Outreach campaigns for link building can be challenging for SEOs, as they need to stay engaged in the process. Finding prospects and reaching out to them is time-consuming and unpredictable.
This blog post covers various link-building email outreach templates and campaigns that are going to offset some of that uncertainty for you, with winning templates for your outreach emails.
TL;DR
- General Link-Building Process involves planning, prospecting, outreach, follow-up, building/maintaining links, and partnerships to acquire and monitor backlinks. Use BacklinkManager for free to monitor your links and manage your SEO partnerships.
- Paid guest blogging requires more extensive negotiations in outreach campaigning compared to general blogger outreach, due to the financial investment.
- Use broken links and inbound links from authoritative resources through broken link building and backlink reclamation as a part of your link-building outreach marketing campaign.
- Resource pages and roundups can be a great source of backlinks from your outreach campaigning efforts.
- Collaborate beyond link building by participating in podcasts, vlogging, guest blogging, webinars, and link exchange.
- A-B-C & multi-partner link exchanges are effective long-term techniques for link building, unlike buying links.
- You can manage your link-building campaigns more effectively with the help of a dedicated CRM such as BacklinkManager.
- Use your brand/content popularity for outreach by searching for unlinked brand mentions from quality sources.
- Data-driven content-based outreach (e.g. skyscraper technique, research studies) gets contextual links from relevant sources like .edu sites.
- Newsletters can be a source of referral traffic from your prospects’ email marketing campaigns.
- Follow-ups boost email outreach efficiency by up to 20%. Incorporate them at all stages for link-building success.
- Prospecting the right person is the biggest outreach challenge. Use structured, personalized templates, tools, and monitoring for positive results.
The Process of Outreach for Link Building Campaigning
Irrespective of the type of campaign, outreach link building follows 4 main steps:
Initiating Strategy – Content Analysis
Content Analysis helps define what kind of outreach campaigns can be included in our campaign.
It’s important for effective link building outreach campaigns as it needs to be done in alignment with other effective outreach strategies and campaign goals.
Prospecting and Outreaching – Building Communication
After defining your link-building effective outreach marketing strategies and content analysis, the next step is to prospect for the best endpoints to deliver your various outreach marketing messages.
This involves considering factors such as average monthly traffic and Domain Authority Score.
Build Communication + The Following Ups
Typically, 5-15% prospects respond to outreach emails, indicating how competitive outreach link building is.
To improve your response rate, make sure to incorporate followups as a part of your campaigning.
Maintain links and Monitor The Outcomes of Your Outreach Marketing Strategy
After building links with outreach, you should monitor them in case one of your partners removes your link or accidentally loses it in redirect. This is called “link maintenance” and can be easily done in a tool like BacklinkManager – which allows you to monitor up to 250 links for free and sends you a notification when a link goes down (and in which partnership it was.)
Goals of Link Building Campaigning
Link building is about building customer relationships too, not just SEO. It aims to establish partnerships with similar niche stakeholders.
There are five primary goals of any link-building campaign:
- improve search engine rankings
- increase brand awareness
- enhance traffic
- generate exposure from the right audience, and ultimately
- grow sales.
Now let’s explore the different types of link-building outreach campaigns.
Different Types of Outreach Link-Building Campaigns with Outreach Examples
This list covers some of the best examples of successful outreach and marketing strategies and campaigns that have contributed to effective link-building in the past.
Sujan Patel’s Simple Approach for Blogger Outreach
Webmasters always look for good quality content and businesses often approach these traffic-generating blogs for guest blogging.
Competition in this outreach method is high. Bloggers and webmasters receive a lot of guest blogging requests in their inboxes, making it difficult to stand out.
Personalization can help you cut through the noise. Take a look at the simple outreach example of Sujan Patel.
That’s an ideal example of how simple your sales outreach should be. It starts with a crisp and clear subject line, an informal greeting, a brief introduction followed by the offer, and a call to action.
Negotiating in Your Paid Guest Blog Outreach
Paid guest posting is a lucrative new business move for bloggers. Sponsored and paid guest posts contribute up to 10% of a blogger’s income.
For a successful paid blogger outreach campaign, use a sales-like approach with catchy subject lines, compliment prospects, present an enticing offer, and pitch links to your best content.
