How to write a blogger outreach email?
Is there a science to it? Well, I don’t recommend using ready-to-go scripts. As a blogger, somehow, you can always feel when someone’s pitching you cold with a generic copy-and-paste template.
Pitching bloggers require lots of work, but I recommend writing individual emails.
It’s worth the effort.
However, a little structure is often a good idea:
What to do before sending your pitch: Before sending your pitch, you should consider doing a honeymoon outreach!
Blogger Outreach — What To Include
I have this essential public relations checklist for writing blogger outreach emails. I don’t use it to be sly or in any way to automate my writing, but I use it to make sure I don’t miss any essential parts.
Below are the components I strive to include:
(Always Include) Honesty
I make sure to express honesty. Saying something nice about another person’s work is polite, and if I can’t think of anything honest to say, then I shouldn’t be pitching that particular blogger.
(Always Include) Purpose
I try to state my purpose in one sentence pretty early on. No superlatives here — I try to keep it plain and descriptive.
(Always Include) Incentive
What’s in it for the blogger? The incentive is the most crucial part but is strangely also the most often forgotten. I will make sure to be clear about the details here.
(Always Include) Recognition
There’s a reason I’m contacting the blogger. We both know that. Therefore, I think it’s essential that I, who initiated the contact, also acknowledge the blogger.
(Always Include) Call-To-Action
Many try to soft sell, hoping the blogger will know what to do without explicitly stating it. As if that would make the pitch less “salesy”? No, I strive to be clear about what I’m asking of the blogger.
Blogger Outreach Email Script
This is a made-up example of how I would pitch a blogger writing about interior design:
If you include these five elements and strive to keep each part down to one or two sentences, you should be able to cover the basics. Some prefer to write even shorter pitch emails, but I think you might risk coming off as way too blasé if you take that approach too far.
These elements can appear in any order. See, for example, this follow-up email example:
Blogger Outreach Follow-Up Script
Here’s another made-up example of how I would do a follow-up outreach to the same blogger:
I try to stay true to my tonality and pitching style. I don’t try to imitate anyone or write as younger or older because I think it’s essential to pitch with integrity.
However, I mix it up quite a bit on the scale between formal and informal. In some cases, I’m “all business”, and in others, a lot more personal—depending on the context.
Read next: How To Write a PR Pitch
