He invited me to his house for kava. I didn’t know the dude for 3 minutes. Such is the friendliness of Fijians.
In 2014, I spent 4 months in gorgeous Savusavu, Fiji. I found myself being invited to homes for kava and dinner more times than I can remember.
Ditto with the generosity of the folks in Bali. Once you land on the Island of the Gods you’re likely to be invited to a local’s home for din-din. Even if you’ve only known them for a few days.
My wife Kelli and I were invited to a Balinese wedding. After making friends with relatives just a few days before. Nuts!
Unfortunately, most bloggers aren’t quite as inviting as these folks from exotic islands when it comes to accepting guest posts. Don’t expect to land a blog post on Pro Blogger 2 days after introducing yourself to Darren Rowse. Although Darren’s a wonderful person he needs to trust you and the quality of your content before he hands Pro Blogger’s keys over to you for a guest post.
My Deal with Blogger Outreach
I’ve been fortunate enough to be featured on some 150 plus blogs since I’ve created Blogging from Paradise.
I’ve been spotlighted on Forbes and Virgin. Neil Patel mentioned me multiple times on his blog. I even cyber spoke about blogging at prestigious NYU and am currently publishing 1 guest post weekly at Zac Johnson’s Blogging Tips.
How?
I did blogger outreach like a boss.
- Expand your presence quickly.
- Grow your list pronto.
- Boost your blog traffic lickity split.
- Get your blogger outreach campaign down cold to grow your community like wildfire.
The Number 1 Tips to Do Blogger Outreach Right
Write. Write, write and write some more.
I receive well-meaning pitches from kind-hearted, aspiring bloggers regularly. I just can’t publish their work.
Trying to pitch people at Forbes if you spend 20 minutes a week writing to hone your blogging skills is like begging the Golden State Warriors for tryouts even though you’re a 5 foot 11, unathletic point guard with no handle and no outside shot.
Make yourself attractive to high level bloggers. Follow your fun. Write about what you love to talk about. This way, you’ll write every single day.
Now that we got that out of the way let’s dive into the tips.
Blogger Outreach Tips #1. Align Energetically
The next 3 practical tips are worthless if you don’t follow this bad boy. Desperation repels bloggers. Especially famous bloggers. Confidence attracts respected bloggers. Align your energy by believing in your blogging abilities. Detach (some) from outcomes.
My confident, calm, mostly detached energy made me attractive to bloggers. Naturally, I attracted a bunch of high profile opportunities. I felt like the hunted. Not the hunter.
You don’t *need* any blogging break to succeed online. Focus on blogging for fun. Purge any neediness. If you do reach out to blogging big dawgs regularly do so from a confident, calm space.
Blogger Outreach Tips #2. Do Blogging Big Dawg Due Diligence
Before I started submitting 1 guest post weekly to Blogging Tips Dot Com I read about 4 prior posts. I spotted a pattern. From the style of writing to linking in – and out – to ballpark word counts I knew how to tailor posts for submissions.
I didn’t need to pitch Zac. He reached out to me. But I did increase the chances of landing guest posts and attracting more readers to my blog by doing my blogging big dawg due diligence.
Research prospective blogs for guest posting. Does your style vibe with the blog and brand? Find matches. Tailor posts for respective blogs. Land guest spots consistently.
Blogger Outreach Tips #3. PAM (Plus a Sample Email)
PAM = Personalize Ask Messages.
Personalizing is the secret to building strong foundations for your relationships. It’s an ego thing. We love hearing our names.
Wine me and dine me a bit. Before you ask anything of me. I may just respond. Because you cared enough about me to use my name you just opened a door that most bloggers never see, let alone open.
Example Ask Message (aka “pitch email”):
“Hi Ryan,
Just read your blog post about how 2 lady boy prostitutes taught you 5 blogging lessons. Creative! I found the dog with a Tweety bird doll affixed to his collar a colorful reference too :0
Since I see – from reading your last few posts – that your blog is all about retiring to a life of island hopping through smart blogging I’d love to write a guest post that’d be beneficial to your audience. It’d be about:
10 Blogging Lessons I Learned from a Murderous Trek through Myanmar.
I’d promote it freely on my networks and respond to every comment. Just like you do for your posts.
Let me know if that works for you.
Thanks for your time!
John Doe”
What did John Doe do right, for once? Because he always seems to wind up dead on a steel table in morgues.
John addressed me by name. He proved that he read my blog. He referenced specific stories from my post. He sent me a specific title to work with. A title 100% up my alley.
99 out of 100 times, unless the post was machine gun riddled with spelling errors, grammar mishaps and a LOL – Lack of Life – I am publishing his post. He cared enough to personalize and customize his ask email. He stands out like a beacon among the wave of impersonal, non-customized, mass pitch emails which I junk immediately.
Blogger Outreach Tips #4. Persist Diligently
For the first 2-3 months of my blogging career, I’ll clue you in to my daily traffic: 3 visitors on good days. 0 visitors on bad days. On banner days, I may have attracted 15 and a ½ visitors. Some of my readers were skinny.
Persist guys! Keep at it. Persistent bloggers who follow their fun stick out like a flamboyant zebra in a hungry lion pride. Luckily for you, you won’t be one level down the food chain when you stick out.
Your persistent presence will eventually grow on folks. Folks will actually reach out to you to ask for your opinion for a roundup. Or other bloggers may give you the keys to their blogs.
Align your energy. Do your big dawg due diligence. Personalize ask messages. Persist. Having been on both sides of the outreach coin I can honestly say these 4 steps were the difference maker.
Your Turn
What blogger outreach tips can you add to this list?
Ryan Biddulph is a blogger, author and world traveler who’s been featured on Richard Branson’s Virgin Blog, Forbes and Neil Patel Dot Com. He is the creator of the 11 Fundamentals of Successful Blogging Audio Course and has written and published 124 bite-sized eBooks on Amazon. He can help you retire to a life of island hopping through smart blogging at Blogging from Paradise.
Resources For Further Reading
How To Achieve Incredible Results With Blogger Outreach
5 Essential Tips for Your Blogger Outreach Campaign
Real Life Examples of Blogger Outreach and 7 Lessons I Learned From It
Blogger Outreach: A Killer Guide
5 Best Practices for Blogger Outreach
The Definitive Guide to Blogger Outreach
Blogger Outreach: 9 Surprisingly Effective Hacks I Use With Influencers to Blast My Audience
