The Benefits of Blogger Outreach
One of our most successful strategies in link building is what we call “Blogger Outreach”. It’s not a secret, it’s not technical and it’s certainly not the quickest strategy. But it is effective.
What is Blogger Outreach?
Blogger Outreach is essentially communicating with other bloggers in your industry. How you go about communicating with them is up to you; email/phone/Twitter/whatever is required. But the goals remain the same: aiming for other bloggers to promote you/your products and link back to you.
What are the benefits of Blogger Outreach?
- Trust – Influential bloggers have trust from their community – you can jump straight into the community if these influencers are selling you/your product on their blog
- Targeted exposure – Increased brand/product awareness within your industry’s community through the promotion on their blog and social networks (Facebook Fans/Twitter Followers etc)
- Link building – Often a blogger will include a link or two within their article as they write about your product
- Relationships – With each blog and blogger you add to your network, you’re increasing all of the above – trust within your industry’s community, exposure and links
How to get started
- Find – blogs that fit your criteria. You can use Google, Bing, Twitter, Technorati, even directories. There are so many ways to find related sites on the web. It’s up to you to determine which are more beneficial and which to contact first
- Examine – the blogs. Know what the blogger is talking about. Know their name and who their audience is. Are they a big influence in your industry etc.? Once you know
- Approach – There are several methods to make the initial contact with them. Drop them an email, send them a Tweet, meet them in person, even leave a blog comment or two; it’s your call
- Pitch – Once you’re in a comfortable position with them, go for it. But remember, this is not just about you; it needs to be about them too. They’re going to want some benefit from this. Can you give them a free copy of the product you want them to promote? A trial in advance? Make them feel special
Follow Up
After all this effort, it’s nice to keep in touch with your network of bloggers. It’s also polite. So make sure you keep in contact with them, whether it’s just a quick email once a month or a phone call every three.
Start Networking Today
I currently run Murray’s London Blog Club whilst he is out of the country. This is a monthly event, free to attend whereby we arrange a guest speaker giving great advice and tips on a chosen subject in front of an audience for 30-45 minutes. Afterwards, we open up the room for networking. The audience are all Bloggers looking for the same thing as one another; knowledge and relationships. Our London Blog Club is a great way for you to network and start your Blogger Outreach…
Written by Barrie Smith
