The Elements Of A Successful Music Blog Pitch

One of the most common questions I hear from musicians is how we get through to so many blogs sucessfully when pitching them? Below, I’ve outlined the format both my co-author Todd Thomas and I have used to pitch countless bands to blogs. Todd has employed this format when pitching successfully to tons of huge blogs that has gained his group Sensual Harassment coverage on Pitchfork, Vice, etc. 

Personal Pitch - The first thing you want to do is show this person you actually read their blog and are a like-minded member of their community. You want to mention their name, and mention why you enjoy their blog. If you’re pitching a blog and expect any sort of success at it, you should make sure they cover music you enjoy and that is similar to what you do. This means taking a couple of minutes to listen through what they write about and find something to talk about. Before you ever pitch it is helpful to comment on their posts, Facebook or Twitter so your name seems familiar to them, when it arrives in their inbox. Perhaps, thank them for introducing you to the latest Madeon track. Maybe, thank them for asking good questions in their latest interview with Hey Anna. Find something to bond with them about. Maybe, follow them on Twitter and see that their favorite pizza place is also Artichoke and mention that it’s yours too. People always want to help others who like what they like. Spend no more than two sentences doing this and don’t go overboard on the compliments.

Why Should They Care? - Next, you need to introduce them to what you are pitching and why they should care. Tell them what you’re sending them that you would like them to blog about (music video, single, album stream, exclusive content). Next, tell them in one sentence why this is eventful. What makes you unique and why they should care? If you are offering them something that will be exclusive to their blog, be sure to get that out there fast, since it can really help you get a placement. If you are promising to post your new single with them only for a week, and link it from all your social networks, that’s a big source of traffic for a blog.

Match Their Format - If a blog posts nothing but SoundCloud or Bandcamp streams, make sure that is what you send them. If they only post YouTube videos or DJ sets from SoundCloud, you should only pitch them if you have those available. Usually, most blogs post a variety of formats and in that case, you should send them whatever you have the strongest presence on. If YouTube is where you have a lot of views—go with them. But if your goal is to trade email addresses for your EP on Bandcamp, that’s what you should send them. Some bloggers ask for submissions in a specific format. Be sure to investigate that and do it in the way they prefer, to improve your chances of your submission going through.

Mumbo Jumbo - Lastly, you can include a full bio and some press quotes below your signature. The last line before your signature should mention if they would like to learn more, they can read the press release below that tells your life story and has endorsements from other blogs that love you. Be sure to include this after your signature, so the blogger isn’t intimidated by the size of the email. No one even wants to read an email that has multiple paragraphs, especially when your email is as filled as most bloggers. While there are a bunch of other details that go into a good blog pitch, these are a great start.

Below is an example of what it looks like when Todd send one of these out:

Hey Joey,

I recently discovered your site Peacock Rock through Hype Machine and really enjoyed it. Saw you’re into Sexy Vampire Tooth’s new single “The Magic Is Happening” so I thought I’d send you some of my band’s new singles, since a lot of our fans like them too. We’re a relatively new act out of Brooklyn, called Sensual Harassment, but we’ve had some pretty good responses to our stuff so far. Below is a link to two of our new singles. Recorded with Jesse Cannon (The Misfits, Animal Collective) and mastered by Alan Douches (Chemical Brothers, Mastodon). We’re pretty happy with how things came out. Our info is below if you’re interested in checking us out. sensualharassment.com

cheers.

Todd ~v^-()^-(http://www.sensualharassment.com)-^— - — ==================================================

“The dance floor has just found a new hero…” - XLR8R

“It’ll make you feel like you’re in Tron, but in a Don Johnson suit…” - Junk Magazine

“They water board their idols with layers upon layers of nostalgic noise that one can only imagine would amount to a deluge of monolithic tones heard live.” - Impose

Sensual Harassment is a Reptilian Humanoid alliance utilizing sonic mind control through beat-driven psych-pop. In their debut broadcast, the scaly Brooklyn trio seamlessly shape-shifts from reverb-drenched post-Apocalyptic new wave to epileptic space disco. Recorded at their clandestine headquarters in South-side Williamsburg, the band wisely recruited Jesse Cannon (Animal Collective and The Misfits) to help engineer the cerebral revolution. Bold yet subdued, “Soldier” is an electrified symphony soaked in icy analog synths concluding in a melodic crescendo that is reminiscent of Flaming Lips and Pet Shop Boys. Cut with razor sharp synths, “Daddy Long Legs” is a cosmic dance party that combines grimy Moroder arpeggiators with the the throbbing funk and aggression of Afrika Bambaataa. Listen, Download & Post: ‘Soldier’ and ‘Daddy Long Legs’ from sensualharassment.com

Please note that this is not something you’ll want to copy and paste, but a good place to start. Add your own flair and ideas to this and make it your own. And most importantly, make it honest and personable.

Jesse Cannon is the editor of Musformation and author of Get More Fans: The DIY Guide To The New Music Busines, which you can get a free excerpt of by going here.