A blogger's tips on how to get coverage for your business

_Mairi Beaver is the founder of Edinburgh-based lifestyle blog This Girl Does. She'll be on the panel at Meet the Journalists Scotland on 15 July, an event to help Scottish business owners get media coverage. Book a ticket here.

Ahead of the virtual session, she shares the story behind her blog and some tips for getting coverage._

How did you come up with the idea for your blog?

I began blogging at the age of 26. I had a passion for writing and a degree in playwriting but wasn't quite sure what to do with it. At the time, I was doing a fair amount of online dating. The messages I got were obnoxious, rude but mainly hilarious. I thought it might be a good idea to vent my frustration at these over-eager men and write about them. It was called A Guide 2.

Very soon after, I met my then boyfriend and realised my blog had very little longevity. Now armed with some development and SEO knowledge, I set about creating This Girl Does; a lifestyle blog focused on events and exciting updates in Edinburgh and beyond.

How have you monetised your blog?

There is very little money to be made from blogging unless you are one of the lucky influencers, probably based down South. You can earn income from Google Adsense but it's minimal.

Although I blog because I love it, it is important to know your worth and when to charge. I currently ensure I charge a fee or adequate exchange scheme for the blogs I write. They are time consuming and provide vital advertising for a brand/company so it is important you understand what you bring to a brand campaign's success. With charging comes proving your worth of course.

You need to understand the objectives of a campaign, how to understand analytics and provide brands with a healthy ROI and reason to work with you again.

How do you come up with content ideas?

I always like my blogs to have a personal slant. I only feature brands aligned to what I love and believe and hopefully what my followers want to see. From there, content comes easily. I try to be unique; rather than writing a bog standard review, I will make it personal - usually involving my friends or family. That sometimes means a review takes a wee while, but I would rather take my time writing about an event or product which it makes the best sense to do so.

Of course, sometimes I write about things that take my fancy. One of my favourite blogs was writing about my experience with a certain room rental company. Whilst my "professional" posts have more of a formal tone and structure, I could let loose with this piece. I really should do much more blogging for fun.

What's your strategy for generating visits to your blog and engaging with readers?

My strategy has and always will be search engine optimisation. Organic visitors are so valuable. They are invested in your content and are effectively free to attract if you know what you are doing. Whilst social media and paid for promotion all have their place, ensuring you are ranked highly for your chosen keywords will bring in quality visitors.

It is also key to have a good linking structure. A visitor has read your blog post. Now what? Where do you send them? I try to encourage conversation on my social channels; asking my audience questions, getting their input. The people who follow my blog are fascinating and many of them are now my friends.

What's your advice for how business owners should approach bloggers for collaborations?

Many companies will work with bloggers because they feel its "the thing to do". You need to understand what value a blogger can bring, set some key objectives and work out a plan together. Are you looking for website traffic? Backlinks? Awareness? Action? Discuss what you want the aim of the campaign to be and what success looks like. Only then should a fee/incentive be discussed.

What tips would you offer other people looking to grow a successful blog?

It's a lot of hard work and often you might not feel you see the fruits of your labour but stick with it. Also, never forget why you started blogging. If it was for a love of writing, then keep writing, don't just focus on social media.

Learn the basics of SEO and image editing via Lightroom or Photoshop or another decent photo/video editor. It will stand you in good stead.

Finally, don't be afraid to approach businesses you align yourself with. Once you have yourself established, reach out and see if you can work together.

Join Mairi, journalists from the BBC and The Herald and PR experts at Meet the Journalists Scotland on 15 July. Book a ticket here.