Looking to old media for inspiration: Why 
bloggers need to shape up or ship out
Presentation Agenda! 
1. The truth about bloggers 
2. Who reads blogs and what they read 
3. Why the Daily Mail rocks (unfortunately) 
4. Why work with bloggers then? 
5. How to work with your bloggers
Why work with bloggers
The truth about bloggers!
Our findings ! 
Of the hundreds of blogs we read and 
analysed, we found that approximately 
99% were:
Grrr…!
The proof!
So we went back to the drawing board…! 
… of which one was 
written by a friend or 
relative
And the topics? ! 
1) Gossip 
2) Parenting 
3) Money-Saving 
4) Going Out 
5) Fashion 
6) Food & Drink 
7) Health/Diet 
8) Craft/DIY 
9) Interiors 
10) Photography 
Travel ranked in 15th place…after music, 
pets motoring and (even) politics
And the topics? ! 
1) Gossip 
2) Going Out 
3) Fashion 
4) Money-saving 
5) Food & Drink 
6) Music 
7) Weddings 
8) Parenting 
9) Health/Diet 
10) Interiors 
…nope still no travel
Why no travel love? !
So where are consumers influenced on social media? !
So bloggers suck, right? !
Lets analyse the Daily Mail then…!
The blogger – press equivalents! 
The blogger = The publisher (responsible for ad 
sales, circulation figures, etc) 
To increase ad sales and circulation, a newspaper 
must constantly deliver the kind of articles 
consumers want to read. 
They must then promote the newspaper and content 
through ad campaigns, promotions, sponsorships, 
re-targeting of top posts, etc 
A blogger is no different.
So why work with bloggers then? ! 
1) SEO 
2) Anything else (including influence building, brand 
awareness, traffic driving, sales conversion, etc
How do I know this? !
What is useless! 
1) Tweet-ups (also retweets and pretty much anything on 
Twitter) 
2) Blog houses, blog trips 
3) Single post, single time 
4) Not promoting the content 
5) Using the wrong platforms 
Remember, talk to your mother, your sister, your neighbour. 
Stop relying on numbers, volume of coverage and number of 
posts. It’s like hosting an amazing party that no one comes to.
If SEO isn’t our goal, then how de we 
get the elusive items in number 2? ! 
1) Go niche 
2) Attend blogger events 
3) Ask for media packs 
4) Read the blogs!! 
5) Look at their social media profile 
6) Engagement, engagement, engagement 
7) Repeat trips 
8) Two-year minimum 
9) And finally – reference check 
If it passes all these steps – and you have budget of your own 
to promote the content on your platforms – then it’s time to work 
with bloggers. 
!
And the content?! 
1) Topics that matter to the consumer – and remember it isn’t 
travel (so food, fashion, money-saving tips are all great) 
2) Features are fine – as long as they are packed with 
information, interesting stories are being told and aren’t 
written like a ‘My Summer Vacation’ report for junior high 
3) Photo-rich, good titles (Think ‘Blew My Mind’, Buzz-Feed 
Quizzes) 
4) Journos are becoming bloggers, why not have blogger re-pitch 
their work? 
5) STOP with the free trips!! That should come at the end of a 
working relationship. NOT at the beginning.
Thank you

Ryan Levitt: Finding the 1%

  • 1.
    Looking to oldmedia for inspiration: Why bloggers need to shape up or ship out
  • 2.
    Presentation Agenda! 1.The truth about bloggers 2. Who reads blogs and what they read 3. Why the Daily Mail rocks (unfortunately) 4. Why work with bloggers then? 5. How to work with your bloggers
  • 3.
    Why work withbloggers
  • 4.
    The truth aboutbloggers!
  • 5.
    Our findings ! Of the hundreds of blogs we read and analysed, we found that approximately 99% were:
  • 6.
  • 7.
  • 8.
    So we wentback to the drawing board…! … of which one was written by a friend or relative
  • 9.
    And the topics?! 1) Gossip 2) Parenting 3) Money-Saving 4) Going Out 5) Fashion 6) Food & Drink 7) Health/Diet 8) Craft/DIY 9) Interiors 10) Photography Travel ranked in 15th place…after music, pets motoring and (even) politics
  • 10.
    And the topics?! 1) Gossip 2) Going Out 3) Fashion 4) Money-saving 5) Food & Drink 6) Music 7) Weddings 8) Parenting 9) Health/Diet 10) Interiors …nope still no travel
  • 11.
  • 12.
    So where areconsumers influenced on social media? !
  • 13.
  • 14.
    Lets analyse theDaily Mail then…!
  • 15.
    The blogger –press equivalents! The blogger = The publisher (responsible for ad sales, circulation figures, etc) To increase ad sales and circulation, a newspaper must constantly deliver the kind of articles consumers want to read. They must then promote the newspaper and content through ad campaigns, promotions, sponsorships, re-targeting of top posts, etc A blogger is no different.
  • 16.
    So why workwith bloggers then? ! 1) SEO 2) Anything else (including influence building, brand awareness, traffic driving, sales conversion, etc
  • 17.
    How do Iknow this? !
  • 18.
    What is useless! 1) Tweet-ups (also retweets and pretty much anything on Twitter) 2) Blog houses, blog trips 3) Single post, single time 4) Not promoting the content 5) Using the wrong platforms Remember, talk to your mother, your sister, your neighbour. Stop relying on numbers, volume of coverage and number of posts. It’s like hosting an amazing party that no one comes to.
  • 19.
    If SEO isn’tour goal, then how de we get the elusive items in number 2? ! 1) Go niche 2) Attend blogger events 3) Ask for media packs 4) Read the blogs!! 5) Look at their social media profile 6) Engagement, engagement, engagement 7) Repeat trips 8) Two-year minimum 9) And finally – reference check If it passes all these steps – and you have budget of your own to promote the content on your platforms – then it’s time to work with bloggers. !
  • 20.
    And the content?! 1) Topics that matter to the consumer – and remember it isn’t travel (so food, fashion, money-saving tips are all great) 2) Features are fine – as long as they are packed with information, interesting stories are being told and aren’t written like a ‘My Summer Vacation’ report for junior high 3) Photo-rich, good titles (Think ‘Blew My Mind’, Buzz-Feed Quizzes) 4) Journos are becoming bloggers, why not have blogger re-pitch their work? 5) STOP with the free trips!! That should come at the end of a working relationship. NOT at the beginning.
  • 21.