How to Earn More Links From Your Outreach Campaign &
Supercharge Your Link Building Productivity.
Spending more time writing long emails and “well thought out” messages to webmasters can often times be counterproductive. When it comes to guest blogging outreach, less is more; but that doesn’t mean your chances of writing compelling link outreach emails diminish.
Whether it be a word, or a specific way you write 1 sentence; making a simple tweak could mean the difference between the number 1 spot, and the top of the second page in Google.
Sounds crazy right? Behold!
The 5 time saving, psychological triggering, influence mastering, mass persuasion blogger outreach tweaks you’d be crazy not to use!
1. Use sensory words to influence webmasters and win more links.
The 3 sensory language categories that people most commonly use in their speech consist of visual, auditory, and feeling words. An example of all three categories would be “look, hear, and feel”.
Here’s the important fact that you should take away from this lesson if you want to win more links…
The majority of people predominately use 1 of these 3 sensory language patterns, and people are more likely to relate with you if you use the same type of sensory language they use.
More importantly, people will end up liking you without even knowing why. In turn, they will be more inclined to listen to what you have to say, and they’ll be more willing to do whatever it is you’re asking them to do…
Like linking out to your site in their resource page, or trust you to write compelling and “likeable” content with guest blogging opportunities.
There are 2 simple ways to implement this in your blog outreach strategy.
Approach #1: Incorporate words from all 3 sensory language categories within your email.
This is a simple yet powerful way to make others feel inclined to look at your material or listen to what you have to say. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, I was able to incorporate all three sensory language categories within the last sentence.
By using words within all three categories, you’ll be able to increase your chances of relating with the vast majority of people on the planet. Don’t overthink it and don’t overcomplicate it, it’s a very easy strategy to implement.
Making this simple tweak can increase your chances of receiving a reply more often than you think. The more times you can engage them in a conversation, the more likely you are to accomplishing your link building outreach goals.
Approach #2: Spot what sensory language the blogger in question uses, and send them an email that’s focused on the sensory language they use.
It’s important to note that this approach takes a little bit more effort on your part, but often times the juice is well worth the squeeze. If you work smart you can exponentially increase your chances of getting a reply while still moving fast.
These emails you’re sending out for your SEO Outreach are basic and straightforward.
Simply spend an extra 10 minutes in the beginning drafting out 3 similar email messages, all focused around each of the 3 main sensory language categories.
Within a couple hours, spotting someone’s sensory language patterns will become second nature for you, and sending them the correct email draft does not take away any of your precious time.
Here is a list words for each category to help you incorporate this strategy for your SEO outreach.
Using this approach alone can help increase the amount of links you can earn from your blogger outreach strategy.
The trick is to combine all 5 strategies within this article to really kick up your conversions. So let’s get into the next mass persuasion tactic to help you influence more people to link to your website.
2. Earn embedded links using embedded commands.
Don’t be fooled by my play on words, this strategy will help you earn any kind of link your heart desires.
Using this method is even simpler than the above strategy, and very powerful if used correctly.
Your goal is to indirectly tell someone what you want them to do without flat out telling them. You can accomplish this by rewording a few sentences from time to time. It’s an age old sales tactic that us nerdy SEO’s can use to our advantage to help us influence bloggers and webmasters to do as we command.
Imagine what that could mean for your websites link profile when you decide to use embedded commands in your outreach SEO emails.
Did you see what I did there?
By using the word “imagine”, I forced you to focus on the benefits of using embedded commands. Now this word might not belong in any of your blogger outreach emails because let’s face it, you don’t want to sound too “sales’ey”.
Rest assured however, there are plenty of ways a blogger outreach agency can implement this method without sounding like a car salesman.
I’m also telling you in that phrase to make the decision to incorporate embedded commands as a strategy for your campaigns without ACTUALLY telling you. This may seem like a weird strategy, but it WORKS!
To give you some more ideas, the few phrases I’ve underlined in this section are perfect examples of embedded commands.
Could you see yourself rewriting a simple sentence if it means more success in your bloggers outreach efforts?
After just a few times practicing this concept when writing your emails or speaking to a future client, it becomes second nature. For something so simple, it really should be considered a no brainer for you.
We’ve found that when SEO’s decide to implement this subtle approach in their blogger outreach campaign, they can increase the number of replies dramatically.
I think you get the picture, so let’s move onto the next email tweak that will help you earn more links.
3. Close minded bloggers sharing the link love after one word.
This one is SO powerful and it’s one of my favorites! Why? Because it literally involves changing just ONE word. That’s all! And no, I’m not talking about using the word “you” 20 extra times in your email.
I’m not going to build it up or dance around the strategy. The word you need to use more often is “open”. Not what you expected, was it?
So you might be wondering WHY this is such a powerful word. Let’s jump right into the psychology behind it, and how it can help you maximize your outreach link building.
