Finding channels you can use to promote your product is always challenging. Most businesses operate in saturated markets, making it harder for them to grow and thrive using conventional paid marketing.
That’s why an intelligent minority of business owners use bloggers to promote their products. These influencers often have a captive audience that aligns with their target markets, increasing their impact.
As a brand, you are likely aware of the benefits of working with bloggers. But how do you find them and get them to promote your product?
That’s the topic of this post. We explore the various search methods you can use to get help and begin winning the battle for attention in your niche.
Actionable Strategies To Find Bloggers In Your Niche
Influencer partnerships can be lucrative. That’s why some TikTok professionals charge hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single product placement. They know their worth.
However, companies just starting should think smaller. You want to find bloggers that represent value for money to get your product awareness off the ground. Then, you can target influencers with more expansive audiences.
With that in mind, here are some of the things you can try:
- Search Google
Your first port of call when finding bloggers in your niche should be Google. The search engine makes it straightforward to identify people writing in your sector.
Start by typing your niche plus the word “bloggers” into the toolbar. Google should provide a list of results with articles covering the top bloggers in your space.
For example, if you run a car detailing company, you might search for “car detailing bloggers.” Then, you can work through the list, contacting bloggers as appropriate.
Most bloggers will work with brands like yours. However, some have strict independence clauses, meaning they won’t always promote or advertise your products.
As such, always do your due diligence. Check bloggers’ terms and conditions pages, often under a “media” or “brands” section. You want a willing partner, not someone who works against commercial interests.
Fortunately, most bloggers will bite off your hand to work with you, especially if you pay. A small fee helps cover their costs and reduces risk for both parties.
- Look For Brand Mentions
A more targeted approach is to look for brand mentions. Tools like Brand24, Brandwatch, and BrandMentions can help you find the influencers and bloggers already talking about you.
These solutions work by scanning the internet and looking for instances where people write about your company. For example, you might discover a blogger discussing your products in a comments section or find an article that references you directly.
Leveraging these connections is a clever business practice. Bloggers thinking about you are more likely to want to work with you (or at least start a conversation with you).
Brand mentions also provide insights into how you can start leveraging relationships with bloggers. For example, you might see an audience asking questions about your products. You could respond by providing answers in an interview blog or writing something up yourself.
The more you time your involvement, the more successful you will be. Bloggers love it when you contact them just as they think about you.
- Use Blog Directories
Another less common approach to finding bloggers to promote your products is to use blog directories. These sites aggregate and categorise blogs, making them more straightforward to find.
Numerous blog directories have grown over the years. Top options include:
- Blogarama
- Bloglisting
- Blogsearch
- BlogAdda
- IndiBlogger
- Bloggernity
- Blogengage
- Alltop
- Spillbean
Blog directories are helpful because they let you search blogs (and nothing else) using keywords. All you need to do is type in your niche and get a list of global results.
If you don’t find bloggers targeting your niche, you can search by blog post topic. You might find some writers discussing issues related to your business that interest their audience, even if their blog also focuses on other things.
For example, suppose your company sells first-aid kits for anglers. You won’t find many blogs that cover this topic exclusively, but plenty of fishing-related websites will be happy to host and entertain your content.
It’s a similar story for bicycle components. Few sites cover these exclusively, but plenty of cycling bloggers would jump at the chance to try your products.
Buzzsumo is a tool that many bloggers and brands use for this purpose. It works by categorising popular content by topic and showing posts that interest people the most.
Moz has another tool called Followerank. This solution works by helping you find Twitter (X) and Instagram influencers who might promote you.
Keep experimenting until you find a tool that complements your strategy. Eventually, you will find a blogger or influencer willing to work with you.
- Social Media Hashtags
Social media hashtags are passé in 2024, but some old-school bloggers still use them to categorise their posts. As such, you can use them to find writers in your niche across the web.
Many blog niches have generic hashtags that help you narrow your search. The most popular B2C hashtags are “#beauty,” “#fitness” and “#foodporn,” while the most popular B2C are “#socialmedia,” “#sales” and “#tech”.
Don’t be afraid to drill down into the details. Generic hashtags attract attention, but targeting them might not be beneficial commercially. Choosing more specific ones may boost your ability to find people blogging in your niche.
The best bloggers will use accurate hashtags to describe their content. These help you discover if they are suitable partners for your niche.
- Read Industry Blogs
A final channel for finding bloggers to promote your product is industry blogs. Established companies will often link to bloggers you would otherwise miss.
Because of this, these editorials are essentially doing the legwork for you. Their analysts research bloggers, and you simply piggyback on their efforts, reaching out to niche writers who share an audience with you.
