 Outreach programs always start with enthusiasm and the best intentions. Vibes are high, the campaign manager has pictures of fantastic results in his/her mind, company wide accolades, failing that a pat on the back from their manager and potentially even a nice little bonus or promotion if it goes really, really well. This stage is really important because anything new has to start with enthusiasm or it would never actually happen. No-one is going to start something they feel is doomed to fail! Without enthusiasm the campaign doesn’t get the investment / resource it needs. The next stage is equally important, the strategy document. The strategy document is where the plan is laid out, the framework for the campaign which makes sure everyone is on the same page and knows where to get access to templates, naming conventions and so on. Again, super important. Then the campaign kicks off, and that’s what we are going to talk about today. This is the bit I think I’m best placed to talk about. I might be odd in that doing the actual work bit, the actual outreach and getting the real results is the bit I enjoy (many people don’t!) I enjoy it because there is a gap. There is a gap between the enthusiasm combined with the strategy document, and the real results. The campaign will always need to be adjusted potentially several times as it progresses if it is to get results and that’s the bit I’m there for (and the reason you shouldn’t hire a junior person or assistant to run your outreach campaign). What happens when the campaign actually starts and how to avoid some pitfalls that are common when an outreach program progresses. For the sake of this article we are going to take a 6 week campaign as an example. So, let’s get started! It’s very, very likely that the person who is running the outreach campaign will run into one or several of these issues. Read on to find out what you can do about it. 1. Running out of leads too quickly Throughout the campaign it’s important to keep an eye on how many prospects you have. The ideal situation is one where you have perfectly grouped prospects in your pipeline ready to be bucketed and sent your templates for A/B testing. However, more often than not you’ll probably have less leads than you thought you would. As long as you stick to this one rule you should be able to keep the momentum going. Make sure that you have a bunch of leads ready and waiting to be emailed out the following morning. Even if it’s just 20 leads, that is better than non. Then, first thing, log onto your pitching software, or email if you are doing it manually, and email those leads straight away.  2. Leads are not targeted Successful outreach campaigns must be targeted. The person reading your email needs to see that the offer you are suggesting fits their blog. It’s not a case of just emailing 2,000 people and hoping that some of them respond. Yes, some of them probably will respond, but not the bloggers you want. And you’ll also get many more angry and annoyed responses too which is not the way to promote yours or your clients business. 3. Low response rate on a template The average response rate after 3 email attempts, i.e. an initial email and 2 follow up emails is 30 - 40%. If a third of people come back to you then you know that you have set up a healthy, targeted campaign, that the people you are contacting are at least interested in discussing with you. If your response rate is less than 10% after 3 email attempts that is a warning sign that something is going wrong and you need to work out why. If you have access to open rates then you can see how many people open your email. If you have a high open rate but a low response then you know that it is probably your offer that is the issue. If you have a low open rate then you know it could be your targeting. Try to identify the problem and set up a new campaign based on your findings and see if the response rate improves. It can take some time, but once you have a converting campaign you can keep adding the leads to it and using it so it is worth the effort. The longest part of the process is finding good leads, so, it is worth making sure you are getting the highest conversion possible. 4. Forgetting to close in on leads (time poor) I have to check myself on this as well. It’s easy to get into the habit of emailing new people and not going back to follow up and check the people you are already speaking with. The people you have started a conversation with are the most likely to want to partner with you so make sure you check in on them. I usually go back to my last client update report and look at the leads I have reported on, then go through one by one and follow up with them every 3 or 4 days.  5. Spending too much time editing each lead There are lots of outreach gurus which say you must include the bloggers name and the website in your pitch. I don’t actually believe that is always needed. In my opinion the targeting and the offer are the most important things to get right. If you have the bloggers name readily available then yes, definitely include it. But editing the details on each lead takes quite a lot of time so be wary at this stage of spending too much time getting everything just perfect. Outreach tools really help with this because you can import a bunch of urls and they will find the details for you. 6. Spending more time on the copy than the offer There is a certain structure you should follow when it comes to writing outreach emails. And I’ll write another post on that. But in terms of the copy i.e. the phrasing, I believe it is not as important as the offer. Of course, if no-one can understand what your offer is then that’s an issue. But you don’t have to worry too much. In fact, worrying about your copy leads to it being overly formal and not connecting with the reader. Try to sound out what you are saying in your mind as you write it. The most important part is to connect with the person you are emailing, you need them to see you as a person, not a robot. 7. Not getting the resource you were promised As I mentioned right at the beginning of this article. Outreach campaigns rarely go exactly to plan. And one of the issues can be that you do not get the resource you thought you were going to get. I.e. you were promised someone to help with prospecting and editing the leads but then find out that this person had to be let go early on in the campaign. When this happens you just need to adapt and find another way. Make it clear that you still require this resource & discuss how you can move forward with the client. For example, you might agree on more hours so that you can do the prospecting until a replacement has been found. I hope this has drilled down into some specific areas that can go wrong during an outreach campaign. Being aware of them now and knowing what to do will help you when you are in the midst of a campaign! Outreach is a challenging role (the reason I enjoy it!), but stay strong and stay focused on building partnerships and you’ll get the results you are looking for! Did you enjoy this post? If so stick around for more! I cover plenty of tips about how to do better outreach , and also tips on how to grow a blog. These are both services I offer my content marketing clients within my freelancing business. I also write about my freelancing lifestyle & business over at The Happy Freelancer, so if you are thinking about starting your own freelance business then check it out. And if you are a blogger interested in collaborating with brands + other bloggers I run a community of UK based lifestyle & parent bloggers over at Guest Bloggers Wanted.
