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Have you ever wondered why those desired influencers haven’t replied to you? Or why you couldn’t build a relationship with major publishing houses?

The answer is quite simple actually. Your pitch may not have been written well or it probably just wasn’t tailored to their needs. You have to keep in mind that outreaching for guest posting is a partnership, a relationship that benefits both participants. Since you are the one reaching out, you have to put some time and effort in your proposal, in order for them to want to work with you.

So let’s see what you can do better with your outreach strategy and how you can build lasting and fruitful relationships on the web.

1. Who are you outreaching to?

First of all, if you want to collaborate with a blogger or an influencer, you can’t send them mass messages or a general template. They won’t even read it. Think about it. You’re not the only one reaching out to them. Why would they spend their time to read your message out of other 50 or 100? If you send an impersonal message, they will probably consider it a spam and delete it right away.

The best approach is to make a little research first. Who is this person you’re writing to? What are his interests, his strategies, his networks? Make a profile of this person and then personalize your pitch for them. It’s one of the basic rules of marketing. You need to target your message for each person you’re contacting. Just like when you’re applying for a job interview. Including their name, their last article you read and something you have in common will definitely peak their interest and they will at least read your message.

2. How do you begin?

Is your subject line interesting? Does it make them curious enough to open it? If not you should think about what would make you open it if you were in their shoes. It will make a big difference. Also, don’t start with a dull introduction. Would you be interested to read an article written by someone that sends boring emails?

They certainly won’t think about publishing your content on their precious blog. In blogger outreach, you have to forget about the basic introduction “Hello, My name is… and I work for…”. Think about all you’ve learned about this person and start with it. You need to catch his or her eyes with your first words.

3. Is your pitch well written?

I think this is a given. Your email has to be next to perfect. If the influencer detects bad English, he will definitely not consider posting your work on his site. You can use tools like Grammarly to correct your typos and be sure to read it twice before sending it for other errors that you might have missed. Here is an example of a good pitch, even though this person didn’t research much before sending it.

4. Why should they choose you?

Do you remember how I’ve told you that influencers receive a lot of messages and proposals? Now that you’ve succeeded to capture their attention, you have to tell them why a collaboration with you is good for both your businesses.

We already know how much would a relationship like this increase your traffic, but what’s in for them? Why you and not others? I’m sure there is a reason for choosing this particular blogger, influencer or publishing house.

They are relevant to your business, your targeted audience is the same or you work in the same niche. Make them see that. Tell them why a connection with you would benefit them. Guest posting is a win-win situation. Therefore prepare a strategy before you send your pitch. Make it convincible. I’m sure you can do that, you’re doing it already with your articles.

5. Is your content good?

Next, you have to be sure that your content is original. You already know that this is a key requirement for SEO, therefore I’m not going to insist on this topic. Think about the blog or the website on which you want to publish your work as someone’s baby. They cherish their baby and are careful with what they feed him. That is why if you want to have your work published on their websites, you have to be sure it’s interesting, original, and helpful.

6. How about your social media pages?

As you check the influencer’s audience before you decide to send a message, so will they before deciding if they will work with you. As I have previously said, guest posting goes in both ways no matter who does the outreach. Therefore tweak your social pages before submitting your blog post.

7. Do you entice them to do something?

Blogger outreach or influencer outreach is part of your marketing strategy. Therefore, like in any other marketing strategy you have to use calls to action. Ask them to read your work, to contact you, or to take a look at your social accounts so they can convince themselves that this relationship is valuable. It is advisable to use only two or three calls to action. Enough to entice them to take an action, but not too many to feel disoriented.

8. Is it concise?

Now that you’ve read these guidelines, you know what to write. However, be careful not to write too much. Be short and relevant. Don’t write novels because they don’t have the time, nor the patience to read them in an email. Follow the above pieces of advice in as few words as possible. All you need to do is make it personal with things you’ve learned about them (don’t be creepy though) and explain the benefits of a connection between the two of you. Easy as that.

9. Is your timing good?

Another thing that interests bloggers, influencers or publishing houses is seasonality. Think about upcoming events. What are their projects during this time of year? How can you help them? Product launches may be the best way to contact bloggers or influencers since they can give stellar reviews. Also, as usual, you have to consider the time and day you are outreaching. Test and adapt accordingly until you find the perfect recipe for you.

10. How does it end?

Closing is also important for your pitch. According to Boomerang, emails that end with gratitude have a much higher response rate. Check out their statistics:

As you can see the closings expressing gratitude have better results. Positive emotions always bring more chances for cooperation. So now you have it. 10 bits of advice on how you can improve your outreach strategy. Remember that it is about building relationships, networking and spreading your connections.

This is how influencers won their spots in the online world. If you want to become a part of the community, start connecting. You can also check out our Guest Posting Guide to be sure you’re on top of everything.

Let me know if these tips were helpful or if you have any questions. Good luck!