Have you ever noticed how some websites or blogs seem to pop up out of nowhere? One minute, you had never even heard about the site. Then it is suddenly plastered all over your social media feeds.

The same thing goes for certain products, services, or brands that suddenly become the go-to trend among your favorite online influencers. How do these overnight successes really come to be?

After all, your content, service, or product is just as good as theirs – if not better. You even work hard to promote your brand all over social media. But your site traffic and subscriber numbers still remain the same. So what’s their secret?

More often than not, the real key to online success is blogger outreach. This strategy is as old as the Internet but has been seriously underrated for a long time. Maybe that is because this it doesn’t look as exciting as some new social network or traffic technique?

Whatever the case, blogger outreach is a time-tested and proven approach that could help you generate explosive growth, sales, and overall revenue for your brand.

Before getting into the details of how blogger outreach can help jumpstart your content or business, let’s start by defining what it is.

Blogger outreach is an effective but untapped marketing strategy that involves reaching out to influential bloggers in order to collaborate on different types of projects. This can include anything from sponsored posts and content publishing to giveaways.

At its core, a blogger outreach programme involves building genuine relationships with these digital influencers to form a partnership that is mutually beneficial. The main goal here is to provide value to the influencer and the audience while also promoting your product, service, or brand.

But these influencers are very busy people. Getting them to pay attention to your outreach email isn’t going to be a walk in the park. And that’s why it is important to talk about the how. How can you run a blogger outreach programme that gets you the results you want?

When a new website, brand, product, or service explodes on social media, there is usually something pretty specific going in behind the scenes. Simply put, this is evidence of a consistent and effective blogger outreach program.

With a lot of hard work and patience, you can also achieve the same results. It means that you will have to be very proactive. Instead of sharing your content on social media platforms and hoping the right influencer notices it, you put it in front of the biggest movers and shakers within your niche.

So, how do you do this the right way? Follow these five crucial steps:

The first step of any effective blogger outreach programme is creating a working list. This involves identifying the influencers that you want to reach out to and build relationships with. Finding the right set of influencers will open your brand up to an extensive network of amazing contacts.

Start off by creating a list of all the top websites and blogs in your niche. Then, identify the influencer that runs each blog. With this information, it will be pretty easy to track down their current email address using RooJet.

You should also take your research a step further and find out a little something about each influencer. This is a great way to add a lot more structure to your outreach efforts.

But don’t be too choosy with the sites that you add to your list at this point. You will refine it and narrow down your choices later on.

Also, the total number of blogs here will depend on your specific niche. If you are trying to promote content in a specialized niche – such as stamp collection – you’ll definitely have fewer influencers on the list as opposed to those dealing with more general topics. That said, your goal should be to reach out to at least 30 influencers.

The next step is to refine your list by separating your target influencers into different tiers. Let’s face it: not all sites are created equal. Some have a bigger audience and get tons more traffic and engagement than others.

But many people who use blogger outreach simply ignore this fact. This means that they use the same approach to reach out to every influencer on their list. Such a mistake could spell failure for your whole blogger outreach program.

If you want to get the most out of your outreach efforts, then you have to divide your target group into two or three different tiers. That way, you will be able to tailor your approach to appeal to more of these influencers.

You can do this based on three factors: social authority, domain authority, and engagement:

This is a pretty smart measure to use because it doesn’t only look at how many numbers the influencer has on a particular social media platform. It also takes into account how influential their followers are, which could make things like shares, retweets, and reposts carry more weight.

When talking about an influencer’s domain authority, you will be weighing them based on SEO metrics. This involves analyzing a website’s search engine authority metrics. Looking at domain authority is important because such indicators usually tend to tie in with reach and influence. Basically, if a site has a higher domain authority, then it has more clout.

That said, bigger isn’t always better. A site might have a huge following but generates very little engagement with regular users. Sometimes, you can get way more traffic and exposure from partnering with a smaller blog that commands a loyal and passionate following than with larger sites that have less engagement.

Once you have reorganized your list accordingly, you can then cross the least influential sites off your list. With this done, you will know who to spend most of your time on for the most impact.

Now that you have your prospects organized, it is time to start the process of reaching out. But before sending out any emails, it is important to get on the influencer’s radar and warm up your cold email outreach.

The goal here is to start building a relationship with the influencer before making your ask. This is the only way that your outreach will be effective.

You can do this in a couple of ways:

Influencers, even those with thousands of followers, keep a very close eye on their mentions. So when you start sharing their content consistently, they will definitely start to take notice.

