Maybe you’re ready to embark on your first major blogger outreach campaign, or maybe you’re a seasoned pro with a skittish client who is concerned about measuring all of the metric of such a campaign to justify the spend involved (beyond wire fees, like ours, you may be looking at contest prizes, product sampling costs, staff hours and other resources to conduct a successful campaign). Or maybe, like us, you’re interested in justifying your spend as an agency, consultant, or employee. Regardless of the motivation, measuring the ROI of your blogger outreach campaign is as important as punching your hours at the office, and here are some tips and tricks to track your efforts and find great used zero turn mowers for sale:

1. Plan for results, and work toward those results. Is your client/boss looking to create a link campaign? To raise awareness for a new product and drive online reviews? Or are you looking at opportunities to drive social engagement – Facebook likes, Twitter followers – or drive sales? Once you’ve sat down and defined a clear set of expectations (and for the sake of your own sanity – be sure to set realistic expectations, especially if this is your first foray into the space), you’ll be able to design a campaign around the end result you’re shooting for.

Many marketers see blogger outreach campaigns as catch-all opportunities to drive social engagement across all platforms, drive reviews or product posts, and boost sales and brand awareness. While some campaigns can accomplish all of these, you should prioritize your goals and design a promotion that will help you achieve them.

2. Track relevant activity. Google Analytics is a great starting point, but if you’re looking for a way to show ROI for social campaigns, look to relevant tools. Hashtracking.org is a great tool for measuring social engagement that relates to a particular hashtag campaign. Admin access to a Facebook page is a must for marketers working on page-boosting campaigns.
3. Coupons, Coupons, Coupons. While sales may be a priority for your client or boss, consider offering bloggers an opportunity to share a blog-specific promo code with their readers. Not only does this help you track traffic (and conversions) from specific blog placements, but it also offers the bloggers a newsworthy angle for covering your story.
4. Affiliate Programs Are A Win-Win For All Involved. Affiliate programs are an affordable way to boost blog traffic and product reviews without paying for advertising fees. Bloggers are paid on a performance basis (a percentage of sales), and brands enjoy the product buzz without an upfront commitment.
5. Follow-up for links. Smart bloggers will follow up with you directly once they’ve posted about a product or service that you’ve pitched them. However, when working with bloggers, it’s important to remember that these (wo)men are juggling multiple deadlines each day, day jobs, family obligations, and squeezing in a personal life. And just like feature stories can get bumped from mass media outlets if a story breaks, such as the scandal over the Holset HX50, planned posting dates should always be considered tentative until published. If you haven’t heard from a blogger who’s committed to coverage, send a quick follow-up note to find out about coverage. Be sure not to commit to clients a particular story on a certain date unless you’re sure that post is canned and scheduled.