcome her trepidation to explore nature and life without boundaries. Where would he lead me if I said . . .

Best Picture Goes to the Social Network

Ending the discussion about whether or not social networks have a lasting place in popular culture and real life, The Social Network won four Golden Globe awards, including best picture.

Best of CES 2011 Innovation Electronics and Connections

Business Week found the 2011 show to be The Most Innovation-Filled CES in Years “The technology at the Consumer Electronics Show was more diverse, more connected, and in some cases just plain weirder than ever.” I enjoyed covering the show as one of five Sears Blue Blogger Crew members.

Personal Branding for Affiliate Marketers

Recap from a panel discussion about personal branding for affiliate marketers at Affiliate Summit West 2011 in Las Vegas. Panelists included Marty Fahncke, our moderator, Jim Kukral, and Geno Prussakov.

Social Media Twigs from the CES Tweet House

Tweet House speakers Angela LoSasso, David Armano, Jeffrey Hayzlett and moderator Steve Broback focused on social media tools and techniques for organizations.

Recovering from Being Hacked Off of Facebook – Now Back On

After two weeks and three attempts, my account was restored. Here’s how to get back on after being hacked off.

Atlantic City the Real Jersey Shore Travel Tuesday PR

When the offer came in to fly away for a girlfriends weekend, I erased my former memory files and eagerly said yes. After all, most of my friends would be away at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin. I wanted to get away, too.

SOBCon 2011 Models Teams and Tables

Deciding who to sit with can affect your SOBCon outcome. Your table is your group. This year, I got really lucky. I enjoyed sitting at the conference media production table with five amazing people, including the world-famous Lorelle Van Fossen who writes the blog Lorelle on WordPress.

3 YouTube & Video Marketing Tricks You Should Not Miss

Everybody’s making videos, but who really knows how to marketing them? For the answer to that question, I passed this topic over to a talented guest author, Bob Tripathi.

LinkedIn Checklist for Getting Your Next Job or New Client

No matter where your profile is in its stage of completeness, this LinkedIn checklist can help you not only get to 100%, but also truly present your professional credentials in the most accurate and attractive way possible.

7 Things Service Dogs Know About Love and Social Media

What do dogs know about service? What does service have to do with social media? Maybe the answer is as simple as: they know how to find somebody to love. That’s why dogs have one of the best jobs in the world.

Cloud Computing Business Basics for PR Folks

When Illinois Institute of Technology’s School of Applied Technology, invited me to attend a cloud computing workshop, I was curious. Here’s what I learned.

12 Ways to Rock Your Speech, Your Audience and Your Event

This is a post about how to be a rock star speaker – inspired by Tony Robbins.

25 Thoughts re: Google+

Thanks to Chris Brogan for the suggestion to blog about what you think about Google+.

How Gray is Social Networking

Fully 65% of adult internet users now say they use a social networking site like MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn, up from 61% one year ago. This marks the first time in Pew Internet surveys that 50% of all adults use social networking sites. Source: Pew Research on Adult Social Media Usage

37 Tweet Size Writing Tips

If you only have time to read one of the 37 tweets, read #22:  Empower writers. Because the writer runs the show. Quality content gets you where you want to go. Thanks to Ragan Communications for the ticket to the Corporate Writers and Editors Conference in Chicago.

How to Pick My Brain

Ever wished you had an on-call marketing consultant, but didn’t think you could find someone who was willing to give you the answers you need to get to increase your visibility, influence and profitability? Here’s how to pick my brain.

Guest Blogger Guidelines How to Write at Somebody Else’s Place

Writing for a popular blogger with a fanatic following online is even tougher. It’s not just their space, it’s their readers’ communal gathering zone where they can and do talk back. Here’s a quick how-to guide along with an invitation to be a contributor to wiredPRworks.

Image: Taken on a family hike at Amnicon Falls, this one got several Big Faves at my photography site over on flickr. copyright 2011 by Barbara Rozgonyi

Which of these posts/topics interest you the most?

Until I started blogging, way back in June 2006, most of my writing was for clients. I wrote to reach to their markets/media contacts/communities in a voice that reflected their sound, not mine. If you’re a professional writer, you know that writing under your own byline in an incentive to do your best.

And, writing for a popular blogger with a fanatic following online is even tougher. It’s not just their space, it’s their readers’ communal gathering zone where they can and do talk back. Here’s a quick how-to guide along with an invitation to be a contributor to wiredPRworks.  