Everyone likes to be open to new ideas, or at least be thought of as an open minded person. Nobody likes to be considered close minded. So why is it, whether your pitching someone or sending out emails looking for links; would you give them the opportunity to think otherwise?
When you say “would you be interested” or “would you be willing” they can either say yes or no.
On the other hand; when you say for example, “would you be open to a guest blogging opportunity”, you are forcing them to subconsciously admit to being “closed” if they say no. This is a simple yet powerful strategy that just flat out works.
If used properly (and it’s SO HARD to mess this strategy up) you will convince more people to reply positively to your blogger outreach program and attract more links.
Yes, you will “unlock” more links by changing just one word. There is no extra time needed, you don’t have to work harder, and your mind won’t explode from some complicated strategy.
The next seo outreach strategy is a bit more complex, but well worth the effort when executed correctly.
4. A personalized benefit driven outreach approach will open the link floodgates.
I’ll be the first to admit that this is a widely known concept among many marketers, SEO’s included in the list. While this concept may be well-known, being able to integrate it successfully into your content outreach strategy can be difficult.
This strategy is often times overlooked, but can bring tremendous value to your link building efforts if used correctly. I don’t care who you are, sometimes getting back to the basics is the best thing you can do to accomplish your content marketing outreach goals.
By placing just one benefit within your email, you are already way ahead of the curve.
Why? Because the vast majority of seo outreach specialists will not go this extra step. If you create benefits that speak directly to individual bloggers or webmasters, you’ll be shocked at how effective your guest blog outreach campaigns can become.
Using this method correctly can take up considerable time and mental energy though. And therein lies the problem!
The people you’ll be targeting for your SEO content outreach change from website to website. Since we’re always trying to “cover lots of ground” when we’re emailing other webmasters, we need to be quick.
The cost of doing business isn’t limited to just money; you must also factor in your time, energy, and resources. Producing freshly hand squeezed emails for each and every website you want a link from is simply not feasible in today’s competitive market.
It could mean disaster for your productivity!
Below I will outline a process that can help you convey killer benefits within your emails. This process can be used to help you execute massive outreach campaigns, and allow you to do so in a timely manner.
Let’s dive right into the process, which involves good ol’ fashion elbow grease and getting back to the basics of identifying irresistible benefits for your blogging outreach emails.
If you follow 3 simple rules which make up this process, you’ll be able to think up irresistible benefits that will help you win more links and favor in the eyes of bloggers and webmasters.
Rule #1 is called the “So What” rule.
It’s a very simple rule that has never led me astray. This rule will go a long way to help you identify the difference between features and benefits. It works like this…
After you make a statement, if you can say “so what!”; then it’s a feature. If you cannot say “so what!”, then it’s a benefit.
I know, this seems elementary right?
But how many of you are guilty of writing a statement similar to the following link building pitch?
“After we do a guest blogging post on your site, we will direct our twitter followers back to that article on your website.”
SO WHAT! Referral traffic will only go so far! Sure, they may know that it’s targeted traffic, but unless you spell it out to them exactly how it can enhance their life; they just might pass it up like all the rest.
This brings me to my next rule, and it will tie in directly with the first rule.
Rule #2 : Understanding the difference between wants and needs.
This is tricky, especially when your operating in the world of digital marketing. People need oxygen, food, water, shelter etc…
People don’t NEED fresh content & referral traffic; people WANT these things.
So what if you send your twitter followers to the guest blog article you wrote for their gardening website!
A better approach would be to demonstrate how referral traffic “something they want” will help lead them to get something they NEED “more sales which equals shelter, food, water, etc.”
By explaining that your twitter followers are all die hard gardening fans who regularly buy your cutting edge gardening guides, this will automatically translate to making more sales for them.
Most people stop here and sabotage their (irresistible benefit). You need the last rule to tie it all together.
Rule #3 : Stimulate emotion
We are all emotional beings and more often than not we make decisions based on our emotions. So being rational and using logic just isn’t going to cut it.
You want to stimulate emotions.
Your benefits need to convey how linking to your site can enhance their lives.
So how do you take a need they have and stimulate emotion?
- Be personal
- Appear as if you share their passion
- Briefly mention how your life (or audiences life) has been enhanced.
It’s that simple! The finished product looks something like this.
“My twitter following consist of gardeners who regularly purchase guides from our website. We engage in meaningful conversations and share our positive experiences with each other on a daily basis. I’ll make sure to direct them back to my guest blog post on your site. What you offer is exactly the reason why we come online to share the joys of gardening, and I’m sure my audience would agree as well.”
By implementing this strategy in your blogger outreach emails, you will dramatically increase the amount of relationships you build for your website. Identifying exactly how someone can feel motivated to link out to your website is priceless, and if you’re not using this strategy then you need to start asap.
Some might feel this adds an extra step to the outreach process and therefore slows you down. Considering that your benefit should apply to every niche related website your reaching out to, it should only hold you up slightly in the beginning.
