Have you ever wondered why your outreach emails don’t receive the responses you expected them to?
In this article, I’m going to help you with a few tips on how to write better blogger outreach emails and point out some common reasons such emails are often ignored, deleted or marked as spam.
Also, be sure to read all the way to the bottom to swipe the 6 step blogger outreach pitch template from our friends at the outreach service, OutreachMama.
#1. It Looks Too Much Like a Template
Let’s start with the most common and most obvious mistake. I know templates are a great way of speeding up your blogger outreach campaign, especially if you’re sending out hundreds of emails.
But keep in mind that large blogs receive hundreds, if not thousands of templated emails that look the same. Even if a smaller-time blogger gets an email that is generic and is clearly templated, they probably won’t pay much attention to it and it will end up in the bin.
Personalization is the key here. I know it can be quite time-consuming, but if you want to achieve better response rates, you will need to tailor each outreach email to individual recipients, and that means more than just changing their name and company.
A common way of starting an outreach email sounds something like:
“Hey, huge fan of *insert your prospect’s blog name* here! I think your last article on *subject name* was amazing!”
Yes, it is a good start, but if you have nothing to back those words up they are pretty much empty. A good idea would be subscribing to your prospect’s emailing list and sharing their articles on your own social media profiles.
Just remember that nobody likes template emails.
#2. You Might Be Asking For Too Much
A lot of the time in outreach emails you can see lines that look like:
“Recently I wrote an article on *topic name*. Check it out and give me some feedback on it!”
Keep in mind that the person you’re trying to reach is probably busy. In fact, most people are busy, and going through emails is never really of the highest priority. Just imagine yourself in the place of your prospect. Would you care to read a random person’s article in your inbox just because they asked you to? I doubt it.
So, be brief and don’t overburden your target with tasks. A better email would look something like this:
“Here’s a link to my latest article. I think your audience would enjoy it because of *reason number one* and *reason number two*”.
If your content is of high quality, such an approach will definitely yield better results than asking for feedback. Show your prospect that you have gotten to know their resource and audience and your content is the perfect fit for it.
#3. You’re a Stranger
Outreach emails have about a 10% response rate for one reason. Most of the time they come from complete strangers. So, to get that sweet backlink you will need to get to know the person.
Of course, I’m not talking about the “have dinner together” kind of getting to know each other. Just striking up an email conversation is enough. Show interest in your prospect’s content, discuss it with them, suggest ideas on how to improve it and so on.
For example, something like this might strike up some interest in you:
“Your article on blogger outreach is a banger! However, you missed one important detail… I covered it in detail in one of my own posts.”
If your target spots your name in the comment section under their articles or in the newsletter subscription list, that’s perfect for you.
Remember that you’re a human and your prospect is one too. You don’t need to be their best friend to get a backlink. However, just a friendly conversation can definitely go a long way.
#4. Mind Your Spelling!
Okay, this one is extremely obvious. Of course, everyone makes typos every once in a while and one or two may even go unnoticed. But, since you’re a blogger, you should definitely pay close attention to your writing.
If your blogger outreach email is littered with mistakes, your prospect will decide that so is your content and you will end up being ignored. Writing dozens of outreach emails can be quite tiring, but there are countless spell checking tools available on the web and there’s literally zero reasons not to use them.
You’re a professional after all, right?
#5. Your Content Doesn’t Stand Out From The Rest
Hear me out on this one. I’m not saying that your content isn’t unique or that it is bad. Quite the contrary, I’m sure that it is great and worthy of linking to.
But your blogger outreach email might not be making it so obvious. Especially if you’re targeting a decently-sized blog that receives hundreds of these daily.
To your recipient, your email might be looking exactly like all the other ones. So, ensure that you make it explicitly clear why you think your content is unique, worthy of their attention and fits into their resource perfectly…
Let’s imagine a situation: you’re reaching out to a blogger who writes about gardening and, for example, growing fruit. A good email would look something like this:
“I recently published an article on growing the perfect vineyard. It includes the only complete step-by-step guide on growing grapes on both your backyard and in the field. It is also complete with images and about 37 tips on how to deal with pests and get the biggest harvest.”
I know this topic is probably not very popular, but in those few lines, you can clearly see why that imaginary article would be interesting to your prospect.
Hope That Helped!
So, those were the most common mistakes that plague blogger outreach emails and some tips on how to improve your writing. I hope my article has been helpful to you and you picked up a thing or two to improve your outreach campaign.
Remember to be critical about your email composition and good luck with getting those sweet, sweet backlinks!