How to Be a Great Guest Blogger

Excerpted from a post originally published on March 13, 2008 after I wrote this guest post, Demystifying PR: 7 Ways to Become an Expert News Source  for Liz Strauss.

- read the blog and know the blogger [the same advice you hear about contacting any journalist or publisher]

- search the archives to see how and if your topic’s been covered

- send a short email asking about the possibility of guest blogging and include a brief summary of the proposed post

Contact us to be considered for a guest post on wiredPRworks.

- interview the blogger about what they think their audience wants to know about and why

- ask about word count and preferred format

- read other guest’s posts to get a sense of how they fit in

- write something fresh and challenge yourself to be your best

- set a tight deadline so you finish the piece while you’re still inspired

- suggest an image that tells your story

- include a bio that links to your blog/site

- offer a call to action that benefits the reader, in my case, a free Q&A call open to anyone

- send a final draft and be open to comments

- comment on the post with a note of thanks

- link to the post from your own blog

One of the benefits of guest posting is, of course, to reach a new audience on another blog. Would you like to see your writing here?

wiredPRworks Guest Blogger Posting Guidelines

How to Apply

Please complete this guest blogger application form, which will give us your contact information. Before you write a post just for us, suggest a few ideas and give us three links to your writing online.

Quality

We reserve the right to review all submissions. Once approved, content is subject to editing. What our readers like: numbers, ideas and stories about what works.

Topics

Topics: social media strategy, content marketing, public relations, press releases, what gets attention and why.

Framing

Our readers are marketing and PR professionals. Our goal is to give them information to help them do their jobs better. We’re not so much interested in lists as we are in original ways to get attention, attract prospects and build communities.

Images

Each post requires an image. Please suggest one to accompany your post. If you don’t have one, we can supply one for you. All images must be approved, properly attributed and free of paid licensing requirements.

Format and Style

Headlines must be under 80 characters. Posts need to be at least 300 words, but less than 750 words.

Our readers prefer short and crisp paragraphs with succinct sentences. They love images and videos – so feel free to send a link to a YouTube video to accompany your post.

Use subheads in the post body. Include H2 and H3 tags. Use short paragraphs or bullet points to make the post easier to read.

Link Policy

You may link to your site in your author bio credit. Please consider linking to other posts found on http://wiredPRworks.com.

You may link out to other sites once for every 100 words.

Affiliate Links

Affiliate links will only be considered when products or services add value to our readers. All affiliate links must be disclosed in compliance with FTC guidelines. Additional agreements will be made in advance of posting. Disclosure: Affiliate links appear throughout wiredPRworks.com. This means that when someone clicks on an affiliate link, a commission is paid on the sale.

Keyword-Rich Anchor Text

Requests to include keyword-rich anchor text links will be reviewed, but will only be accepted when including them raises the content’s visibility in search engines.

Author Promotion

Authors may include an approved 50-word bio with a link back to their site. If available, an affiliate link may be used. Authors may choose to use a link to one of their social networking profiles or their blog.

Author Compensation

At this time, authors are compensated in the way of exposure throughout the wiredPRworks social networks, which includes being on Alltop PR. One guest author’s post was selected as a top 40 social media content in the first quarter of 2011.

Republishing Policy

Content must be original and written for wiredPRworks.com. After being published here, we suggest the author post a mention about the piece on their blog. We prefer that content be limited to these two publishing placements.

Editorial Policy

Content may be edited for style, readability and search. Please don’t be offended if we suggest changes.

Guest Post Submission Checklist

Headline: 80 characters or less

Image with attribution credit

Content: 300 – 750 words

Headers: as subheads

Links: up to one for every 100 words

Headshot: author’s image

Apply to be a guest blogger on wiredPRworks.

What topics would like to see covered here?

If you only have time to read one of the 37 tweets, read #22:  Empower writers. Because the writer runs the show. Quality content gets you where you want to go.

Where did this tweet collection come from? Ragan’s Corporate Writers and Editors Conference here in Chicago last week. Missed it? The conference makes two more stops: October 28 at Kindred Healthcare in Louisville, KY and November 9 at ConEdison in New York City, NY.

It’s definitely worth attending. But, if you can’t make it, these 37 sweet tweets will get you started. What’s your best writing tip?  [Disclosure: Thanks to Ragan Communications for the conference ticket. My experience with Ragan includes presenting at live events and webinars. On November 15, I'm presenting a Ragan webinar about LinkedIn and recruiting.]