When sharing such content, make sure to mention or tag the influencer or their site’s social account (if it exists). That way, they will actually see your shares.

Also, briefly talk about how much you enjoyed their posts in a way that doesn’t come across as too creepy or insincere.

One of the best ways to catch the eye of an influencer is by leaving insightful comments on their blog or posts. That is, as long as your comments are genuine and add value to the conversation.

Leaving blanket statements like “great post!” won’t get you anywhere. Instead, write something that compliments the influencer’s work while adding a new perspective to their post at the same time.

Apart from their own websites and blogs, influencers are very active on different social media channels. The main ones are Facebook and Twitter, but this could vary depending on their main focus.

They also love to ask their social media followers a bunch of questions every day. This could give you a golden opportunity to provide value while making it easier for them to remember you when you start sending out your outreach emails.

At this point, you’ve already done most of the hard work. Now it’s time for you to move in for the kill. It’s time to get into the nitty-gritty of how to do this effectively.

The fastest way to promote yourself and the work that you do is by piggybacking off the success of a more influential blogger. If one of the biggest names in your niche writes about you, this could open the door to a huge audience of customers and followers.

Unfortunately, not everyone you reach out to will want to give you free exposure, and that’s okay. But there will always be a couple of people who are willing to help you out. Even a handful of posts or mentions from an influencer will put you well on the path to increased exposure and greater reach.

Here is a nice and easy example to show you how to get a blogger to write about you:

Hey (Influencer’s name),

As someone who loves writing about (mention relevant topic), I just wanted to give you a heads up about a new post I just put up on (mention specific topic). [insert URL]

Just thought you’d get a kick out of it!

Keep up the awesome work at (name of influencer’s website/blog).

Cheers,

(Your name).

Since you’re not asking for anything, you can afford to keep the message short and clear. A simple email that gets the focus on your content, product, or service is more than enough.

The most influential websites and blogs are usually very picky about the guest posts or product features that they publish. This is because guest contributions and sponsored posts are a reflection of their own brand.

So, if you want these influencers to promote you, then you have to send a personalized email showing why you would be a great fit for their brand.

A good way to do this is by offering value to their audiences. Remember, influential bloggers have spent a lot of time and effort building up credibility with their followers by consistently offering great content. So if you offer something new and helpful, they will most likely give you a shot.

Here’s a template showing you how to get a blogger to promote your product:

Hey (Influencer’s name),

First off, I just want to say that I’ve been a huge fan of (name of influencer’s blog/website) for a long time now. You may have noticed my comments on your last post. I loved that post! In fact, it helped me (mention main takeaway).

Anyway, I was checking out some of your other posts and noticed that you recently published a guest post from (name of guest writer). And it got me thinking: I’d love to be your next guest author!

I’ve been brainstorming a couple ideas that I think your audience would find really helpful/insightful etc.:

•    Topic 1
•    Topic 2
•    Topic 3

Here are a few other posts that I’ve published recently, just to give you an idea of my writing style:

•    Topic 1 + URL
•    Topic 2 + URL

Let me know what you think!

Cheers,

(Your name).

Using templates for your blogger outreach programme is a great strategy, mainly because it is one of the best ways to save time and energy during the process. That said, it is important to know that popular outreach templates do face a couple of limitations:

But these are pretty easy problems to handle, if only you use a lot of personalization to customize every cold outreach email that you send out. The problem is most of the people don’t want to spend the time and effort that is needed to do this. And it shows in their very low open, response and conversion rates.

So the bottom line is that, if you decide to use templates, you always have to tweak them to fit every influencer. That is the only way to use outreach templates effectively.

With that in mind, here are a few blogger outreach examples to give you some inspiration for your own campaign:

Getting an influencer to give you a chance to guest blog on their site is the height of trust. For a short period of time, they are literally placing their hard-won audience in your hands. That’s a pretty big responsibility, right?

But it’s an even bigger risk for them. That’s why you must gain their trust, show your credibility, and prove that you’re up for it first. And, unfortunately, just one email is not enough to do all this. Simply put, the process takes time.

On the other hand, it is totally worth it. Landing a guest blogging spot on the most popular sites within your niche is an incredibly powerful way of gaining exposure. You will see your traffic numbers, reach, and conversion rates explode in a very short amount of time.

So, how do you actually get the gig?

