If you are a brand new app, than getting featured on the right blog can be a huge win. You’ll get noticed by the people in your industry, see an instant boost in downloads, and increase your legitimacy as you go after other sources of funding. However, getting noticed by blogs in the first place isn’t easy. You can’t just wait for them to come to you; you need to reach out. Here’s our best tips for making connections as you start sending emails.
1. Offer value
This is the number one piece of advice we can give, so we’re putting it right at the top. If you want to be featured on a blog, you can’t expect something for nothing. What you should offer depends on the nature of the blog. If your app is a great fit for that blog’s audience, explain exactly why in your email. Or, perhaps you run a blog of your own and would like to do a post exchange? If you are seeking some of the bigger blogs in the industry out, you may also want to consider paid placement.
2. Keep it short and sweet
A quick scan through tips from influential bloggers shows a common theme: they don’t like to be bored. Don’t write paragraphs and paragraphs of text in your email. Keep it short and extremely informative. Use bullets, headers, etc. to chunk out the information about your app so it can quickly be scanned by someone whose inbox is flooded with emails.
3. Use whatever you can
Even standing out in a small way is still standing out. Have you followed this blogger on social media for a few years? Let them know. Do you have a connection with another author who has been featured on the blog? Reach out and see if you can get an introduction, rather than sending a cold email.
4. Get organized
Blogger outreach without a spreadsheet or other tracking system is not outreach at all. It’s more like shooting bullets in the dark. You should keep a careful record of who you want to contact, who you have contacted, whether they replied, and whether they agreed to placement. Other points to consider recording are whether the blog is a paid/unpaid opportunity, and whether you have made contact more than once.
5. Be persistent
Never be a rude or overly pushy, but don’t be afraid to contact a blog multiple times if it’s one you are especially interested. If you haven’t heard from them after three weeks, send a second email. There’s a fair chance they never opened the first one anyway. Another strategy is to contact the same bloggers in multiple places. Try DM’imng them on Twitter, using their website’s form, and emailing directly to make sure you don’t fall through the cracks.
6. Recognize it’s a numbers game
Even though it’s okay to contact a blog more than once, that doesn’t mean you can depend completely on one opportunity. Don’t employ every strategy to get on just one blog even, if you’re sure that blog is absolutely perfect for your app. At the end of the day, this is a numbers game. The more people you contact, the higher the total that will actually get back to you. Be focused and driven, but don’t spend all your time in one place.
7. Consider paid opportunities
In our own experience doing blogger outreach, we’ve been shocked at the huge range of prices when it comes to paid opportunities. Some blogs charge thousands of dollars for placement, whereas others are worth the price of the link alone. If you do careful research, you can find options that strike a nice balance between cost and promised returns.
As you mull over paid placement, here are the top factors you should consider:
- The blog’s ranking
- How devoted the blog’s followers are
- How frequently the blog advertises (if it puts up 20 paid posts a day, you aren’t going to stand out)
- How close the blog is to your industry
- How much the blog is charging
- Does the blog allow links? How many? Are they no-follow?
- Does the blog offer any guarantees, such as a guaranteed number of clicks?
We hope this list has been helpful to you as you start your outreach journey. Have you ever tried to get blog placement before? What worked and what didn’t?