Let’s look at an example:
The outreach message starts with a catchy subject line, followed by a brief informal greeting and a quick introduction. This is followed by a personalized pitch looking for guest post opportunities.
However, considering the example, it’s worth noting the importance of negotiation. The publisher demands an amount of $100 for putting up the link, however, it’s upon you to negotiate for that link and keep your resource management within budget.
Brian Dean’s Approach to Broken Link Building & Outreach
One popular outreach marketing technique for building links SEOs often use is Broken Link Building.
Unlike other link-building outreach strategies that involve content generation, this approach focuses on prospecting broken links on authoritative websites generating traffic.
Let’s look at an example of this outreach strategy in Brian Dean’s broken link-building outreach.
His approach right from prospecting to reaching out – is a perfect example of how simplicity (in crafting the outreach message) is a winning outreach strategy.
Considering Brian’s outreach message – it’s simple, precise, and value-backed; the seven-liner has it ALL!
It has a 5-word intro, personalized appreciation note for the prospect, followed by informing them about the existing broken link, and, how his link can be a good replacement.
An Easy Approach to Resource Page Link Building
Getting your website linked to resource pages of authoritative websites can have a significant impact on your outreach strategy.
For this type of link building the easiest approach to prospecting your target audience is to look at social media and SERPs. You can use the following operators to find out prospects for your resource page link building:
Feel free to experiment with the operators to optimize your results.
Use the following example email to craft your outreach message.
Keep your intent clear right from the subject line – ‘Valuable Resource for your website/audience’ because that’s what you are offering them.
An Example of Podcast Collaboration Outreach
An excellent example of using podcast collaboration outreach to gain backlinks is the “Armchair Expert” podcast hosted by Dax Shepard. In a particular episode, Shepard collaborated with comedian and fellow podcast host Conan O’Brien. The episode received high praise from both sets of fans, leading to increased visibility and new listeners for both podcasts. This collaboration also resulted in valuable backlinks for each podcast’s website, as they promoted the episode on their respective websites and social media platforms. By collaborating with other podcasters in a similar way, businesses can use podcast outreach as an effective link building strategy, resulting in increased traffic and better search engine rankings.
Viperchills Example of PIN for Link Exchanging
Sharing traffic through links, also known as link swapping, reciprocal link building, or link trading, has been a long-standing practice. However, it has been exploited over time and is not considered healthy if done excessively.
Nevertheless, the process has evolved beyond traditional two-way “exchanging” and is widely practiced among SEOs today.
ViperChills’ example of PIN (Private Influencer Network) for link building fits as an ideal case of gaining benefits from sharing links to among multiple partners.
To craft out your effective outreach strategy, you can always use the example for partnership (used above), including your intent to be link-building.
A Great Template For Your Product/Service Link Insertion Outreach
Niche edits, also known as link insertion involves finding websites that have relevant content with anchor text, keywords, or brand mentions, and reaching out to them for link insertion.
While this approach does not require creating new content, it does require some prospecting work to identify the right opportunities. To reach out your prospects in this case, you can use the following example template:
The message gets directly to the point – the reason for cold outreach, why the prospect is being approached, and your offer of how you two can mutually benefit from this cold outreach together.
You can also include some attractive offers in the form of coupons & discounts to prospects’ visitors if you have a product/service to offer and explain how it is a win-win situation for everyone involved!
Keep in mind that link insertion may come with a cost, so be prepared to negotiate and budget accordingly.
Revive Your Broken Inbound Backlinks with Link Reclamations
Link-rot is a common reason why backlinks tend to expire over time and need to be monitored regularly.
You can use any popular analytics tool to review your broken inbound backlinks that have been found broken due to 404 errors to easily populate your prospecting list.
Here is a simple template you can use to reach out to these prospects. This example perfectly represents how robust and creative you can be in your outreach marketing approach.
Since your prospects know you/your resource, you can skip the introduction & straight ahead get on the scene – explain the issue (broken link found!) & offer your replacement.
In most cases, your partners will be happy to help and will also want to keep their website free of broken links.
