A) - Yes. It's very effective. We're all human. I tend to write about creators that can in some way benefit my website (they can pass on their experience crowdfunding to my readers). Tailor your incentive to the blogger.
B) A good example is the article I wrote today (
http://www.crowdcrux.com/learn-how-thes ... f-capital/). The creator contacted me with the idea of writing a story about how they are young and inexperienced. It shows that anyone can raise money online. This is inline with the goal of my website - to help people who have little experience crowdfunding raise money on websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Their incentive for me was providing some awesome content that shared how they raised over $7,000.
If someone contacts me and underscores that they are willing to help market and promote the article I write or that they will help spread awareness of some of my best articles on their social networks, I am definitely more likely to take a closer look at their pitch.