Ravi Kumar
Nearly 300 billion emails are sent, globally, every day. The average office worker receives nearly 100 emails every day, which not only highlights the importance of effective outreach emails but also hints that other forms of outreach communication may prove as effective.
The key to good outreach is to stand out. Most marketers treat this to mean that they need a compelling, funny, subject line. Some overlook the importance of personalising the outreach email, others ignore the importance of the actual blog post or other content that they are providing as part of the campaign. You can even send personalised letters, using business stationery and customised printed envelopes, to really make an impact.
Utilise existing business relationships and forge new relationships that go beyond simple outreach. Always personalise your communication with the recipient and be prepared to follow up your initial communication several times, to enjoy the best results.
Below are some tips to help improve your blogger outreach or guest posting outreach campaign.
#1. Leverage Existing Relationships
According to some studies, more than 50% of email traffic is spam. This highlights the reason why a lot of recipients simply don’t open emails if they don’t recognise the name of the sender.
Use existing relationships and partnerships to try and gain content placement.
Speak to suppliers; they might be interested in publishing a piece on how you, their client, use their products.
Speak to customers that you know well and determine whether they have an online presence that you can use.
Other potential partnerships you can leverage include any professional or trade groups that you’re a member.
Even your landlords, local business groups, and even groups that you donate to or charities that you sponsor may be willing to give your business some exposure for your efforts.
#2. Forge New Relationships
Outreach means forging relationships with influencers and leaders in your field. Look for ways to forge new relationships, without concentrating solely on outreach and content placement as your goal.
If you are an authority in your field, or perceived as one, offer quotes to website owners and bloggers. They may be able to incorporate these quotes into existing content, with very little additional effort required on your part. Alternatively, by putting your name forward as an authority, recipients will come to you when they need information, data, or quotes, in the future.
There are also services, like HARO, that connect experts to journalists. Journalists are constantly on the look out for insightful and beneficial quotes. You could gain some serious exposure in newspapers and magazines, as well as on industry websites.
#3. Join Forums And Groups
Join forums and groups that pertain to your industry, your products, or the services that you offer. Once you’ve joined, get involved in the conversations that are happening, and be helpful. Answer questions via direct message, as well as in the pages of the forum itself.
It might take some time to build up a reputation on these types of site, but once you are considered a topic authority, you are likely to be inundated with people asking for information, and you can use these new relationships to help further expand your content reach.
#4. Pick Up The Phone
More than 80% of professionals say that their preferred method of communication is via email, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that they will open every email they receive.
Rather than relying on Cold email, consider picking up the phone. Very few outreachers will use the phone, even though it gives you the opportunity to really personalise your message.
The fact that you will be one of only a small number of people to have picked up the phone means that your communication will stand out, especially if you make a positive connection.
#5. Send Physical Letters
Instead of using email, consider a physical approach. Pick up the phone, visit in person, or send outreach letters using branded envelopes and stationery.
You should approach outreach in the same way that you would approach any form of communication with clients, and brand yourself and your business in all communication with prospective content publishers. Put yourself forward in the best possible light, regardless of the form of communication you are using.
While emails might be ignored, and phone calls can be avoided, businesses will almost always open mail that is addressed directly to them. You can include all the same information that you would include in an email, and you will grab attention with a professionally written and printed letter.
#6. Personalise Any Communication
Whether you email, call, or send letters to prospective content publishers, you should personalise your communication.
This doesn’t just mean using the actual name of the recipient. Check out their website, their social media accounts, and details about their business. Take some information and use this in your communication. This shows that you have put some effort into your outreach, and it will be met with a positive response in most cases.
#7. Follow Up
The key to successful outreach is the follow up. Consider mixing up your communication methods for the follow up, so if you emailed a person initially and haven’t heard back, give them a call.
Following up on communications is an art in itself. You don’t want the lead to go cold, which means you should communicate again relatively quickly. Conversely, you don’t want to make a nuisance of yourself, so don’t email every day.
Remember that even the most successful outreach campaigns will not have a perfect response rate. Don’t take it personally if somebody fails to respond or declines your offer of content. It will happen, move on, in order to maximise time and ensure the best results for your efforts.
