The most powerful sales technique is relationships. When you have a great relationship with a customer, they are more likely to purchase from you just because they like you. A loyal customer is also a source for referrals and brand recognition.
Link building is Google’s method of relationship building. The more links you can build to your website, the more credible you become. Google trusts you more than the other guy with no backlinks.
Just like building trust is difficult, building links is a struggle as well. Many SEO people avoid link building and just post on social media to avoid the difficulty. However, a more aggressive approach can increase your online exposure faster.
My favorite way to earn backlinks is through guest posting. All bloggers need content and are usually happy to provide a backlink for a well-written blog. My goal for clients is one guest post per month from a website that is 40+ domain authority.
Not sure where to start? I created this guest blogging guide to simplify the process.
Guest Posting Strategy
Step 1:
Site Discovery
The first step is to understand what bloggers would be interested in your post. For example, one of my clients is a plumber. I focus on finding home improvement bloggers for their guest posts. Once you know this, there are many SEO tools to find bloggers in that field.
The tool that I use most is Guest Post Tracker. Bloggers submit their website to the directory. Subscribers research the topic that they are interested in and will receive a list of bloggers in that field, including guest posting fee, domain authority, and contact information.
You can also go old school and research the blogger’s industry online. Manual research is more time consuming but free!
Step 2:
Pitch
After you find bloggers that you want to contact, you will need to reach out to them by email. This is usually your first impression. The following pitch template is from Backlinko.
Hi [Name],
I’m a long time reader. You may have noticed my comment on your post on [Article] (awesome article by the way).
I’m writing to you because I’d love to contribute a guest post on [Website].
I’ve been brainstorming some topics that I think your readers would get a ton of value from:
[Idea #1]
[Idea #2]
[Idea #3]
I’ll make sure the piece overflows with information that can’t be found anywhere else.
To give you an idea of the quality I’ll bring to your site, here’s a link to a guest post that I recently published on [Other Website].
Cheers,
[Your First Name]
Step 3:
Write Your Guest Post
Great! You have a place to guest post. Now, it is time to write your blog. If you do not want to write your own blog, there are many freelancer websites, such as Upwork. I contract out all of my writing to a freelance writer. Most writers average $50 per 1,000 word blog.
Your client may tell you that they will write the blogs to save a few bucks. I always encourage a professional writer since clients never have as much time as they think. If you are looking for a writer, contact me to speak with my professional content writer.
Building a guest post strategy does not have to be daunting. With proper research, communication, and writing resources, you can develop a list of guest blogs for your clients. If your website only has a few links, speak with us to get started on your link building campaign. A strong link building strategy is necessary for your SEO.