How To Use ProfNet As A Blogger To Connect With Brands

How To Use ProfNet As A Blogger To Connect With Brands

There are a few sites that help Bloggers connect with brands. They all are great in that you can see what is offered and apply for campaigns that interest you and those bring  reviews and sponsored posts that help you provide content for your readers. Then there is ProfNet! This has been my go-to site for a way to advertise myself! A way for me to let PR contacts and brands read what I need and decide if I am a site they want to work with. This is a tad backwards then the other types of Blog connect sites I mentioned. This site is connected with PR Newswire which I discovered first to find trending stories and topic ideas. I had no idea what ProfNet was all about and because the site has so much to offer, you really would not know about the service unless you really dug deep and that is what I did when I discovered ProfNet. I could just mention it and leave you the link, but you would be very overwhelmed once you registered. So I am going to provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to use ProfNet to generate contacts for your site. I am at a rate of about 70-80% positive responses on every campaign I post for myself which is great! To me, it is a hidden gem of PR contacts no one really discusses or knows  about…until now!

Step 1: The Link

Go to http://www.prnewswire.com/profnet/

If you are new, you will click on the tab up top that reads ‘ProfNet for Journalists’ and register. Every time afterwards, you will be able to log in on this link on the upper right had corner.

prof 1 

Step 2: Profile

Once logged in. Go to ‘MY PR Newswire’ on the top tabs. Then below those tabs, you will see a ‘Profile’ tab. Head their and complete your profile.

prof 2

Step 3: Add your Blog

After your personal profile is complete, you need to add your main (Blog) profile. In the ‘My profiles’ tab, in the center of the page is a link to ‘Add Profile’ starting with naming it-you will want the name to be your Blog’s title! Once in, you will pick tags, niche, URL, etc….. In this same screen every time you log in, you can edit this profile from the center of the page. Once your Blog is added, it will be listed in this section with an edit link beside it. Below you will see where to add your Blog and note my Blog is already added so it now appears just to the left of the pink arrow.

prof 3

Step 4: Create a Campaign

This is where you pitch yourself and your Blog. My most recent pitches I have posted were ‘Accepting Health products for review’ and ‘Accepting outdoor safety/camping products for review’. Decide what your niche or upcoming topics you will be posting on your Blog and ask to be contacted.

So Click on the ‘ProfNet Experts’ Tab-it will redirect you to (https://profnet.prnewswire.com/) and then you either log in again or it should auto-log you in to a slightly different format. Start at photo 1 below-end up at photo 2! Once there, below the Home tab, you will click on Create Opportunity (Photo 2). Pitch away! Click ‘Send’. Within the hour-sometimes in just a few moments your opportunity will go live after a brief overview by ProfNet. If they have questions or need you to edit, they will email you. You cannot mention or ask for paid content so avoid words like ‘fees’ ‘paid’ or ‘money’. You want the expiration date to be at least 30 days out. you can only submit that campaign every 30 days so don’t end it next week and try to pitch that same campaign again. No spam like that allowed! After 30 days, feel free to resubmit again and start that campaign over or create a new one.

More info on how to make sure you follow guidelines and tips from ProfNet can be found HERE!

prof 4         prof 5

Step 5: Wait!

 You will be contacted by PR companies in the email you provided in the opportunity! You will discuss all opportunities privately by email from here on!

 A note from ProfNet Director of Relations, Maria Perez. I contacted her about this article and she had some words specifically for Blogger’s new to ProfNet:

ProfNet, a service of PR Newswire, started in 1992 as a listserv for journalists that were looking for college professors to quote as experts. A few years later, the service expanded to other organizations journalists could access for experts: PR agencies, corporations, small businesses, hospitals, etc. 

A few years ago, when blogging became popular, we decided to open it up to bloggers who were also looking for sources and, ultimately, bloggers who were looking to review products. 
While the service remains predominantly for journalists in need of experts, we do run quite a few product requests, and we’re happy to do so as long as the blogger meets three criteria: the blog must be live and active for at least six months; the blog must comply with FTC blogger guidelines; and there can be no charge for featuring a product (beyond getting the product to review, of course). 
Here is a link to our Guidelines for Bloggers: http://bit.ly/WF5pYp “

 

Disclosure: This is an informational post. There is no sponsor incorporated in this post.

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