Link Building with Cold Outreach

Links remain an important ranking factor for search engines like Google.

Your website’s pages needs links to:

• Rank in searches
• Get organic traffic

Good links tell search engines which content to show in the results for search queries.

The link building strategies you use depends on your:

• Goals
• Needs

Using the right strategy can get your website:

• Valuable links
• More referral traffic
• Better visibility and attention

Remember link building involves constantly:

• Improving your link profile
• Getting more attention for your brand. 

Out of all the link-building strategies, the best results have come from “best” listicles.

In this article we will learn how to use this strategy step-by-step.

Let’s dive right in.

What are “listicles”?

A “listicle” is an article in the form of a list with extra details about each item.

This type of format is used to review:

• Products
• Services

A “listicle” is popular because it allows readers to easily skim the information.

“Listicle” features include:

• Titles about content sections like product or service name
• Paragraph about content details like pricing or features

This type of format makes comparing items fast and easy.

Why are listicles important?

Listicles are important for product or service:

• Comparisons
• Opinions

For example, they are useful if you want to learn about a popular tool on the market or find the best one for your team.

So to find this information, you would go to Google and type in “best X tools” or “best tools for X” and then click “search”.

And the search results page would show mainly listicles.

The advantages of appearing in search result listicles include:

• More brand visibility
• New backlinks

Even being featured in the listicle as the 10th item can get minimum visibility.

In this case your goal will be to improve your listicle position.

Prospects for outreach

First find prospects for outreach for a mention in their listicles.

Google terms related to your product or service.

For example, “best X” or “top tools for X.”

To find listicles include the following in your search:

• Best
• List
• Tools
• Top
• Software
• Review
• Free
• Toolkit
• Services

Using these with your product or service category will do the trick.

To keep things organised, create a spreadsheet listing terms related to your product and a list of words to use with those terms, like the one above.

Then, list the best combinations you can find out of these two lists.

Google each combination in your list and open each URL that results in a listicle article.

Note: Try to focus on popular pages first because they usually have the highest traffic and domain authority.

Now it’s time to find the company decision-makers and their emails.

Note: Most responses for listicle outreach come from blog editors and content managers.

And for small companies, it comes from marketers and business owners.

So start by looking up the company’s LinkedIn profile to find the decision-makers name.

Start by Googling a free email finder or installing a free Chrome extension for looking up emails.

Then, go back on your spreadsheet and add columns for:

• Prospect’s name
• Prospect’s company
• Prospect’s email address

Note: Make sure the emails you find are verified, unverified emails can hurt your deliverability rates by causing bounces.

Email copy

Now write the email copy for your cold outreach.

To do this:

• Personalise your emails
• Give the most value to prospects

Make sure to include the following in your email copy:

• Subject line: Make people open your email using the subject line. Keep it short and catchy to make readers intrigued and engaged.
• Intro and opening line: The opening line is the next important sentence in your cold email. Make prospects read your message. Add a personalised icebreaker.
• Personalise: Automate your cold outreach. Create a spreadsheet with personalised data then it to your email copy. Either manually or automated with tools.
• Value: Ask for an offer and give something in return. For example, joining your affiliate program or content update and promotion help. Anything that brings them value.
• End with a CTA: The end of your emails affects response rates. Ask an easy question. Make sure the question is clear and straightforward.

Outreach campaign

Cold outreach can take time, but the right approach or system makes your campaigns easier.

The main objective for your listicle outreach will be:

• Sending personalised emails to prospects
• Sending follow-ups because it increases response rates

You don’t have to write every single email from scratch, a generic email will do with space for personalisation to each prospect.

If this manual method is overwhelming with having to follow up with each prospect.

Then Google an email marketing solution like Hunter or MailShake.

Providers like these help automate the process of outreach emails and follow ups.

Then after collecting all personalised data for the outreach.

Easily import it from your spreadsheet with marketing solutions like the ones mentioned above.

Note: Make sure each email is personal and relevant to the prospect.

For follow-ups:

• Send the 1st in three days to those who didn’t respond
• The 2nd in six days after the initial email

Also, when it comes to follow-ups, do the following:

• Don’t send too many follow-ups. Focus on writing better emails. Only send three follow-ups. Too many follow-ups are annoying and damages brand reputation.
• Use the same thread for emails. This reminds prospects about the previous email. Follow-ups can continue telling the story or offering more benefits.
• Have a sending schedule. Don’t send email during weekends and public holidays.

Negotiations

Be ready to negotiate because some prospects will want more benefits from you for:

• A link
• Product mention
• Position upgrade

Do the following after you receive answers from prospects:

• Quickly give the benefits you offered, answer emails as soon as received
• Be flexible when negotiating, don’t lose big or small opportunities
• Give more value, like sharing content after updates or free consultation
• Follow up with those who showed interest, people are busy or can forget to reply
• Track updates on your spreadsheet and keep track of negotiations

Conclusion

Link building with “best” listicles can give you a lot of mentions and links for your website.

Make sure you:

• Research potential prospects
• Collect a lot of information on them

Then:

• Write unique emails with ice breakers
• Include information that brings value to prospects

And:

• Streamline routine work for cold outreach
• Be patient and take your time on negotiations

Do this right and you will see results from your listicle outreach immediately.