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 Becky has been blogging for 5 years and is a member of the Guest Bloggers Wanted community (a place for UK lifestyle & parenting bloggers to find new collaborations & partnerships), I caught up with her to find out a bit about her blogging journey and pull out some tips and tricks about earning multiple income streams through blogging. Hi Becky, nice to meet you! So, tell us, how long have you been blogging? About 5 years now - gosh that’s gone so quickly! I started off doing a bit of writing for my husband who has his own SEO business, when the kids started school and I had a bit more time. Then it carried on from there and I realised how much potential there was in me writing for my own website. Can you tell us about your blog Art Of Healthy Living and who it is for? It’s very much a healthy lifestyle site, but one that takes the realistic stance of ‘everything in moderation’. I run, do weights and HIIT sessions, and I generally eat quite healthily, but I also love chocolate, crisps and Prosecco and am 100% unapologetic about it. My site is for the vast number of women out there like me - and there’s lots of us! I’d say it’s generally women who are mums, aged between say 35 to 55. We know what we want and we’re not afraid to get it. Were you a complete blogging beginner when you started Art Of Healthy Living? I’ve always been interested in writing, but hadn’t actually blogged before this. As a child I loved writing and making books about my pets (I still have them!) and then it became me dream to be a journalist. I worked in the advertising department of a National newspaper in London for a few years after University, with the hope of getting my foot in the door, but it didn’t turn out that way and I then became a stay at home mum once we’d moved back to the countryside and settled down. What has Art Of Healthy Living given you in your life you didn’t have before? I set out to help inspire and motivate as well as provide a support network for women, to show them that we’re all kind of just winging it at life and that none of us are perfect. Whether that be body positivity, how we raise our kids, in relation to any exercise we do, our thoughts and feelings about life in general. And the more I wrote the more it increased my own confidence in the process. It has given me a purpose and a role other than ‘just a’ mum, plus the independence and extra income is definitely an added bonus.  What three tools could you not run your blog without? Trello - for lists, setting deadlines and just basically keeping my work life in order. Yoast - a Wordpress add-on that helps me out with all my SEO My phone - for pictures and just generally keeping on top of all things social media, which in turn helps promote and drive traffic to my website. Name three inspirational bloggers you’ve met or discovered on your blogging journey and tell us why you chose to tell us about them. I’ll be honest I don’t really go in for all this bloggers meeting bloggers malarky. However, some that I follow and who I think are totally smashing it are Jenna Farmer from Bloglancer, Chessie King - what she has done for body positivity in young girls is just incredible, and Petra Kravos from Be Healthy Now for her extensive range of reviews. What is your advice for writing great content on your blog? For me it’s all about finding your unique voice and keeping that consistent throughout all of your posts. It needs to be honest, especially when it comes to an opinion piece or a review, and it needs to be interesting. Ask yourself whether you would be interested in reading it? Can you hear yourself saying it when you read it back? If the answer is no to either or both of those questions then chances are it will be the same for your audience. I write exactly how I speak, so if there’s a bit of slang in there, so what? It helps people see your true personality and if they like it, they are much more likely to remain loyal readers. I know some people struggle to find their voice when writing and the only piece of advice I can offer is to hear what you want to write in your head and then jot it down word for word.  Then read it aloud to yourself and see how it sounds. We all have that voice in our heads, so it’s about translating it from head to written form. Practice is of course key, and the more you write in this way, the better at it you will get and it suddenly becomes very natural.
