Since starting this blog, I’ve worked with brands in different ways: reviews, giveaways, special programs, sponsorships, ambassadorships, etc. And I’ve also written for other sites. All things I had no clue existed when I first thought hmmm, I think I’m going to blog. And through trial and error, tips posts, and blog conferences, I’ve learned what I should have on my blog if I want to do any of these opportunities.
I’m a PR-Friendly blog. You see that phrase all over the blogosphere.
But, with the work I’ve been doing over the past year or so, where I’m on the opposite side of the equation as the one looking for blogs to partner with on reviews, giveaways, sponsorships, and other paid gigs, I’ve learned to look at blogs in a different way.
If you want to be truly PR-Friendly, be sure to have these features on your blog:
Your Email
It’s surprising to me how many blogs do not have an email address listed somewhere. You can create a “contact me” tab to make it easy to find. You can include it in your sidebar. I have an icon over there in my sidebar that you can click to email me. But I also have a “contact me” tab with my email listed. My email is also on my “about me” page and my “pr page.” That might sound like overkill, but I want to make it easy for people to contact me. If a PR person is checking out my PR policy and does decide to email me, they can see my email right there and not have to do another click. And I want an actual email address, not just a contact form. Sometimes I’m building a list of people I want to email about something later and not email you right this second. Nothing wrong with the email form, but it’s helpful if you add an option like “Or email me at yourname@youremail.com.”
Your Name
Believe me, I understand wanting a little anonymity. You don’t have to use your full name or even your real name. But I need to know what to call you. Especially when it comes to something like an opp where we are looking for someone to write a weekly paid post. It’s hard to get someone on board to pay you if you don’t have a name and I’m just addressing you as your blog’s title like “Dear Pretty Pink Castle.” Now, you can decide you want some sort of nickname- maybe you are Queenie who writes Pretty Pink Castle. I’ll address you as Queenie, no problem. But somewhere, you should make it clear what you want to be called.
Your Social Media Links
Are you on twitter? Are you on facebook? Instagram? Pinterest? It should be very easy to find these on your blog. Companies have figured out the power of social media and they want to know that you are active on social channels. Link to them from your main page. You can get cute social media icons or have a “like” box from facebook. But if you are on these, they need to be easy to find.
Right Click Enabled
This one is a bit of a personable preference, but bear with me as to why. If you do have your email somewhere where I can easily find it, I’m most likely going to copy and paste it into a database to use later. And it’s easier to copy and paste than to have to type it out: especially when doing these in bulk. And if your email includes numbers/characters or is something easily misspelled, it might get misspelled and then you’ll never get that email. Another reason I like the right click is for those social media profiles. I want to check them out, but I don’t want to leave your blog. While lots of bloggers have this set so these links automatically open in a new window, not all do. So I like to right click and select open in new tab instead of taking a chance. I’m not on your blog trying to steal your photos or your content, which is the main reason people disable right click. But realize that if someone really wants to steal your content, they can find a way around this anyway.
About Me
Chances are, if I’m looking at your blog, I already have a basic idea of who you are and/or what you blog about but this is a good way to reaffirm your blog is the right fit for a given opportunity. Your “about me” is a good place to highlight what you blog about, especially if you blog about something that fits into a certain niche(even if you don’t write only in that niche).
Even if you aren’t looking to work with brands or for any other paid opportunities, the majority of these tips can still apply to you to make your blog more accessible to your readers as well.
Great tips, Shell!
Shell, thank you so much for posting this! I’ve blogged off and on but have recently decided to really get focused on building it up and doing things the right way. These are amazing tips. Thank you for your gift of knowledge!
Whew! I am so glad I have all of these!
Whew! I am so glad I have all of these!
Great tips Shell! I used to disable right click but it was annoying even for me, so it’s gone 🙂
It’s good to know I have all of those things, even though I don’t work much with brands anymore.
Great tips!
Great tips for any blog, not just a PR friendly one!
