What to Consider with Influencer Outreach

Blogger outreach is something of a common practice in SEO today – used most commonly to achieve coverage through popular media outlets or obtain high-quality links. When it is done correctly, influencer outreach can bring a great deal of value to a website or brand, including:

• Information about the competitive nature of the current industry.
• Stronger relationships with influencers or authorities in your industry space – making it easier for you to attract valuable links.
• Better visibility and trust for your brand in the industry as people become more familiar with your website.
• Inspires new content ideas from conversations with influential individuals – ideas which are common topics the people in your community want to discuss.

So how do you effectively make your outreach work?

1. Timing is Important

One initial factor to consider is that the time you send an email to your influencers could impact whether that email generates results, or not. There are a number of variables that can have an effect on your response rate, but scheduling your emails to arrive during your recipients’ peak hours can be a magnificent boon to your conversion rate. There are even tools that you can access today which will send your email out for you at a designated time, so you can write it early, and then forget about it.

Remember, scheduling your initial messages to prospective influencers is important, but you need to remember to reply and follow up with that conversation. If possible, choose days towards the middle of the week for reaching out, and stick to breakfast and lunchtime, as emails sent at this time often get the best response.

1. Get People Interested

Timing your outreach is relevant, but you also need to reach out to people who are going to be interested in what you have to say. Most people will only bother opening an email if they consider the subject to be interesting or urgent, so you’ll need to identify pitches that your prospects are interested in.

Start by considering the unique selling point of what you’re pitching. What’s the main reason you’re doing influencer outreach? If you’re searching for high-quality links, then you’ll need to be sure that the recipient sees that you have something worth linking back to. Ask yourself how you can connect his or her page to your own content or website. Then, figure out what makes your pitch different. The main point should be describing how your pitch is the most beneficial for your prospect. For example, are you offering a higher commission rate than other people?

Finally, make sure that your email shows your human side. If your outreach efforts are made only for the sake of boosting your campaign, then you may end up sounding as though cash is all that you care about. Instead, show that you’re emotionally invested in what you’re doing. This will make people keener to support you.

1. Be Semi-Personal

Being personal with your outreach emails doesn’t mean that you’ll definitely end up with conversions and responses, but it can help to alter the way that your prospects view your brand, making it easier for them to decide whether they want to invest their time in you.

Some easy and actionable way to personalize your emails include:

• Point out the value that you’re providing to that specific recipient. What can your product or service does, that’s worth getting excited about?
• Create an interesting subject line. Sometimes, adding your prospect’s first name to the subject line is enough to tempt someone into opening your email and reading on.
• Say things that are niche specific in your email. If you run a hunting blog, then your email might end with “Happy hunting”, and so on.

Mention something from your brand that is relevant to or inspired by the influencer.