What is your number one piece of advice for growing a loyal blog following? Similar to the above, but also posting regularly, which is easier than it sounds! I try to plan ahead by a couple of weeks so that I can keep on top of things, but it does get harder the more work you get - not that I’m complaining! I use Trello to help me plan out my schedule and also to keep track of any ideas I might randomly have for posts. This is my full time job, but I do have to fit it around school hours, so I think the knowledge that I only have so many hours in the day is enough to keep me on it. Make sure to also share as much as possible on your social media channels as this can drive a lot of traffic your way and it is much easier to respond to comments and interact with your readers on there. And finally, we would love to know how you have monetized Art Of Healthy Living and what you would say is the best way to make money blogging. It’s a mixture really. Some of my money comes through link building, others through guest posts, but where the good money lies is when I write the content myself - I can definitely charge more for this and it generally does much better than articles that have been pre-written by a company or guest poster. Since working on my own site, I have also had content writing opportunities arise for other company websites - they have seen my writing style and liked it and so asked me to write content for their landing pages. I have also edited a work of fiction as a consequence of someone seeing my own writing. It’s surprising what’s out there!  Tanya is an established blogger and member of the Guest Bloggers Wanted community (a place for UK lifestyle & parenting bloggers to find new collaborations & partnerships), I caught up with her to find out a bit about her blogging journey and pull out some tips and tricks about earning multiple income streams through blogging. Hi, Tanya nice to meet you! So, tell us, how long have you been blogging? Since 2013, making it 7 years - wow. Can you tell us about your blog Slasher Career and who it is for? I started Slasher Career to help people multiply their streams of income so that they can enjoy better personal freedom, financial security and happiness. I strongly believe that if you’re reasonably intelligent, being employed at one role is the worst thing you can do to support yourself. I’m not against employment – it can provide a well-paid and steady income stream, I just don’t think that relying on employment as your only income is financially savvy. Either you want to do your own thing or stay employed while doing your own thing, the future is about mashing up your skills and streams of income, not focusing on just one … so Slashercareer.com is for everyone, really. For far too long slashers/polymaths/multipotential individuals/jack-of-all-trades were stigmatised. It was thought that a person can’t possibly be good at more than one thing, but of course, this is now changing. More and more people are embracing their inner slasher and experiment with entrepreneurship on the side.  In the last 5 years, I managed to generate 5 income streams, which allowed me to stop doing shit I don’t like. I feel much happier and more empowered now… and I feel there’s a lot I can teach others. On my blog, I teach people how to start, grow and monetise different types of blogs, how to start an online business and how to find highly paid freelance and part-time work. Were you a complete blogging beginner when you started Slasher Career? No, of course not - you can’t teach people how to grow and monetise their blogs if you don’t know what you’re talking about. Slasher Career is my 3rd blog. What has Slasher Career given you in your life you didn’t have before? A pleasant routine, bigger purpose and an additional income stream. What three tools could you not run your blog without? Wordpress.com - I could literally not be able to run my blog without it. It is without a doubt the best blogging platform in the world. Ahrefs.com - keyword research and backlink analysis is extremely important for affiliate bloggers. Canva.com - a free graphic design tool, that helps to create beautiful images for my blog, Instagram and Pinterest.  Name three inspirational bloggers you’ve met or discovered on your blogging journey and tell us why you chose to tell us about them. I like bloggers who question the norm, the rebels. Here they are:
3. https://thecooperreview.com/ - Sarah Cooper makes the best office jokes on the internet. I’m sure you’ve come across this viral article https://thecooperreview.com/10-tricks-appear-smart- meetings/ before. Enough said! :) What is your advice for writing great content on your blog? Learn from the best writers in your niche. Don’t be afraid to copy someone else’s style until you’ve established your own, everyone does it. Before starting to write a blog post, type your title or topic into Google to see what you’re competing against. If you want to get traffic to your blog, your writing needs to be better than what you see on the 1st page of Google. It’s a good habit and exercise to do regularly as it forces you to learn from the best. When you do it for a year, your writing will improve massively. What is your number one piece of advice for growing a loyal blog following? It depends on the type of blog. If you’re a fashion/lifestyle/travel blogger, you need to be active on social media as that’s where majority of your income will come from [brand sponsorships]. If you are an affiliate blogger, then nailing your SEO to get more search traffic is where you need to focus on.  And finally, we would love to know how you have monetized Slasher Career and what you would say is the best way to make money blogging.
Slasher Career is an affiliate blog, so all the income comes from affiliate sales. The truth is all blogs that are read, can be monetised and the more people read your blog, the more money you can make. You can monetise your blog directly and indirectly. Direct ways to monetise a blog are banner ads, sponsored posts, affiliate sales, selling your own products (e-book, e-course), branded products (T-shirts, accessories). Indirect ways to monetise a blog are consulting, freelance work, coaching, public speaking, TV presenting and writing for a magazine/newspaper. My favourite ways to monetise a blog are affiliate sales, coaching, public speaking and presenting. Affiliate blogs have the biggest potential to earn good passive income if you know what you’re doing and public speaking and presenting fit my vibrant personality. |
AuthorWritten by Cheryl A Clarke Chief Happiness Officer & Content Marketing Freelancer @ Ginger Marketing (unless stated otherwise) Blog CategoriesMost Popular ContentTotal Social Media Share Count
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