Great post, Shell! I’m thrilled that I have most of these items taken care of. It’s not everyday I feel like I’m getting somewhere with this blog thing. It’s refreshing to know I’m learning! I recently read an article on Problogger about having a disclosure policy and why it’s a good idea. Not just for the legal aspect of things (which I know nothing about), but it’s simply just another opportunity for you to share your voice, writing style, and mission. I added one after reading it. 🙂
For legal reasons, you should have a disclosure policy. There are other things that are helpful as well. But these are the five that stick out to me as I’ve been looking over blogs for different opportunities- the things that really stick out if they are missing.
Your comment about the right-click is really, really important . . . if people want to steal your content, it’s not difficult. Anything that is online is “stealable,” and, in fact, a disabled right click is little detriment to someone who would actually use something you have to try to make a buck from. But, it’s a great-big annoyance to a casual visitor to your blog.
Exactly. And I hate when someone has a window that pops up with something like “Mine!” or “No stealing!” if I try to right click. I’m just trying to copy an email address or open something in a new window, not take anything!
Wonderful tips and I use them all on my blog. I still have to do a PR page one of these days. I love reading these types of posts to see if there are things I should change or enhance on my blog. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for writing this in such a straightforward manner… So much advice is vague as to what step to take or buried in technical language.
Great advice. I need to tweak my about page. Thanks.
Great tips! I think I have all those covered on my blog 🙂
So helpful! Am definitely bookmarking this for future reference! 🙂
Whew! Now I can relax… I went through each one and I believe I am covered. GREAT TIPS and thank you for sharing 🙂 Have a great day!
These are great tips. My back to school project is to do a design overhaul, where I get pretty social media buttons, etc. But for now, I can certainly add the “contact me at my email” to my about page – I have the form but I hear what you are saying. Thank you!
I recently did a little design change and I didn’t have this post to reference, but looked around at really good blogs to get ideas for the essentials. This is excellent because it puts everything in one place and it’s easy to understand. Hopefully a lot of people get to see it for your great tips. Thanks for posting!
These are really great tips.
I especially like the enable right-click one. I ALWAYS want to open links in a new tab when I’m on someone’s blog so I don’t loose what I’m reading. When they make that impossible, I just move on with no comment, and usually never find them again.
Me, too! I don’t want to lose my place. And while some will set their links to open in a new window anyway, not all do.
Before I read the post, I thought oh another SEO, marketing list of stuff probably. Nice surprise that it was very simple tips. The email listing was one that changed on me. Thanks for pointing out the importance of that. It had been in my profile but that was recently switched to G+ profile which makes it hard to find. So I will be adding a “contact me” tab shortly. thanks
These are all the things that I’ve been noticing as I’ve been poking around on different blogs- the things I need to see to add a blog to my list or to be able to work with them. Very simple, but you’d be surprised how many don’t have these things.
This is seriously a great list. I hate right click disable to for the very same reason. Plus, if I’m looking through a post and there are links to other posts, I want to open them in a new tab to read after I’m done with the original rather than going back and forth.
{Melinda} Thanks for this, Shell. I was happy to find I am a PR-friendly blog! I haven’t explored that aspect of blogging much yet, but I hope to in the future. Your consistency and growth as a blogger is inspirational.
Great tips! I always appreciate your posts on how to be a better blogger. They help me learn the ins and outs of blogging which has become a passion of mine. Eventually I want to learn the business side of it so these were very informative.
Stopping by via MomComm.
Great piece! I an not quite at the point of accepting PR requests and inquiries but I do aim to ensure my blog is clean, professional, and has what is needed in the event anyone opts to e-mail me. By this list I can see I still have some work to do but thankfully not too much.
Thanks for the insight! Very helpful!
I need someone to update my About Me… it’s a sad, sad place. But on the bright side I have the rest of them!!
My own can use a little brushing up, too.
Great tips! Now, I’m off to see if I have all of the suggestions in place on my site!
Great information! I am still trying to cultivate the blog. It started as one thing…might be turning into another. It reminds me that I should probably review my About Me page. I wrote it when I first started. Is it really giving all of the information that would help someone know what my blog is about? Or is it just the basics? Thanks again!
You can really do it either way. Some keep it very simple and others write a lot for theirs. I have a short “About Me” on my main page and then a longer one on my “about me” page itself.
