Dos and Don’ts of Blog Submissions From A Blogger
photo credit: Neka Rae on Flickr
I’m a blogger, and I receive about 10-20 submissions a day via email. I have to weed through the baddies to get to the goodies.
Here are my Dos and Don’ts that might just get you to the top of a blogger’s “goodie” list 
DO:
- Send me a link to some sort of website, whether it be your portfolio site, etsy shop, or a site that sells your items. If you don’t have a website, send me an email address through which interested readers can contact you. Blogs are online media, so you should include some sort of related contact information for my readers.
- Send me 1-5 low resolution images for use on my site.
- Address the email to ME, and maybe even show me you read/like my site by telling me about a recent post you enjoyed or that I’m on your feed reader.
- Introduce yourself, tell me a little about you and your stuff, and what it is you’re showing me.
- If you’re a PR professional, make me like you, and not just the product/artist/site you’re pushing. Relationships are key in this business.
- Flattery will get you everywhere [well, almost].
DON’T:
- Attach a Word document press release. I won’t read it.
- Attach a Word document press release and also copy and paste the same information from the Word document into the body of the email. This is dumb [sorry, it really is].
- Send me an email with a subject line in ALL CAPS; it has the opposite effect.
- Attach a zip file of images expecting me to download and extract them. Unless I ask for lots of high-res images, this is highly unnecessary. These are typically large files which clog my memory, too, so probably not the best way to my heart.
- Send me an email in a language that I don’t post in on my blog. I speak and read English, so please don’t expect me to understand your Turkish press release. This instantly makes me think you’ve stuck me on a massive mailing list. At least send a translation or a link to your site so I can see more.
- Address the email Dear Blogger, or Dear Jane [my name is Jaime].
- Send the email to 20 different blogs in the TO email field. We can see it and if you BCC us, we know that you did –
- Send me the same email 2 times in a week or 4 times a month. I got your email. If you want to follow up, please do so but do not spam.
thanks for the tips!
Thank you, Jaime. Succinct, useful and funny. This is something I’ve been wondering about as I slowly make my way into the scary marketing side of ecommerce. I think I will RT!
Interesting and helpful list – thank you!
I just have to say how much I love the bluntness/honesty with which you write. If something is flat out stupid, I want to know that. Not that it’s “not courteous” or “frowned upon”. It’s just stupid. Thanks!
Thank you so much for your tips and helpful information, and for sorting out the other side of my brain for me.
Thanks for these tips, Jaime! They´re highly useful. Though some apply specifically to blog submissions, there are others that are basically politeness and common sense, so they´re handy for contacting… well, anyone. Thanks again!
Very handy list- will be bookmarking and sharing! Thanks! (P.S.- Congrats and Good Luck to you both on this new venture!)
Amen, sister!
Good tips!….I’m wondering…there are a few design blogs I thought about sending my work to but they don’t have a link or any statement that asks for submissions. Do most design blogs contact people they like or do they expect to get e-mails from designers? Maybe it just depends on the blog?
Thanks Jaime. Really helpful!
Kimberly — Most blogs will have an email address or contact me link where you can submit. Many times they do not outwardly ask for submissions, but it is inferred that you can email them a submission if they offer contact information.
*sighs* i hope one day to have this problem of too many submissions….but in the meantime, thank you for the succinct and helpful info
Great site this thinkbakery.com and I am really pleased to see you have what I am actually looking for here and this this post is exactly what I am interested in. I shall be pleased to become a regular visitor
wonderful read, keep up the great work. more writers like you are needed on the net
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Thanks so much for your help!
another fantastic article! Just found the blog but hope to keep up on it.
Great info for artists to get noticed. Need to share this with our community.
Nate
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Thanks for the useful info. It’s so interesting
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Cool site, love the info.
Great site…keep up the good work.
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Hi,
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black hattitude.
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