Barbara – Oddly enough, I face the opposite problem with my client base. I find it a struggle to remind them that local exposure still has its benefits in addition to the international audience of Web-based distribution.

On an unrelated note, I’d like to add something to my suggestions on pitching via email to bloggers – something I forgot to mention, and was reminded of through a pitch I just received personally:

Don’t attach a press release to an email. Just don’t. That’s why I suggest embedding it directly into the email. There are still plenty of people who won’t open an attachment if they don’t know you personally. While I make exceptions occasionally, it’s not often. I know folks who hit delete the second they see an attachment from someone they don’t know still. It’s not something to take a chance on. So while I did say to embed them, I should have clarified that “why” a bit more in the post.

Found my way here via Darren’s twitter update. Good to be back. Like the way you and Darren detail different approaches. I like your prescribed course of action.

We’re not directly targeting bloggers with news releases just yet. Although . . . I can see how that’s changing very, very quickly.

Many of our clients are expanding their reach goals from local media/community to online/international influence. It’s a slow move in terms of mindset, but can be accomplished fairly efficiently online.

We’re working on launching online newsroom blogs for clients to make their news more blog-friendly and accessible.

Meeting bloggers in person at events like SOBCon, BlogHer and BlogWorld would be my strategy. I attended them all last year. [For the next week or so I have a SOBCon08 notes series running on my blog. So, bloggers who wanted to go, but couldn’t, can read about what went on.]

What would I do differently now? I’d look for bloggers who talk about our niche and find ways to meet up or attend their presentations.

Twitter works for us as a way to converse with bloggers. And, being a blogger yourself is a natural connector.

By the way, I’m one of the 160 or so bloggers David mentions in his book. Only mentioning this as an example of a good way to leverage the power of promotion.

Barbara