Great list! I think the only thing I’m guilty of is using the contact form instead of my email. I’d never thought of it that way, but it definitely makes sense. Now, I’m off to add my email address to my contact page just in case. 🙂
Thank you for the tips, Shell! I just made my “contact me” page last week…oops.
Thanks SO much for all these tips Shell! I just applied each of them to my blog. Im hoping to become more PR available. Thanks!
Thanks as always, Shell! Now, I just need to turn my blog into a PR friendly one. 🙂
Thank you for an excellent post. I hadn’t thought of the email, though comments are enabled. I added one. I also double-checked the right-click. It really IS annoying to get the rather smug message that says, in essence, “Hah! I caught you trying to steal!!!”
Thanks again!
Thanks for the great tips! It’s always nice to get ideas from others.
Thanks for sharing these tips and I’m happy to see that I have made these things easily accessible on my blog =) I’ve grown up so much in the past 10 months! LOL
Great tips, thanks for sharing! I just went and updated my ‘About Me’ page because of this post.
Thanks 🙂
I absolutely hate when people disable right clicking. I always open any link in a new window so it’s a huge turnoff. And kind of pointless. I understand people wanting to protect their photos, but really you could just print screen the page and crop the photo out anyway. It’s not worth the headache.
Great tips! And yes, it drives me crazy when someone doesn’t have a name associated with their blog, especially if I am trying to mention them for some reason on my blog.
Whew…I think I have all the things you are looking for! 🙂 Yay me! Maybe you should come and test my blog and see if I pass! 🙂
Thanks! I need to fix some of these on my blog.
Great tips! I also think a photo of yourself helps. It’s like the about page — it makes you REAL!
Great tips!! I will definitely be making some changes to my blog.
these are great tips! I’m not sure if I’m ready for PR, but I’m open to it, and I know I need to change a few things on my blog. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!
Thanks for this!!
Thank you for the tips! I hadn’t thought about a couple of these and will be making some changes as soon as possible.
Great tips! I have most of them but my blog still need to be a little more Pr friendly. Thanks!
I am so grateful for this info. Simple to read, simple to implement.
I’m so new to all of this. Just did the content brew class w/ momcomm and am in the process of revamping my blog b/c I would like to begin monetizing it! How did you know how much to charge for advertising rates or blog posts?
I am going to double check what kind of contact info I have up… thanks for the tips!
Great tips, thanks! I never even thought of putting my email on my page somewhere. Ill be taking care of that today. Thanks for the info.
yay! I’m on the right track. I have all 5. Thanks for this list 🙂
Thanks for the tips. I recently started a blog that I would eventually like to pursue monetizing so I am always looking to improve. Glad to see I passed all 5 of these. 🙂
Great tips. I missed this earlier this week.
Great list! I think that I need to double check my social media links now that youmention it!
Thank you so much for posting this, Shell! Although I’m too paranoid to share my social media links, it’s helpful to read what you’ve learned about making your blog more PR-friendly.
I used these tips just last week for improving my blog. I added in fun social media icons and spelled out my email instead of just including a contact form. Thank you so much for the tips. I’m working really hard to try to make my blog more PR friendly.
Oh my goodness, you are so right! I see blogs all the time w/o contact information. Or it’s there but super hard to find.
This is such a great post. Thanks for sharing such great tips and tricks. I definitely need to do a few of these. Great job!
Glad to say, I have all… great tips!
Sandy
Really great tips…Recently I started Product Reviews in my blog & wanted to create a page for that. Now I grabbed some more ideas from you .Thanks for posting.
Awesome tips! I just started my blog and was glad to know that I have these 5 things covered! 🙂 Makes me feel somewhat accomplished LOL.
Great advice! Looks like I need to make some minor changes 🙂
Oh, yes, please on the right-click thing! I almost ALWAYS open links in new tabs – that’s my way of trying to avoid LEAVING your blog yet! So it drives me crazy when right-click is disabled.
Hi,
Thank you so much for all these tips, they are so true.
xoxo
Sanne
These are all great tips. I’ve been looking for ways to work with more brands and I didn’t even realize that my email address is hard to find on my blog! Epic fail.