Building Links Through Brand Mention Reclaims
Brand mentions on blogs and social media can significantly boost brand awareness, but a backlink can take it to the next level.
Unlike reclaiming broken inbound backlinks, reaching out to websites for a link back requires a different approach.
To effectively claim backlinks for your brand mentions, a well-crafted email outreach is essential. Consider the following example:
Your email should start with a brief note showing your appreciation for them mentioning you followed by your request for a backlink on that mention. You can use the given example as a reference to create your own outreach message.
Treat these prospects as either potential customers or future partners, which can be great for collaborating on different content strategies, so remember to keep your communications with potential partners open and strong as much as possible.
Adding pre- & post- link-building follow-ups would be a really great idea and way of enhancing your overall results when considering this technique of link-building.
Outreach Email Example of Link Building Via RoundUp Inclusion
Social media platforms are a great way of knowing about trending roundups and can be a great place for your roundup outreach prospecting.
To reach out to your prospects, you can use the following example template given below.
Here’s what worked and what you may want to include in your outreach marketing campaign:
- appreciation/acknowledgment of the prospect for their roundup
- introduction of your topic with a link request in their round-up
- a CTA requesting a response
As with other outreach email marketing ideas, try to keep it as simple as possible. A 5-6 liner email template is enough for your outreach marketing strategy.
Email Example Template for Your Skyscraper Technique Outreach Link Building
The skyscraper technique is a potent content generation method that can form the basis of a robust content marketing strategy.
By creating high-quality content, you can earn mentions and backlinks from relevant resources even without any email outreach campaigns or efforts. But if you want to boost your post, you can use an email outreach campaign like in this template example:
The first step in skyscraper outreach is to identify a piece of content on a website or blog that has generated a considerable amount of backlinks. Next, create an even more in-depth and valuable piece of content on the same topic and reach out to the original content creators, offering them your content as a superior alternative that they can link to instead. This technique can be highly effective in generating high-quality backlinks, but it requires thorough research and a well-crafted outreach message. With successful skyscraper outreach, you can increase your website’s domain authority, traffic, and search engine rankings.
Release Original Studies to Assist Your Outreach Campaigning
Generating data-driven content for outreach campaigns can be a time-consuming and resource-intensive process, much like the skyscraper technique.
It involves creating and gathering data from sources, analyzing data, designing reports, and presenting conclusions in a way that is relevant to your target audience.
Bloggers and journalists often seek research-based data to support their ideas, so it’s essential to pitch your prospects with relevant and compelling data. Check out the following example.
In terms of justifying why your link works better, you can always support your sales outreach pitch here by mentioning how well your well-researched, analyzed data & conclusions help in reinforcing prospects’ opinions.
Outreach Example for Infographics Link Building
Your target audience wants content that is easy to consume and visually appealing. Infographics are a great way to present large amounts of information in a single, visually appealing image.
To promote your work, you can use the following outreach email as an example and share a preview of your work using embed codes.
The tone is pretty much similar to that used in the case of content collaboration for podcasting (above). However, the approach here is meant to be more elaborative, so start with a catchy introduction.
Try to detail your prospect more about how your infographic can contribute to their content, share an embedded image in the email for their preview, and keep your valuable content safe.
.edu Link-Building Outreach
Getting backlinks from educational institutions is beneficial for SEO.
However, it’s difficult to earn high-quality dofollow links from good universities and schools.
Data-driven content is useful for outreach to scholars, and you can contact individuals who regularly blog on .edu sites, including students, professors, or webmasters.
Here is an example of an email template for .edu link building using outreach. This serves as a complete template that can be readily used to build relationships and reach out to your prospects:
The email is detailed, with a very short introduction, followed by what fact from the prospect’s resource attracted your attention, and how it helped you in your work.
Next push your pitch for getting added to their resource page along with a mention of some of the best quality content you have as suggestions justifying how they can be a useful asset for the prospect, closing the mail with a CTA to gain knowledge of your prospect’s interest in your offer.
Feature on Newsletters Campaign Example
Newsletters, as a part of email marketing strategy, offer a reach to thousands of subscribers within the interested industry domain.
Connecting with such websites and getting your small business featured in these newsletters can be a great source of earning direct referral traffic & getting more sales for your business.
