Episode Twelve (Season One): An Interview With Gosh PR

For a long time, we found the idea of proactively growing our blog a terrifying prospect. Too nervous  to “reach out” to those that might be able to offer us new opportunities, we instead opted for the agonising waiting game; watching our inbox with unblinking eyes and praying for a miracle.

Predictably, for two long years, our inbox resembled the prairie lands of middle America. Tumbleweed blew through it and dust gathered in its corners.  There were no invitations and no requests; our blog remaining a hobby rather than a business. Eventually, we realised that we had to do something: we needed to be brave, proactive and show initiative . “Don’t wait for the ship to come in, swim out to it”, as the saying goes.

Nervously, we agreed it was time to approach the guardians of those coveted blogging opportunities – it was time to contact the PRs.

Throughout the blogging world, PRs are now subject to their very own folklore. Some will try to take advantage of you, yet others will make you stars. Some will see you as a last resort, whilst others are proactively shaping the trends of influencer marketing; waving the flag for bloggers worldwide. With such myths circulating – the public relations version of the Brothers Grimm tales now doing the rounds – we were incredibly nervous when we first started contacting PRs. Did we look unattractively desperate in approaching them directly? How should we present ourselves? Were we even seen as a legitimate source of marketing?

Two years on and we’ve learned that PRs and bloggers are on the same side: joining forces to deliver some fantastic content for a shared client. This is a relationship dependent on teamwork. This was brought home to us by Gosh PR, a leading travel, lifestyle and digital PR Agency, who we’ve had the pleasure of working with over the last year; dispelling for us any remaining myths surrounding the blogger and PR relationship.

In this podcast, we therefore sit down with Hannah Mulvey & Ela Ayhan from Gosh PR, to get their take on what it is like working with bloggers. Why do they work with digital ‘influencers’? Do they think it’s worthwhile? What can bloggers do to stand out from the crowd and work on large campaigns? How should bloggers contact PRs?

We found this interview not only helpful, but a sheer relief – Hannah and Ela (and Gosh PR more widely), clear champions of the work that bloggers do and optimistic for the future of influencer marketing.

So, make a cup of tea, settle down and get ready for some myth busting!

P.s – if you’d like to join in this discussion, or answer any of Hannah or Ela’s own questions, please take to Twitter and @goshpr ! They would love to hear from you.

Listen on iTunes