37 Sweet Writing Tip Tweets from 7 Spectacular Speakers

Tweets via @wiredprworks with apologies for any inaccuracies.

Need more writing tips? Check out Ragan’s Corporate Writers and Editors Facebook page and the latest tweets via #ragancwe on twitter.

Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Girl, the alter ego behind Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, talked about grammar rules and word-choice guidelines.

1. It’s ok to end a sentence with a preposition, but leave it off if you can

2. to capitalize or not – 7 easy rules via prdaily.com http://ow.ly/6Vzrj

3. Yo Comments Are Whack – video recommended by @grammargirl http://ow.ly/6Vzma

4. What is a word? That’s a philosophical question. For example, “Impactful” may be a sketchy choice.  #notusingitagain

5. Affect is usually a verb/action. Effect is usually a noun. The arrows affected Aardvark. The effect was eye popping.

6. Be careful about asking opinions in headlines as in “Is Bad Grammar Acceptable in Music?” @grammargirl http://ow.ly/6VysT

7. @grammargirl up next with quick & dirty tips for better writing her podcast gets 1M downloads a month

Michael Sebastian, editor of PR Daily and the blog PR Junkie, covered an editor’s guide to writing: how to blast through the clutter and make your content irresistible to readers.

8. #writing tip: use art to illustrate // best copyright free photo libraries http://ow.ly/6VwrE

9. 5 places for surveys: surveymonkey.com, twitter, facebook, linkedin, pollstream.com

10. communitainment = communications + entertainment via @markraganceo #ragancwe #PR source for this = prdaily.com

Becky Graebe and Karen Lee of SAS, a company with 11,000 employees and 400 offices around the world took us to the SAS intranet to show us how to design content and communities to engage your most powerful internal communicators: employees. Why is there only one tweet from this segment? I was too busy typing notes.

11. Intranet employee photo contest, generated 3000 entries, 700 employees blogs how do you encourage contributions?

Daphne Gray-Grant, principal of the Publication Coach, an online company helping other communicators write better, faster taught us how to write twice as fast and have three times as much fun.

12. you need to figure out the direction you want the story to go to narrow it down before the mindmap

13. writing tool “prod” your productivity with WriteOrDie.com to meet a deadline via

14. Writing tips: Can’t get started? Go for a walk. Turn off monitor while you write. Use a noisy timer.

15. Ideal writing time mix: 40% preparation 20% writing 40% editing how does yours compare?

16. Biggest mistake is asking questions about facts – ask about feelings, use the word when to go back to a moment

17. managing tweets @markraganceo posts and searches with dynamictweets.com

18. Outlining? You’re using the left side of your brain. Writing? You’re using the right side so Mind Map instead

Sonia Simone, CMO of Copyblogger Media, presented the seven harsh realities of online content marketing.

19. twitter tip – write your headline and think “would I retweet that or not”

20. It’s not “our” brand anymore. It’s THEIR brand now. Make sure someone is monitoring, engaging, solving onscreen issues.

21. Headline ideas: go to magazines.com look at cosmo, mens fitness @soniasimone #ragancwe “50 things your customer wish you knew”

22. Empower writers. Because the writer runs the show. Quality content gets you where you want to go.

23. all marketing is is persuading another human being to take action

24. content marketing is when you create something that is inherently useful; social media makes it shareable

Mark Ragan, CEO of Ragan Communications in Chicago, an award-winning political and investigative reporter, talked about the role of the editor and writer in the age of instant information, shrinking attention spans and exploding social media.

25. Most popular post on ragan.com? Number of spaces after a period

26. writer/editor now a multi-channel publisher; interactive sites are your best friend, you can’t get away with boring

27. example of great press release http://woot.com/blog/viewentry

28. We do not have an information overload problem, we have a filter problem.

29. good brand journalism sites to look at exportwise.ca @openforum @bestbuy intel reviews intel free press #ragancwe

30. Get into your customer or your employee’s workflow so they are bookmarking your site

31. brand journalism positions companies as media outlets

32. “refrigerator journalism” is personal, within reach, compartmentalized, helpful, scannable, easy to read, brief, knows what you want

33. social media, if done correctly, is what will engage your readers; content is at the center of brand strategy

35. social media & the trends in communication today = exactly what writers do never before has good content mattered more

36. “No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else’s draft.” H G Wells

37. “Write drunk; edit sober” Hemingway

Many, many Social Media Club Chicago members raved about Mark Ragan’s participation in our January social media and communications panel.

Here’s a replay.

