Just because you've got an influencer's ear, doesn't mean they're going to write positively about you
Remember, bloggers and podcasters are not beholden to another higher authority. You can't go complain to their editor if they did something unprofessional, incorrect, or unethical. They're not required to publish a retraction even if they are wrong.
Here's how you do it:
Be wary of establishing relationships with important bloggers - Some bloggers don't necessarily respond like journalists. Some will be like reporters in their ethics and professionalism and some are not. The "not" category is pretty wide so it's impossible to categorize, but just understand that they may respond in a way that's foreign to you. Keep that in mind in how you choose to treat them and how they'll treat you. Depending on their history you'll need to make a determination of who you can trust and who you can't trust. For example, who can you trust them with embargoed releases and sensitive information. Regardless, you should reach out to and treat important bloggers with the same respect you would journalists.
Be prepared with answers - If you're pitching an influencer, and you're not loaded with answers, get ready for some trouble. Some bloggers simply won't have patience to wait to hear from your CEO or your official spokesperson. If you don't have answers to your questions and/or can't promise it to them in a satisfactory period of time they'll blog about you without complete information. Gawker Media, publishers of popular blogs like Gizmodo, Wonkette, and Valleywag admit that speed of information is more important to their readership than accuracy. The way they see it is they want to be the first to break a story to draw traffic. After that, the story and its accuracy will play itself out over time.
