If you’re pitching a blogger with an idea for a guest blog post, take a cue from James Nissen.
James pitched me last night regarding a guest blog post about how he built the buzz for SecretintheDirt.com, a free golf website hosted by PGA Champion Steve Elkington, legendary masters champion Jackie Burke, and Internet golf sensation Mike Maves.
Update: Here’s his guest post.
Here’s the pitch, which he emailed, with my comments in parenthesis:
Dear Joan (so much better than “Ms. Stewart,” which sounds too formal):
I love your blog and can’t thank you enough for keeping the content so fresh, but also relevant and useful at the same time. (He knows who I am, he reads my blog and he likes it!)
I do most of the marketing for a site called Secretinthedirt.com, a social golf networking site. But the site wasn’t always what it is today. The whole idea started when I worked with a golfer in Canada to create a simple ebook about his game and from there the success of the brand shot off like a rocket (he states his expertise quickly). Today we have almost 8,000 members as part of our site. (Proof that his efforts were successful.)
In any case, I was wondering if there was any way I could write a guest post about how we went about promoting the site, which should fit in very nicely to your blog about publicity. Most of our methods cost nothing, and we leveraged social media a lot. (He used two magic phrases that caught my attention: “cost nothing” and “leveraged social media a lot.”) I know that it will inspire other entrepreneurs to take advantage of all of the low cost (another magic phrase) methods for promoting the site, and hopefully contribute a great deal to your fantastic blog. (He answered the question, “Why should my readers care?”)
Again, I love your blog and look forward to hearing from you regarding the guest post 
(Reinforces the fact that he likes my blog.)
(Reinforces the fact that he likes my blog.)Sincerely,
I loved the idea and I told him to send along whatever he has.
One of the most important elements that’s missing in guest blog post queries is any mention whatsoever of the blogger’s blog. When I interviewed Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakof during the teleseminar How to Pitch the Bet Bloggers and Create a Publicity Explosion, they shared a great suggestion on another way to catch a blogger’s attention before you pitch.
Visit the blog and start posting comments, perhaps a few over a period of a week or two. Every blogger I know welcomes comments. Comment at this blog and I’ll remember you.
If you’ve pitched bloggers successfully, share your pitches here. Or, if you’re a blogger who likes a particular pitch someone sent to you—a pitch that made you say “yes”—let’s see it. What words, phrases and other goodies should bloggers include within their pitches to win you over?
The Publicity Hound
