This week I had the great pleasure of speaking on a a panel about brands and bloggers at the second annual Social Media Master’s Summit conducted by Windy City Social. The panel included Kim Moldofsky of Mom Impact, Danielle Smith of ExtraordinaryMommy.com and Esther Crawford of ShePosts.com. We were brought togetehr to offer our expertise to an audience filled with bloggers who want to work with brands and th brands who want to work with bloggers. We covered a lot of ground during our one hour panel. coming away form the presentation it became clear to me that there are still many bloggers out there who don’t know how to set up their blogs to be a magnet for opportunity. So I have compiled a list of the top five pages that I believe a blogger needs to have on their site to attract opportunity and be information ready for the future.
1. Create an About Me Page.
If you want to receive pitches from brands and PR agencies. They need to know a little bit about you and what you are passionate about. Of course you will still probably receive some of those “Dear Lucy” letters like Danielle Smith talked about at the Social Media Master’s Summit. You know the one’s that come to the wrong name, and have to do with products and opportunities that have nothing to do with anything you are interested in. However, you will lessen that chance by making the information available that allows PR people to match you with the right opportunities and the right brands.
2. Create a Contact Me Page.
A Contact Me page helps brands and PR people who have been attracted to you by your content, your voice as Kim Moldofsky mentioned yesterday at The Social Media Master’s Summit. When Kim vets bloggers for brands the most frustrating thing she encounters is the inability to find contact information. So make sure you list the best possible way for someone to contact you on your site.
3. Create a PR Guidelines page.
As Esther Crawford of She Posts talked about in the Social Media Master’s Summit, Be authentic, be professional, be responsible, and then don’t sell yourself short. Your contribution has value and should be treated as such. But if you want to make a deal like a professional then you have to make sure that you present like a professional. So I suggest that you create a page just for PR folks. Let them know how you like to work, and what you are interested in doing.
4. Create a Disclosure Statement.
Lead with your integrity. I have modeled my own disclosure statement off of the disclosure statement of my fellow influencer The Selfish Mom. What I liked about her statement was the number code. It makes identifying the type of post that I am disclosing simple and concise. But remember, to be in compliance with FTC guidelines you must include the disclosure text in the body of your post. (Thank you @Justicefergie for reminding me of that.)
5. A top notch Home Page
Now I know what you are thinking. “A home page is kind of a no brainer, isn’t it Miss Lori?” Yes, having a home page is pretty standard. However, it’s not so much about the page rather what’s on it. You need to make sure that your content is creative, impactful and well written. Know your craft. Proof read your work and make sure that your thoughts are clear and concise. Know who you are and convey that through your posts. Humanize your information and let your voice be heard. Because ultimately a brand is hiring a person, not a blog.
SMILE On!
ML
This is a Level 7 Post: Miss Lori was provided with transportation, food, lodging, tickets, and/or other incidentals for the trip mentioned in this post.
Miss Lori can be found Musing from her Minivan at MissLori.TV , Wearetherealdeal.com , YoungChicagonista , ChicagoMomsBlog , and ChicagoMoms.com. She is the Chicago Family Entertainment Blogger for Examiner.com and a Discussion Leader for MomsLikeMeChicago. You can also see her Activating to Be Great at Miss Lori’s CAMPUS on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
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