For the first one or two emails, your focus should be on building rapport with the influencer. As well as establishing your credibility. For example, you can say something like this:

Hey (Influencer’s name),

I know you get a ton of emails from bloggers/startups/brands looking for your expertise, so I’ll keep this short. I think you might find it interesting…

I’m launching a new series on my blog next week hoping to cover (mention relevant topic). Specifically, I’m (mention specific focus).

If you’re interested, I’d love to share it with you. Do you mind if I send you a link?

Thanks,

(Your name).

You can also catch their attention by providing some sort of value, offering to fix a broken link, or featuring them in your content.

By using a friendly and conversational tone, asking for advice, and giving a specific call to action, the influencer will most likely get back to you. This sort of meaningful conversation will open the door for you to make your ask in the next email:

Hey (Influencer’s name),

Thanks so much for your feedback! I was able to use the tips you gave me to flesh out my post on (mention specific topic) and it finally goes live today. Here’s the link if you want to check it out: [insert URL]

I was just checking out (name of influencer’s site) and saw that you also accept guest posts. Since we were able to work so well together here, do you think you’d be open to me writing a guest post on your site?

I have a couple of ideas that I think your audience would really love:

•    Topic idea 1
•    Topic idea 2
•    Topic idea 3

If you’re interested, I can start working on one of these ideas right away. Let me know what you think!

Cheers,

(Your name).

Many brands have discovered that working with influencers is the secret to unlocking high engagement and massive conversion rates. So, if you are trying to get one of these influencers on board, this outreach email template should do the trick:

Hi (Influencer’s name),

I’m (your name), the (mention your role) at (name of your company). I’m also a long time fan of (name of influencer’s site). Your recent post on mention specific topic) was an amazing take on the (mention specific) industry/theory/etc. Amazing job!

That’s why I’m reaching out to you today. (Name of your company) is always looking for new ways to feature our products/services online. Not only do I like your work, but I think your audience would really appreciate (mention your product/service). If you’re willing, I’d love for you to test and review it.

I’d be happy to send over a free sample for your review. I’ll also throw in X extra samples that you can give away to your audience.

If you’re interested, just let me know and I can get those samples to you right away!

Either way, know that you have some loyal fans at (name of your company).

Cheers,

(Your name).

Small differences in your approach could mean the success or failure of your blogger outreach program. That’s why it is important to keep proven best practices in mind when running your campaign. Here are some ways that you can improve your chances of success:

While it is vital to know how many of your outreach emails receive responses, it may be more important to keep track of your open rates. This analysis will help you identify promising opportunities from messages that haven’t been opened yet.

A great way to track both your open and response rates is by using RooJet. Is the subject line not attracting your prospects? Or is it driving them to open but your email copy fails to keep them interested. The data you get from this analysis can help you know what to improve for your campaign to be more successful.

Simply providing an influencer with the right URL isn’t going to make them interested in your content. In fact, this will only get your message sent to spam or the trash folder immediately. Instead, you have to explain what it is all about and how it could help the influencer and their audience. Simply put, you have to provide value.

Do this by stating a unique value proposition that shows your content is different in some way. It is also a good idea to include some sort of social proof to help build your credibility and get the influencer interested in what you have to say.

Personalization has become a huge catchword in the outreach community, but only because it works. That said, it is not enough to just customize your email copy. You have to extend it to the email subject lines too.

Specific subject lines can help drive up your open and response rates by up to five percent. Tell the influencer exactly what to expect, live up to it in the email itself, and they might reward you with a response.

If you’re using email as your main source of outreach, then you might be missing out on a lot of promising opportunities to get in front of the right influencer.

So, take your outreach efforts out of the inbox and use other creative ways to reach out. You can start off on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn (among many, many more) and use this to bridge the conversation through email.

If you want to run an effective blogger outreach campaign, then you will need the right tools to do it. That’s where blogger outreach software comes in.

RooJet would be your best option here. Not only does it help you find any influencer’s correct email address, it also helps you automate the follow up process. With the added ability to track your emails, you will be able to create a blogger outreach programme that gets you the results you need.

Blogger outreach may seem like a pretty complicated process, but it is a skill that you can learn quickly and easily. Once you have gotten the hang of it, the results will start flooding in fast.

You can look forward to more fans and subscribers; greater traffic and reach for your website; and more social shares, inbound links, and mentions of your product, service, or brand.

The proactive tactics highlighted here will help you reach out to the right people and separate yourself from a crowded inbox.  

Do you have any more tips and tricks that work for your blogger outreach programme? Don’t forget to leave them in the comments below!