Contacting Bloggers and Guest Posting

Posted on 14. Nov, 2008 by Rachel Perry in Blogging, Search Engine Optimization

Links are the foundation for a good SEO campaign and so it is important to be willing to work for them. Search Engines want to know that your site is worth something to someone else and one of the ways they track that is how many incoming links you have to your site. A creative and effective way to get a variety of links is to appeal to the blog-o-sphere.

Contacting bloggers is a powerful tactic, it can be a win-win situation for both parties. Many bloggers are looking for new good and intriguing content.  A good strategy is to approach them with and ask if they would be willing to trade. You write some good content for them using the skills you know if they would let you post a link or two in that post. The blogger is getting new and good content and you are getting some high quality links.

There are definitely things you shouldn’t do when contacting bloggers and by studying those we can better learn what we are suppose to do.

Never Send a Mass Email:

Mass emailing may save you time in the initial work it takes to send out emails but your response rate will be so low it won’t be worth your time in the end. Remember bloggers are really people with time constraints, goals, dreams and are putting some hard work into their blog. They will be able to tell that you really haven’t spent much time on their blog and that your offer was sent to hundreds of people. They won’t feel a desire to respond.

A better way to contact a blogger is to spend some time on their site, read their posts, and get to know their style. Then tailor your message to them as an individual person. Acknowledge their work and what you liked about it; also refer to something specific that they have done on their blog.

Never Just ask for a Link:

Blogging is a business just like your ecommerce business or corner grocey store or the consulting company you own. You wouldn’t just let someone advertise on the side of your business, or in your newsletter, or on your employee’s shirts for free. A blogger isn’t going to include your link on their site just because you asked. They have to feel at least these 3 things first

1. There has to be obvious value for their readers
2. They have to feel that there is a personal benefit for them (whether that is a comission on sales, broadening their resources for their readers, or even an exchange of resources. For instance if you want a link on their site offer to put one on your site.)
3. They have to feel recognized. Bloggers work hard at what they do and they want to be appreciated for those efforts.

Never Start a Conversation with How Good your Company is:

Nobody likes to hear how good you are until they know you like what they do. If you start your letter out with statements all about you and how you are amazing a lot of people will just skip over the email and move on to something else. Acknowledge their strengths and what about their work attracted you to their blog. Then proceed to explain to them how a partnership would be beneficial.

How to Find Blogs in Your Industry:

Go to one of the following blog search engines and type in some industry specific phrases.  You should be able to find quite a few that write about your industry.  Don’t forget to search for blogs in related industries as well.

1. technorati.com
2. blogsearch.google.com

Wrapping Up:

Contacting bloggers takes a lot of one on one effort but it is worth your time because of the link value it will give you. Who knows, a blogger may even be willing to post about you, your business, or review a product you offer allowing you to be introduced to all of their readers.

Any questions?

Tags: blog links, guest posting