How to do Blogger Outreach 5 step guide 2022

How to do Blogger Outreach for Backlinks - 3.5. SEO Course by Ahrefs 2022

Introduction

 You’re not going to be successful in blogger outreach by half-assing e-mails and asking people to share your content. If you want the quality backlinks and organic traffic that blogger outreach can provide, You’ve really got to step up your game.

1 . Build a relationship with influencers

• The first thing you have to do is figure out who you want to build a relationship with. That means it’s time to find the right influencers. The right influencer is someone who shares the same audience as you but is not your direct competitor. After all, a direct competitor would not want to promote your content to their audience. And a publisher blogger with a different audience than you would not want to post content that their readers would not find any value in. So a big part of finding the right influencer is exploring their audiences. 

• You need to figure out what kind of content they like. This will help you determine if your content is a good fit for a particular influencer, or if their audience is a good fit for you! It can be really hard to land a large influencer right out of the gate, So we recommend starting pretty small. The more influencers you find to reach out to, the better your results will be! So try to find as many influencers as you can. Once you have a list of target influencers, it’s time to begin the blogger outreach process. Let's get those guest posts!

2 . start with pre-outreach.

• Before you hit your influencer with a cold e-mail, you’ve got to butter them up! Find different ways to engage with your influencers, so that by the time you send them an e-mail they already know who you are. One way to do this is by commenting on their blog posts and sharing them, too. Social media is another great avenue for pre-outreach. 

•  Engage with influencers via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn...  If it's a social media platform, hit those babies up! By following them, tagging them, or sharing their posts, You're already planting the seeds for future relationships. Don’t worry if you don’t hear back from someone - especially a larger influencer. The point of pre-outreach is just to let your targeted influencers know you exist. And to drop hints that you're interested in building a relationship. If you are genuine in your pre-outreach, your “cold” e-mails will feel warmer and more familiar. 

3 .  Find e-mail addresses. 

Not all influencers will share their e-mails publicly. But that's no problem. There are a few tools you can use to find this information. We like to use the free online tool called  Hunter. All you have to do is type in the website of your targeted influencer. You’ll instantly get a list of all the names and email addresses associated with that site. Or you can use a tool called Clearbit Connect, which also targets social media links. But don’t get too excited just yet! We still have to talk about how to craft the perfect outreach email.

 4 . personalize your outreach e-mail.

This is the most important step of the blogger outreach process! Keep in mind that your targeted influencers probably receive a ton of outreach emails on a daily basis. Your email will really have to stand out from the crowd in order to earn a response. Lucky for you, you’re already one step ahead of the game Thanks to the pre-outreach you did. Your previous interactions with your targeted influencers should help you tailor your emails to their niche, audience, and personality. Since every email should be customized, there’s no “perfect template” to follow. But, we’ve got a few tips that can help you make an impact!

•   start with a relevant subject line. This can make your intentions clear from the beginning. 

•  make sure you use your influencer's name! This is one of the easiest ways to make your e-mail feel more personal. You can also throw in a compliment or two. Just don't lay it on too heavy, you don't want to be desperate! 

• Introduce yourself and show that you are familiar with your targeted influencer’s work.

•  tell them how they can benefit by sharing your work. But, be respectful and acknowledge that your content might not be the right fit for them. And that's okay! Your email can still open a relationship that gives opportunities for guest posting in the future.

• finally, proofread your messages! Grammatical errors are a huge red flag! If you have them, no one is going to want to read your blog content. You're in a high-risk situation! One extra tip: You don’t have to stick to emails. You may be able to find your influencer on Facebook or LinkedIn and send them a message there. Plus, then your influencer might be able to view your social profile, which will make you feel more “real” than just an email would. Once you’ve sent your first message, most of the hard work is done! Now, you just wait for responses. And if you haven’t gotten a response within a business day or two, 

5 . Follow-up emails.

Follow-up emails are almost as important as your initial outreach emails. Follow-up emails are a great opportunity to show your influencer that you're genuinely interested in forming a relationship.