I don’t want to disappoint you here, but when your blogger outreach almost seems like you are the master of the universe then something is very wrong.

Over the past few years, blogging has very much transitioned from bloggers writing in silos on their own site to blogger outreach.

While the benefits of this are tremendous, it also adds a few hiccups to the story.

In my recent post on Digital Marketing Strategies You Should Avoid, Anita Campbell from Small Business Trends said it best.

Dumb strategy: Trying to convince sites they need your content instead of persuading them how much value you bring them as a guest contributor

I was thinking about what Anita said, and I wanted to extrapolate on that on how to do blogger outreach correctly.

Since we live in an ultra-competitive blogging environment. Most bloggers do not struggle as much with creating content, but promoting it afterwards. This can lead to some tense situations, because in their drive to get everyone to share their blog post they often think about the other person.

However, if we do not spend our time focusing on how to better our fellow bloggers then we are not doing them and ourselves a disservice. It leads back to the title of the post, do you know who I am. 

In most cases, if you have to reach out to me directly to ask me to share your information then NO I have no clue who you are. My apologies in advance, but you were probably not even a blip on my radar.

Furthermore, if you  continue to dishonor me then I disown you! Face my wrath and get tossed asunder faster than an expired, rank milk jug.

So, to avoid this little skirmish in the first place let’s talk about how we can honor the people you want to reach.

5 ways to honor your blogger outreach efforts

1. Be respectful – when you want to ask someone a favor do not forget to say thank you and please.

In the recent Digital Marketing Strategies You Should Avoid roundup post, I was extremely grateful for all of the amazing insights that I got from amazing people like Carol Tice, Mark Schroeder, David Leonhardt, and many others.

[bctt tweet=”when you want to ask someone a favor do not forget to say thank you and please.” username=”andynathan”]

When I asked them, I did so in a respectful manner. Plus, I thanked them for their contribution. Like Dale Carnegie stated years ago, “you can win more bees with honey than vinegar.”

2. Build long-term relationships – you hear this all the time. However , too often bloggers give this lip service.

If you want to get ahead with blogger outreach, I strongly encourage you to start practicing the art of relationship building.

One way I did it is through Skype groups. They might not be as popular as they were back in 2012, but they still hold a near and dear place in my business.

For example, going back to Anita Campbell. I wrote how Volunteering Sharpens Your Entrepreneurial Skills on Small Business Trends last month. However, I met her first through Gail Gardner. Who incidentally I know through Skype. Small world huh!

Another way to do that would be to reach out to people through Facebook or LinkedIn messages. Take the message that I received from Christine Hueber.

Instead of reaching out to me for some marketing help, she reached out to ask how she could refer people in her network to me. Isn’t that cool! An email that does not sell or pitch me anything. It just offers to help me.

How many of those emails do you get on a regular basis?

3. Bring value- Another lesson from Christine is your job is not to merely ask for favors. It is okay to get help, but you also should look to help others as well!

The more value you bring to the table, the more influencers you convince to work with you.

Here are some questions to help you get started.

• Is your content beyond awesome?
• Do you share other bloggers content on social media and/or to your email list?
• Do you respond to their blog comments? Or better yet, comment on their site.
• How often do you promote their launches?
• When was the last time you referred someone to another blogger?

4. Read their content first- If you really want to be respectful, you need to read the blog you want to write for first. Let me take that back. Do not just read their content, but also interact with the content. That means you should comment and share the posts on the blog you want to write for first.

I had the chance to read her content first, along with a lot of her regular contributors.

Additionally, if the blog has guidelines read those as well. That is what they are there for in the first place. Now, I know that some blogs hide their guidelines like some secretive club. If you miss the guidelines listed in the drop down menu page of the about sub-link that is one thing.

However, most sites make it abundantly clear what they want. Do not mess with that.
5. Ask questions- If you assume you know everything, then you will probably end up knowing less than nothing.

That is why it is vital to ask questions. Even the sarcastic title of this blog post is a question.

It is a subtle reminder that the questions we ask others help to define the relationship with each other.

Final Thoughts

You are ready to start doing your own blogger outreach. so make sure that you do it right. Treat the people you want to work with respect. That means not only being nice to them, but also being a blogger of value.

If you can do that, then more of your conversations go from a tone of do you know who I am to thanks for helping again!

Let us know your thoughts about this article in the comment section below. Do you have any additional tips? Maybe you have some questions. Either way, let us know. Thanks!

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