Where the carrot image comes from, inspired by tip number 8: United States Agriculture Research Service. ARS researchers have selectively bred carrots with pigments that reflect almost all colors of the rainbow. More importantly, though, they’re very good for your health.  Photo by Stephen Ausmus.

When do you do your best writing?

When a friend asks for your secret recipe do you give it out?

Thanks to my friend Jeannie Walters who asked for it [she's now your friend, too - right? ], I’m giving out the secret ingredient I use to not only measure web stats, but keywords and customers here on wiredPRworks.

FTC Disclosure: Links in this post are affiliate links, which means I will get compensated if you decide to buy a product or service that’s mentioned. I’m recommending this product as one I have used in my business for over a year.

By the way, Jeannie says on her customer experience blog 360connext.com: “metrics are great, but they’re always late.” I think Jeannie will love this real time resource and you will, too.

Today’s secret ingredient is *not* bacon, but that *is* me frying it up at a professional cooking school in Chicago. Full disclosure: it took THREE chefs to teach me how to do it right. Did you know there is an art to making bacon so crispy and golden that it could star in a food ad? It’s all in heat control, movement and timing.

Where are the ROI chefs when you need them?

Whenever the “how do you measure ROI” question comes up, the chef inside of me wants to immediately convert to measures I am so comfortable with: a pinch, a handfull, a teaspoon, a cup – every ingredient adds to the taste of the dish. But, social media marketing analytics are not so easy to measure.

You have to pay thousands and thousands to get real social media numbers – right?

According the panelists I heard during Social Media Week, measuring is like cooking from scratch.

You measure what you’re interested in and fold it back into your mix. And, no most of them don’t pay anything to measure.

They do it themselves.  What’s your secret ROI recipe? Here’s my secret ingredient.

Whenever the “let’s trade ROI recipes” subject comes up, I always bring up a measurement tool that seems to be a secret: Getclicky.com.

After I heard some really smart online marketers mention this tool, I checked it out. You can start with a free plan, see if you like it and then upgrade. Here’s the pricing. They sometimes run specials. I have the Pro plan and paid $39.99 for the year. Most businesses will get enough at this level, but there are some special features that may make it worth upgrading for you.

How GetClicky Measures Blog Traffic and Social Media ROI

Yes, Google Analytics is still a must-use tool. Although, I check on my who’s who and where they’re going with Getclicky more often. Why? GetClicky breaks down data into traffic patterns. Yes, it’s up to you to interpret the results. I can tell which posts get read, what actions led to clicks and what’s trending at the moment. It’s almost like having an inside perspective into the user experience.

Because creative time is at a premium, I don’t want to spend hours constructing a post that gets little traffic. Because the results are in real time, I can gauge results and react quickly. If a post like this one on Google+ is getting lots of hits, I can quickly compose a follow up and link to the second from the first to generate additional traffic, as well as extend the reader’s information experience.

Applications

Clicky Web Analytics for iPhone
Simply the best way to monitor, analyze, and react to your blog or web site’s traffic in real time. It is famous for its simple interface that makes understanding traffic to your web site as easy as possible. More powerful filtering and analysis features are available for users who wish to use them, but they are out of your way to make the experience great for users of any skill level.  Source

Clicky mobile web app
ClickyDroid for Android
iGoogle widget

Plugins

WordPress
Drupal
Joomla

Metrics on Time

Because GetClicky lets you monitor web analytics in real time, you can see what happens immediately after you publish a blog post. You can watch how many people are on your blog at any given moment and then analyze how they’re interacting with the information. Tip: leave GetClicky running in a tab so you can monitor the number of people on your site at any given moment.

Comparing Google Analytics versus GetClicky

Take a look at these screen shots that both capture the amount of blog traffic referred via LinkedIn.com for the same time period. Each site gives an overview. GetClicky breaks the traffic down into individual visitor stats. I’m not sure why they don’t match up exactly.

Google Analytics

GetClicky Web Stats

Take a look at the detail here. One visitor stayed for over 21 minutes and took 17 actions. When you click on actions, you can see the exact amount of time and path the visitor took on their session. I find this interesting because it helps me follow how people use my blog. Why did they choose to go the way they did? Is there a better place to send them?

You get individualized details on visitors like location, IP address, amount of time spent on each page and actions taken.

One thing GetClicky and bacon have in common: they can both be addictive.

Fess Up: What’s your secret recipe for measuring ROI?

Image: Copyright 2009 CoryWest Media, LLC