Blogging and Public Relations

BlogHer has an interesting discussion on blogging, public relations, and making money:

here are people right now who can link $$ directly to their blogging.

So how are they doing that? Sure, ads are part of it. But so is blogging consulting, sponsored blogs, off-blog writing gigs, and even simply using a blog as a marketing tool for your brand or your business (or your clients' businesses.)

UPDATED SECTION:

4 such people are on our panel:

I'm your moderator, and I have leveraged my blogs in numerous ways: from landing a regular column in a local alternative paper...that's right...print media to writing blogs professionally, both as a hired gun and for a sponsored blog, where I have editorial control, but it is exclusively sponsored by a company. Beyond that I've also leveraged blogs to land speaking engagements, interviews, press and client interest.

Toby Bloomberg is a marketing consultant who has absolutely established herself as an industry expert, in no small part due to her blog presence. She also advises her clients about blogging and helps them get into the game, although she focuses primarily on the strategy part. Toby knows first hand the reaction marketing-oriented blogs can get...and how to handle that reaction.

Carolyn Elefant is a practicing attorney who uses her blog to build her personal brand and her business. She too has landed a book deal thanks to her blog, along with the kind of speaking engagements and other invitations that not only bring revenue, but build her reputation. Carolyn also has some creative ideas about how to user her site to help other solo practitioners get into blogging.

Susannah Gardner is a blogging expert, and author of the newly released Buzz Marketing with Blogs for Dummies. Susannah's book is full of case studies and also focused on what not to do if you want to keep your credibility.

I look forward to joining the women of blogging at the BlogHer conference as I've been invited to speak on a panel about citizen journalists -- bloggers who are recruited by newspapers to write blogs for the paper. I've been writing a blog for The Wisconsin State Journal since September 2004. It's been an interesting experience.

At any rate, many bloggers are finding ways to use blogging to jump start other opportunities. BlogHer and visitors discuss that in detail.


Technorati Tag: blogging