There are tons of things you can do to get links. However, high quality links that come from major news websites seem to be a bit difficult to come by for most. The good news is that once you start earning these links, you’ll start to see a huge improvement in your search engine rankings, traffic, and in most cases even conversions. So, that leaves a big question in the air for marketers…”How do I get major news websites to start linking to me?”
In my opinion, the best way to accomplish this goal is to make friends with the editors of these major news networks, but how is that done? How is it that you can make friends with the likes of editors from USNews & World Report, AnyOption.com, Elance, and more?
In my search for ways to get on major publications, I read tons of articles; most of which talked about H.A.R.O. (Help A Reporter Out). So, that’s where I started. However, I learned one thing very quickly…sites like H.A.R.O. have thousands upon thousands of users that I would have to compete with. So, I tried to compete. I wrote stellar emails, found great topics that I would be perfect for, and more. The only problem was that my stories still weren’t being picked. So, it was time to think outside of the box.
After The H.A.R.O. Fail
Once I realized that using H.A.R.O. was becoming a waste of time I really started thinking about ways to get my stories in front of major publication editors. Then it hit me! Major publication editors are just like popular website owners. As the owner of a popular finance website, I get tons of thin emails asking for me to feature this story or that. However, if I hadn’t built a relationship with the sender in the past, most of those emails go into the junk folder. So, I had to find a way to build meaningful relationships with editors rather than simply asking for favors.
The good news is, after a bit of trial and error, I found something that actually worked. Granted, it takes quite a bit of time and effort, but the juicy links that come as a result of it are well worth the work. Anyway, there was one realization that really pulled things together for me. That realization is that….
Many writers for top publications also run their own personal blogs!
This was huge for me. As a blogger myself, I realized that I had something in common with writers and editors for major publications. Now, it was time to take our common interests and exploit them for the chance to be featured on great websites. So, how did I do it? Here’s the step by step plan that I came up with…
Step #1: Find The Right Publications – When I came up with this strategy, I was working on what would become one of the most profitable websites I’ve owned to date; my blog, CNAFinance.com. On my blog, I talked about frugal living, using and maintaining credit cards properly, investing, etc… So, I had to find major publications with similar topics. One of the first ones I came across was USNews & World Report’s Frugal Tips Blog. The topics on the blog mixed incredibly well with what I had to offer.
Step #2: Find Your Way In – When you find the publication for you, it’s time to start looking closely at author bios. You may be surprised, I know I was. As a personal finance blogger, I already know the names of tons of others in my industry. As I started to look at author bios, I started to realize…I know these people. And the few I didn’t know had links to their blogs on their profile pages! It was then that I knew I had my way in!
Step #3: Build Relationships with the Bloggers – Next, I started to reach out to the bloggers that were most prominent on the Frugal Tips Blog with USNews. However, I didn’t mention USNews & World Report or the fact that I’d like to be featured at all! Instead, I sent an email asking how we could help each other. The emails went something like this…
“Hi, my name is Joshua Rodriguez. I’m sure you’ve seen me around the blogosphere here and there. Anyway, I’d like to know if you’d be interested in helping each other out a bit. I’d be happy to do a guest post trade, twitter feed trade, or even trade blogroll links. Also, if there’s any other way we could help each other, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
Although not everyone responded, this email did get quite a few responses and helped me to create several relationships with top bloggers in my industry around the web.
Step #4: Baby Your New Relationships – For at least a month or two, I’d email the bloggers that responded once per week. I would share their posts on my social profiles and ask if there was anything else we could do to help each other. As a result, I started to make friends! Friends that would be happy to help me with anything I asked because they knew that I would do the same. So, the time finally came…
Step #5: Ask For the Connection – Once I felt like the relationships were up to snuff, I started to ask for a connection with the USNews editors. I started sending emails that read like this…
“Hey Jason, I noticed that you landed a spot on the USNews & World Report blog. Awesome job there man! How’d you do it? Do you know if they need any more writers? If they do, how would I go about getting started? Thanks in advance for helping out….I’ll be awaiting your response.”
Step #6: Take Advantage of the Connections – Once I started to send emails out asking for connections to be made, to my surprise, I started to get a ton of emails back from top notch editors around the web. You will too! However, it’s important to remember not to keep these editors waiting. Now that you’ve got your way in, take advantage of the connections as quickly as possible. Because I did so, I landed a spot on the USNews & World Report blog, the AnyOption.com blog, and on Elance. I’ve also decided to expand this process and start making my way into more publications!
Have I Seen Traffic Increases?
To be honest with you, at first, I started to wonder if all that work was a waste of time. As I would get work published on the bigger sites mentioned above, I would get a day of great traffic; then stats were back to normal. Although I loved seeing the bounces in referral traffic, I wondered why I wasn’t seeing organic traffic increases. Well, soon enough, I found out that it was only a matter of time.
Shortly after getting started, my blog’s Page Rank jumped from a 2 to a 4, my domain authority skyrocketed (Moving from 23 to 39), and within a few months, I started to really notice an increase in organic traffic, sales, and newsletter sign ups!
Final Thoughts
I’ve always found it to be astonishing how with the right plan, we have the ability to make amazing things happen online. What continues to surprise me is how incredibly valuable relationships can be. With the plan above, and an honest desire to work with the top notch writers in your industry, you’ll make several relationships fairly quickly. As a result, not only will you earn the opportunity to write for top publications, you’ll earn links from authority blog owners and niche site owners you connect with along the way! So, what are you waiting for, it’s time to start building those relationships!
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