Intros work like a charm when it comes to link building. We ran an experiment to see how many guest posts we can publish by going through this route. I asked my contact from Better Proposals to introduce me to 8 publishers where she published previously. Out of those 8 intros, we successfully guest posted on 6 sites. People underestimate the power of introductions.
Everyone is busy, nobody has time to just go into their backend and create a link for you just because you asked. So, you need to keep your message short, and personal enough for them to like you. Make it clear you read their article (and really read it!) and mention something you have in common. Simple, but sweet. No reply? Limit your follow-up emails to only two, with the last one stating you will not reach out anymore. And stick to that please.
"Are you thinking of using a generic template to mass-send outreach emails, all essentially saying, "Hi [insert name], I like your blog [insert blog name], plz give me a link, how much does it cost?"? Please don't. If you want to succeed in building relations with people (instead of wasting their inbox space), prove that you genuinely care. Do your research on the publisher, reach out with a unique, personal message offering support or genuine content feedback, and build your relationship proposal based on that." Alexander Rehnborg,Head of SEO at GetResponse https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderrehnborg/ https://www.getresponse.com
One tip for a successful email outreach is 'praising' the receiver. Who doesn't like compliments? So make sure if you are emailing a publisher for co-marketing or maybe just for establishing a link, mention some of their work that you really liked or maybe found inspirational. Mention small details about their work and praise the efforts that they put in to publish such wonderful content. Mention how their content has a major role in your daily life. If you mention all these then there are high chances of you getting a quick reply.
Recognizing that they deal with multitudes of outreach emails in a day on top of their own deadlines is one of the best ways to get an in with publishers. As the one who's reaching out to them, your goal is to make it easier for them to link to you and not overcomplicate their job. Therefore, being upfront with your intentions and writing in a straightforward manner is the one tip needed for successful publisher email outreach. Do not leave out any details that the publisher may need as having to communicate back and forth with you would be a hassle for them. Skip the chit-chats and be concise, instead. Make sure everything you're conveying has substance so as not to waste their time. In this way, publishers will know right then and there to consider you for a link, and even if they decide not to link to you, reaching out in this manner would still help establish a good relationship with them.
Save your reader’s time. Marketers inundate publishers with outreach emails, and the ones that stand out will be those that are concise and add value. Be personal and straightforward in your call to action, clarifying the benefits the publisher will receive by offering you a link or partnership opportunity. Make it easy for them to respond; you might include a set of possible responses at the end of your email for them to use. When first connecting with the publisher, you can ask for a yes or no answer and clarify the details in follow-up emails.
There are a lot of tricks you can use to increase your email open rates and get eyeballs on your outreach message, but when it comes to the substance of your email, you need to make sure the spelling and grammar of your message is on point, as well as the tone. Being on the receiving end of dozens of these emails each week, I can tell you that nothing turns me off faster than poor grammar and spelling mistakes. The reality is that if I can't trust you to nail basic fundamentals of English in a simple outreach email, how can I trust you to do so in a co-marketing campaign? And what does that say about the quality of your site? Your English grammar and spelling needs to be perfect. And in terms of tone, don’t lead with a “Dear Sir” followed by a formal request. Using a friendly, colloquial tone is much more appealing to publishers. It makes the message more approachable, and makes you more relatable as an outreach specialist.
When you're trying to make contact with a publisher to get a link or establish a relationship for co marketing, one tip I have is to make use of the reciprocity principle. What does that mean? Well, it means that when you send an email out to someone, the best way to get them to respond is to send them something back. You can do this by offering a link or product that they want, or by making them aware of an upcoming event where you'll be speaking at. You can also offer your services as a way to reciprocate for their work in a similar manner, providing them with content or space in exchange for information on your own work or product. It's always good practice to follow up with them after all of your initial outreach efforts have been exhausted. This will not only keep the ball rolling on potential opportunities—it could also serve as an opportunity for them to become more familiar with your brand and continue working together toward shared goals!
What I have done in the past which has really been useful in establishing relationships is that I have utilized what I refer to as the "3P" approach: (1) Peek Interest and Introduce yourself, (2) Pitch my ideas, (3) Praise and Compliment. Here is a brief rundown on how each one works in principle. (1) Peek Interest, Here I find a recent article they have published (not longer than a week old). I give them very specific references that could improve their article (creativity and uniqueness works best here). (2) Pitch my ideas, Secondly, I pitch my idea, making sure I approach a relevant topic from a unique lense. (3) Praise publisher. Lastly, I tell them that I have been following their recent work (I list 3 to 5 articles). I provide unique light-hearted personal insights on each as proof that I have read them. All the above seperate me from your typical "pitch and hope" marketer, and it has been really successful for my online content businesses link building efforts.
