I was reading my dog Bella's blog (yes, you read that correctly) and she provides a great example of a pet food company carrying out a clever word of mouth marketing campaign.
Bella was bit surprised when she bit through the envelope and read the letter offering free food. But, being the trusting and hungry dog that she is, she took Freshpet up on its offer for complimentary samples of their new Homestyle Select dog food in exchange for a possible review. She ended up giving the food a "two paws up" rating.
The initial offer for Bella to try the product came via a personalized email from a company intern asking that Bella respond by August 26 since his internship will end then. The letter was short, to the point, and, most importantly, a personal appeal.
I'm surprised that more companies like Freshpet aren't reaching out to bloggers. Good bloggers like Bella have credibility and relationships with their readers that traditional advertisers lack so their recommendations carry weight. Furthermore, anytime a blogger writes about a product and includes a link to a company's website, it increases that website's search engine ranking since search engines value links from credible blogs. Come to think of it, by blogging about Bella's recommendation of Freshpet, I too am helping that company's search engine ranking.
Reaching out to bloggers is not about spending a lot of money nor trying to portray yourself as something your aren't. Rather, it's about telling bloggers what makes you, your product, or your company different and why that information would be interesting to their readers. And, if you have something you can give away to prove your point, you certainly should.
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