You can use the following case of newsletter feature request email and outreach templates to craft up your outreach.
The Follow Up
Not integrating followups in your outreach marketing strategy can cost you almost 20% chance of connecting with prospects.
Bloggers stay flooded with link-building offers, and untimed outreaches can get stacked underneath piles of other emails at times and can become a reason for your email outreach failure.
Followup helps revive those lost opportunities and get at least a fraction of your resources activated for link building.
Monitoring your campaigns routinely ensures that you don’t miss out on followups and work on your prospect list effectively.
Important Tips to Follow to Create a Successful Outreach Campaign
There’s no single trick or solution to guarantee outreach campaign success. Many factors must be considered, such as goals, strategy, and campaign planning, to ensure longevity and success.
Common Challenges in Outreach Link Building Campaign
Outreach link-building campaigns are rife with challenges at every stage. The first hurdle is having quality content at the planning stage. If lacking, investing resources to prepare quality content is crucial.
Next, managing prospects and monitoring their contacts and activities can prove difficult as out of hundreds you reach out to, only 5-15% respond.
Bloggers are flooded with a variety of outreach offers so its tough to grab their attention and elicit a positive response.
Not using technology and automation tools can hinder campaign speed.
Overcoming these obstacles is crucial for outreach campaign success.
Tips to Overcome Outreach Challenges
Here are a few valuable tips that would help you structurize and follow an effective email outreach strategy and campaign to assure the success and benefits of your email outreach campaign and SEO in the long run!
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Never Forget – ‘Content is King’
Creating content that’s rich in information, research data, and valuable visual assets, and tailored to users’ needs, performs best for outreach and link-building.
Focusing on your target audinece pain points can help marketing team forge better connections. Employing various content generation tactics, such as vlogging, participating in podcasts and interviews, and partnering with others, can expand your network and strengthen your outreach campaigns with multiple strategies.
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Use Multiple Channels to Reach Out to Your Prospects
Don’t rely on one outreach channel for link building. Use social media outreach as an essential part of your outreach strategy to amplify response & conversion rates.
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Work on Your Outreach Email Messages
Personalize your outreach messages instead of using templates. Craft compelling subject lines & research prospects well to increase the chances of receiving a response.
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Dont Forget Call-To-Actions
After introducing yourself, explain why you are contacting the prospect & include a clear CTA. Be concise & offer something valuable in return. Encourage the prospect to take action by providing a compelling reason to respond.
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Leverage Automation Techniques is Key to Reaching SEO Outreach Goals Effectively
Manual implementation and tracking of outreach strategies can be time-consuming, so using tools and automation can help streamline processes and achieve better results.
Analytical tools like Ahrefs & SEMRush is essential for finding prospect sites. Maintaining outreach processes on Excel or Spreadsheets can be difficult, so
Manage Your Outreach Link Building Campaigns with Backlink Manager
BacklinkManager is a comprehensive CRM designed explicitly for link building, providing a single location to manage large prospect datasets, campaign status, progress, and reporting.
You can monitor your link-building campaigns and get real-time updates on your link stats. You can also create campaigns, track your prospecting progress and manage your partnerships.
BacklinkManager is built to be scaled for online businesses of all sizes and now includes new features* that allow you to initiate your prospecting steps without leaving the tool.
FAQ
Here are some basic & commonly asked questions we hear concerning link-building outreach campaigns.
What is Link Building Outreach?
Link-building outreach is the process of acquiring backlinks from relevant websites. It involves creating value-added content for the target audience, identifying authoritative websites, and reaching out to them.
What is Link Building Campaign?
Link building campaign is a campaign designed for obtaining high-quality backlinks for your website.
Features of a Good Link-Building Outreach Campaign?
These features are a part of any successful, well-performing link-building outreach campaign
- Linkable Assets: Better quality linkable assets in the form of content always exist.
- Awareness of the Trends & Opportunities: Good campaigns leverage trending topics and explore multiple link-building outreach strategies to leave no stone unturned!
- Targeted Approach: Good campaigns focus on amplifying all-around performance in terms of SEO and marketing.
- Consistency: This is a must to ensure the success and performance of any outreach link-building campaign.