My #1 outreach tip is to personalize your emails. Site owners get a ton of link requests, and usually aren’t particularly inclined to want to update their links. By taking the time to get to know some basic details about the site and owner, your response rate will soar. Personalization is particularly important for authoritative sites because they get many link requests than the average site owner does.
Asking “How can I help you?” is the best practice for approaching a prospective business partner inquiry. Offering support is a strong gesture of goodwill and will help endear yourself to the future partner. Building strong connections is fundamental to healthy, prosperous business. Mentioning your skills, products, and services as you suggest mutually beneficial partnership opportunities is a nice point to make before or after the offer of “How can I help you?”
Templates are often easy to spot, and they usually come across as impersonal and insincere. If you want to establish a relationship with someone, take the time to write a personalized message. This doesn’t mean your email needs to be long or overly complicated. Simply including the recipient’s name and a brief sentence or two about why you’re reaching out will go a long way.
Don’t lead with the ask — earning links is about building trust. If you were at a networking event, you wouldn’t try to close a sale 30 seconds after shaking a person’s hand. When pitching your prospect make it a point to say you’re seeking to build a long-term — and mutually beneficial — relationship. Offer value first. For example, is there someone in YOUR network that the publisher might benefit from being introduced to? Or do they have content that could be shared in your email newsletter or social media channels? Pay it forward and create a dialogue so it's more than just about acquiring a link.
My best tip for successful email outreach is to perfect the opening line. Every good email starts with the strongest possible opening line to immediately get the reader’s attention. Focus on what matters the most and why you are at the top of the recipient’s inbox today. In modern business, time is everything, so skip the formalities until you and your prospect are officially partnered up.
When reaching out to a publisher, it is important to be professional and courteous. Sending unsolicited emails that are excessively promotional or invasive will not go well. Instead, start by sending a simple email with the subject line "Introduce Yourself" or "Request A Link". If you have any questions about your project or proposal, be sure to include those in your email as well. When it comes to formatting your email, make sure it is easy on the eyes and concise. Avoid lengthy paragraphs and try to keep all of your information within 12 points so that it can easily fit within a summary box at the bottom of an article or website page. And finally, send your emails during business hours so that you may receive a response promptly!
Research the publisher you're interested in and look for any shared interests, stories, or other parallels from which to develop a connection right away. By looking for commonalities, you may improve the personalization of each email you send. You can utilize these similarities to personalize your subject lines or develop a connection starting with the first handful of words in your email. It makes each email less impersonal and more likely to provide the desired outcomes. A common pain point you are currently facing or have tackled previously, a mutual interest significant to your industry, or a display of appreciation for the content they recently put out are some commonalities you may construct your email around. You can build on that to pique their attention and keep them reading your email until you make your pitch for a link or a co-marketing possibility.
You should always try to tailor your cold outreach to the person or people that you are reaching out to. From my own experience, even just taking the time to find out the recipients first name has a 30% higher success rate in receiving a response. "Hey Louise!" is far more effective than "Hey there!" Go further by complementing the contact on a recent achievement or let them know what you enjoyed about one of their blog posts. People want to feel that they are not simply one contact in a long list of emails but that you have actually taken the time to see who they are and why a relationship could be valuable for you both. This approach can feel hard to scale but with far higher response rates, it can be a very valuable return on time and effort.
Based on my experience of securing links from Tier A publications, my one tip would be to personalize your outreach email beyond the first name. These publications receive tens and hundreds of emails asking for links, and to get their attention; you need to level up your personalization game. One way of doing it is by using the editor or content marketer's social presence in your outreach email. For example, if the editor you are trying to reach recently attended a conference, you can use it as a hook in your outreach email to make the initial connection. Similarly, if you find a typo or grammatical error while reading a post, you can use it as a beginning point to lead the conversation. The bottom line is to go beyond "hey First Name" and show the publication that you have made an effort to reach out to them.
I've been running a travel blog alongside my content strategy service for 10 years and the most annoying thing is receiving a templated email. I don't care if you have a machine fill in my first name and customize a single line. Tell me why our brands specifically are a good match for each other. Show me you've done your research. Make me feel like there's a real person on the other end.
Editor-in-Chief at A Fellow Fisherman
Answered 4 years ago
The one thing I require my team of link builders to do is to ALWAYS state their credentials or my credentials in the email subject line. By stating your credentials in the subject you are telling the reader of the email why you should be trusted and why they should even open your email. This one tip will result in substantially more opened emails as well as successful link building campaigns. Using something similar to the one I used for this pitch is along the lines of what I look for from my link building teams. I have been building links for the last 5 years and have managed link building teams for 3 years. This tactic works and has contributed to our success.