Industry blogs are also helpful because they introduce you to the personalities in your blogging space. You learn more about the players in the segment, letting you figure out if you want to work with them. In-depth articles provide a complete profile of the person behind the blog, giving you a better perspective on whether you should work with them.
How To Refine Your Search For Suitable Bloggers
Once you have a list of potential bloggers you want to work with, the next step is to refine your search to end up with a shortlist of the top people. The quality of bloggers can vary considerably – as can their commitment to the cause – so you must choose partners wisely.
Here are some of the tactics you can use to learn more about them and feel more confident about establishing ties:
- Check Their Online Presence
The first step is to check the blogger’s online presence. Many writers excel in drawing large audiences, but they might not be suitable for your business.
Try to find out the following:
- Average share counts on their blog posts
- Whether they are still publishing (or relying on the popularity of their blog in the past for certain keywords)
- Whether they have social media profiles
- How many followers they have on social media
- The platforms they use (Instagram, Facebook, X, etc.)
- Who shares their content
- What their domain authority is (using a domain authority checker tool)
Once you understand their presence, you can build a picture of who they are and what they are doing. Many bloggers who seem promising are no longer active and, therefore, not much help to brands. Others have exceptional websites but don’t use social media, limiting their audience and outreach.
Ultimately, you must decide which traits matter most to you and make a decision on who to approach. The information you gather informs whether you collaborate with the blogger, sign them as an affiliate or move on to the next candidate.
- Check Medium
Next, you’ll want to see whether your blogger has posted on Medium. Articles on this site indicate their maximum quality output and the originality of their ideas. You can soon see if they are a leader in their space with the potential to draw a significant audience.
You might also find them on other high-authority learning sites, like Udemy and Teachable. Bloggers who contribute to the formal education of others have significant skills that might help your brand.
This reach-out also shows they are serious about becoming leaders in their respective fields. Writers who go beyond their websites are often trying to push the boundaries of what they can achieve, which means larger audiences and more brand exposure for you.
- Ask For A Media Kit
You’ll also want to ask the blogger for a media kit. These usually showcase who they worked with in the past and how they drove campaigns forward.
Most bloggers will hand out media kits without asking any further questions. It’s an opportunity for them to market themselves and potentially build a productive relationship with you. However, sometimes, they will want to learn more about you first.
Bloggers that don’t offer media kits can still make great partners. But it is usually a sign that they don’t focus much on commercial relationships. Therefore, you might want to move along and try another blogger with the experience and services you want.
- Nurture The Relationship
If you have found a great blogger who can benefit your brand, nurture the relationship. Put effort into getting to know them and building rapport. Bloggers are much more likely to work with companies they get on with.
Start by commenting on their content and complementing the quality of their work. Mention your brand name here and there to familiarise them with what you do.
Once you make initial contact, reach out with an email. (Most bloggers provide their contact details on their websites).
When contacting the blogger, personalise your content. Address them by their real name (if you have it) and explain why you want to work with them specifically.
Don’t give up if you don’t hear back immediately. Sending a follow-up email every one to two weeks can keep you top-of-mind and encourage them to call you and get in touch. It also shows you are serious about working with them (and not just spamming every blogger in their niche).
- Invite Them To Join A Partnership With You
The final step is to ask the blogger to partner with you. Formalising the relationship helps both parties know where they stand.
When collaborating, make your intentions clear from the outset. Write down the rules of the collaboration. For example, you might:
- Write a guest post on the blogger’s website with links back to your product pages
- Work together to promote your brand, providing the blogger with a kickback
- Develop a sponsorship scheme that benefits the blogger’s audience, such as a money-off code or free product trial
- Hosting a webinar together to discuss your expertise and business
- Sign the blogger onto your affiliate programme
Once the blogger has this information, they can decide whether they want to take the next step. You don’t have to sign a formal contract, but you should ensure everyone knows where they stand. Don’t assume the blogger will be willing to give up their time to meet your commercial needs.
Now You Know How to Find Bloggers To Promote Your Product
Reading this post, you should be better positioned to find blogging opportunities to promote your products and services. Most writers make their money through sponsorships and working with companies in their niche, so it should be straightforward to generate at least some productive relationships.
Even so, be careful when choosing bloggers. Some writers will address controversial topics you might not want any association with your brand. Others are idle or no longer blogging, even if they owned popular websites in the past.
Throughout the process, ensure you nurture the relationship. Build rapport with bloggers instead of playing a numbers game. Only work with writers who align with your brand interests and who have audiences that want your products.
