Seven Habits of Highly Effective Blog PR

Nick Wreden explains in a posting on the Fusionbrand Blog how blogs can be used to support brand building activities:

Branding executives must pay greater attention to blogs in three ways.
First, they must distribute their story to blogs, for much the same reasons that they have sought to distribute their story to print, radio and TV media for decades. Second, they must use blogs as a corporate and crisis communications tool. Finally, they must use blogs as a periscope that can provide insights into what customers, prospects and even the disenchanted are saying about offerings.

He also sets seven rules for how to do Blog PR the right way:

1. Never pitch, personalize
   
2. Respect a blogger's time and intelligence
   
3. "A blog is not about you, it is about me"
   
4. Quality, not quantity
   
5. Feed the food chain
   
6. It's no longer just about the media
   
7. Keep learning

Clearly a must-read for all the "PR pros" who keep sending me mile long standard press releases, just because I "might be interested in it, given my recent coverage". Well, usually I am not!

And for those guys, Nick has a great quote at the end of his article...

Forget about "positioning" and "one-size-fits-all" press release blasts. Participate in intelligent conversations, not just with journalists but with everyone who helps define your brand.

(via Micropersuasion)