Let’s move onto the last copy writing strategy you can use to increase your blogger outreach productivity.
5. Psychologically Motivate Others to Link to your site.
There are a total of 11 well known psychological motivators that have been used to help professional copywriters sell products for over one hundred years.
These copywriting secrets have withstood the test of time and are responsible for an untold amount of fortunes made in this world. Here’s the cool part I want you to understand…
It’s much easier to get links than it is to have someone reach into their pocket to buy something from you.
All you need is a little know how and you’ll be a master at influencing people to link to your site.
Not all 11 psychological motivators are best suited to use in your blogger outreach campaigns, so I’ll cover 3 in this guide. These 3 are the most appropriate to use and also easy to implement.
The first one is called “reason why”.
There was a Harvard experiment back in 1978 where the students were instructed to investigate the power of using the word “because” and then giving a reason why.
They were instructed to try and cut people in line at one of the Universities copy machines. The first set of people asked if they could use the copy machine without giving any reason. They found that 60% of the time, they were allowed to cut in front of the person.
The next set of people asked to use the copy machine the exact same way except they added “because I have to make copies” at the end of the request. They found that it worked 93% of the time. Well OF COURSE they needed to make copies at the copy machine, but surprisingly by using the word “because” and giving a stupid reason, their success rate skyrocketed.
The next set of people asked the same way except they gave a good reason saying, “because I’m running late”. Their success rate climbed even higher.
It’s so easy to implement this into your blogger outreach marketing and so hard to mess it up. Don’t overthink it, just do it and see your response rate go up.
The next psychological motivator is called “the truth”.
This one is also very straightforward. Some marketers like to refer to this as the “damaging admission”. The concept is very simple. By telling the truth to someone else and positioning it as such, you will knock down their mental walls they’ve build up over the years.
This can be useful when getting others to continue reading your outreach link building pitch.
Don’t dance around the fact that you are trying to pitch them a link building opportunity for your website. Trust me, THEY KNOW. At least by shamelessly admitting this, there is a better chance for them to hear you out. Nobody likes to be tricked, everybody likes to work with someone they can trust.
This is only one of many ways you can use the truth motivator in your favor. Another example could be that maybe your brand new in your niche and could use the exposure. Go on and tell them! (Just don’t act desperate & beg for links, there’s a difference.)
Point is, people will respect you more when you use a damaging admission.
You’d be shocked at how effective this can be. By appearing like you wear your intentions on your sleeve, people are more likely to respond positively and you will substantially increase your websites link profile.
The last motivator to improve the productivity of your outreach strategies is called “social proof”.
Just like the first 2, this is incredibly easy to implement and you’d be crazy not to use it.
Social proof can provide endless ways to influence others to associate with your website.
Looking for guest blogging opportunities?
Maybe you or your client accomplished something worth mentioning. Maybe you pioneered a unique approach to growing the best damn carrots in the North West and people are using it with huge success.
Use information like this and cite testimonials for webmasters to see. (No, I’m not obsessed with gardening, but it’s a convenient example to illustrate my points!)
You could use social proof to influence others to link out to you from their resource page.
Are you an industry leader in your field? Might be hard to prove, unless you cite how many people you have served or helped in your industry. Maybe you’re not even a big deal, but if you’re creative and think outside the box, citing examples can be huge.
If you’re a lawyer for example, how many clients have you helped over the last 5 years? While you may not be an Atticus Finch (yes I know he’s a fictional character), boasting that you’ve served over 150 clients still sounds like a big deal.
Looking to pitch some content to be included in a link roundup?
Maybe you’ve been doing outreach for a while. Mention past instances where an authority site linked out to you. “Hey, if these people linked to his content, why shouldn’t I?”
I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. By just adding 1 extra sentence to your emails and linking out to cite your examples, it could have a huge impact on your ability to earn recognition and links from others. All you have to do is think outside the box and get creative.
In conclusion:
By using these 5 simple strategies correctly, you’ll be shocked at how dramatic your success rate goes up. With that said, these are not the “end all be all” strategies to take away for your blogger outreach efforts.
Your journey as a marketer and SEO will never end. There are a million more ways to improve your blogger outreach seo, all you have to do is pick up a book and read. Become a student of human psychology & marketing. Always be looking for that edge.
We are in a fast paced industry that is constantly pushing for the next level! If you become stagnant for even just a few months, you could be left behind in the dust.
Always be testing!
Test, test, and test some more.
And as always, share the love with your fellow peers if you got something out of this guide.
the 8 remaining psychological motivators.
BONUS
The 8 remaining psychological motivators will help you become a master of persuasion to bend webmasters and bloggers to your will. You could use this information to gain more links, increase your rankings, attract more customers, or whatever else your geeky marketing heart desires! Thanks for sharing & I hope you enjoyed my guide.