If you ask most social media managers if there is any benefit to guest blogging, they are likely to discuss their own blog and its metrics and performance but not someone else’s. We understand that there is value to articles posted on blogs as a means of driving traffic, increasing website page views as well as providing content that the audience may share through social media channels. We readily invest time and resources into planning content for our own blogs but neglect to consider the value of niche blogger outreach as a means to expanding our audience.

Blogger outreach is a strategic search for successful bloggers within your niche. For instance, if you are representing a major financial service provider you would want to source bloggers within that topic or genre. Not all bloggers are willing to guest post or provide biased reviews or content that might help your brand penetrate new audience through their established community. However you can find bloggers willing to write about your brand in exchange for do follow back link value or other considerations.

If you have a domain that has stagnated or if the social media channels of the brand are not seeing enough new follows or engaged interaction, the next step to consider is investing in a blogger outreach program. This does require some investment of time and online research in order to organize, but once established it can have a tremendous and ongoing impact for your website.

The Research

Before engaging with any external blogger you will need to do some online research regarding their proven social influence. Budget about ten hours of online time if you wish to generate a list of the top one hundred bloggers in your niche. Keep in mind however that once you have this information it can prove to be valuable for more than one client. Consider it a long term investment to add a qualitative blogger outreach program to your digital marketing service.

Step One:

Create a spreadsheet and begin by searching out bloggers within your niche. Taking the example of a financial management website. You would want to find bloggers that discussed personal finance management, budgeting, investing and cost saving. Using keywords in Google to search, record the name of the blog, the url and the Alexa statistics for each site.

Step Two:

Review each blog qualitatively. How long has the blog been established?  Check the recent posts to determine the level of activity on the blog and the frequency that it provides content to its audience. Also make note of the bloggers social media outreach and record the url information for each channel of engagement. How many followers do they have and how active are they on each social network?  This will help determine the value of their online influence. Also make note of do follow blogs for SEO link value.

Step Three:

Rank your bloggers using a 1, 2, 3 method on your spreadsheet. Evaluate based on your perception of their social influence and the value of their potential audience for your brand. How do you feel about their writing?  Is it articulate?  Is the site professional looking?  These are all things to consider as you give each blogger and website a personal preference ranking.

Step Four:

Build a relationship with your key target bloggers by reading and engaging with their blog and in their social media networks. There is no shortcut to building a productive business relationship. Introduce yourself to them and familiarize yourself with their content. Share their content in your own social streams and make comments on the blog when you have read something you enjoyed. Most bloggers will be happy to engage with Brands and individuals who share the same product or service niche and may return your comments or social media sharing in their own network. This is the ideal goal of blogger outreach.

Step Five:

Offer a guest post opportunity to the blogger or offer an incentive to them to write about your product or service on their blog.   Some bloggers (if they like your Brand) are more than happy to write a favourable review of your product on their blog but only if they have an established rapport with you.

Conclusion

Consider each blogger in your outreach program to be an opportunity to expand your online reach not only through their niche site but also through their social media channels. It is a reciprocal benefit because engagement with major brands and business support the bloggers authority in that niche. It’s a win for both the brand and the blogger, and while it does take an investment of time, blogger outreach programs are an important and valuable part of digital marketing.

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