In today’s world of digital innovation, the more traditional forms of marketing seem to be fading out. It’s not that they will completely disappear, but brands and companies are now taking on technology-heavy marketing strategies, due to the world moving to a digital era.
From this digital boom, a new trend which has grown over the last ten years is blogging. Bloggers have their own creative corners of the internet, setting up sites to share and discuss information about topics which they feel passionate about.
Not only this, but brands now have their own blogs which give them a space to share company news, trends, press coverage, and pretty much anything they like. That is the beauty of blogging: it’s diverse and personal enough to make it what you like.
Blogger outreach has become a key element when it comes to brands marketing strategies. By working with bloggers, they can promote content for the brand, acquire a range of backlinks, use the blogger’s site for guest post opportunities, and much more.
If you’re new to blogger outreach, you might not be sure where to begin. Below are four steps to successful blogger outreach, highlighting some do’s and don’ts:
Identify what you want to achieve:
Before you start searching for bloggers and contacting them, it’s essential to understand precisely what you wish to achieve. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you want to build quality backlinks to your website?
- Do you want more people to hear about your new product or service?
- Do you want more visibility surrounding your brand?
- Do you want to see your target market customer create unique content that you can potentially re-use?
It’s likely you will want a combination of them all. Work out which ones are key, and then start searching for bloggers who can fulfil these needs for you.
Be clear about your goals:
Bloggers have hundreds of people contacting them over short periods of time, so to really stand out, you must be precise about how you wish to collaborate with them.
If you wish to increase backlinks to your company’s homepage or category pages, ask if they are happy to link out to the desired page. If you would like the opportunity to post your own articles on their site, ask them what their guidelines are. If you would like to drive conversions and increase sales for a certain product, ask the blogger how they usually do this with other brands and what works best for them.
Of course, blogger outreach takes a lot of time if you are to do it correctly. Building backlinks is one of the most popular reasons why companies invest in blogger outreach, which should sit under your business’s SEO strategy. It only works well if each email is personalised and tailored to the individual blogger. You can use local SEO services to work on various campaigns like this, who will have lots of experience doing this type of work and will save you time to focus on other areas of your business.
Work on building a targeted list:
Once you have identified exactly the way you wish to run your blogger outreach campaign, it’s time to find a solid list of bloggers.
You can begin this process by reading through as many blogs online as you can and highlighting specific elements of each which grab your attention. It could be their engagement rates, the design of the blog itself, and of course, how close it relates to your own brand and product. By doing so, you will gain an understanding of the types of blog sites and bloggers you wish to work with closely.
Additionally, your list should include how popular each blogger is, and who is truly influential. A blogger may have a high number of site visitors, but if those visitors don’t convert thanks to their content, or fail to share the posts, this is a key indication that the content isn’t as compelling as you would want it to be.
Once you’ve collated a list of influential bloggers, you should then compare the stats to discover who hits the highest number of content engaged with, including shares on social media sites. Arrange this list into order, as by doing so, you can see easily who you want to target and reach out to. However, do remember, this list is subject to change. One blogger may be extremely popular one month and find their social media engagement falls the next. It’s vital to refresh and revisit this data throughout your campaign.
As mentioned above, blogger outreach is a time-consuming job. Businesses are now outsourcing this to SEO companies, who specialise in doing this for them with their expertise. These companies likely have ready-made lists of reputable bloggers, which they can tailor to your needs.
If you decide to do this yourself, ensure you have a target niche, domain authority and social following. If you narrow these requirements down, it will help you come up with a list that is ideal for your brand from the offset.
Start the outreach process:
It’s vital to tailor your outreach approach to each individual blogger and site owner. Don’t ramble on. You need to keep it simple and straight to the point. Mention that you have discovered their site, always referencing the name of it, and summarise why it is a good match for a potential collaboration.
Include a brief outline of what you would like to achieve. It can include actionable dates but don’t go too much into this in the first email. Lightly cover it, as it may be too much information overload. If and when the blogger replies to your email, you can discuss the specific aspects of the campaign and how you can work together. Firstly, however, you need to intrigue them into finding out more.
Above all, blogger outreach is a very useful online marketing plan, which can help your brand grow in various ways. The best blogger outreach strategies are thoughtful and consistent, with a clear approach throughout. The more focused your blogger outreach strategy, the more chance you have of ensuring quality results for your brand.