Marketing Your Content – Take Two

Written by John Cow on September 29th, 2008

Want to Learn How to Build a Business Not Just a Blog.. for FREE? CLICK HERE Now to Find Out How!

This is Jerry West again from SEO Revolution and as promised from my last guest post, I would cover one of my ways to effectively market my content. I use the power of Blogs. You see, my experience has shown that people want to be served. They would rather have content delivered to them than have to go out and search for it.

Search = Work

RSS feeds and other ways of delivering content on the web today looked like a clear answer. After all, webmasters can sit back and have the content dumped in their laps in minutes without having to think about what they want and go looking for it. Sounds good, but I have talked to the big bloggers in many industries and their biggest gripe is all the SPAM that is sent to them via RSS. One blogger mentioned that he was getting so much SPAM through RSS that he just killed the feeds. “It was to the point that I was getting ten SPAM articles for every legit one.” It’s too much work to go through.

What should you do instead?

From those I spoke with, they only rely on a few key outlets for their content. I suggest you find the main bloggers in your space (Google Blogsearch).

Read their blog. Get to know it.

Then post comments that are good and insightful. Use your real name or a pen name, but leave a full name. Don’t post your site as a way to get some free “links”. Don’t “kiss up” either. If you disagree with what the blogger said, say so and back it up. Contrary to popular believe, nobody likes a “kiss a$$” so don’t do it. If the Blogger really knows their stuff, and you come up with a counter point that is well thought out and delivered, that will get their attention. Once you feel you have their attention, call them. Tell them why you like their Blog. Be direct and to the point. Then, get down to business.

What To Do:

First, don’t ask for a favor from them. You provide the favor. Tell them you would like to sponsor their Blog, or advertise on their Blog. That will open up the conversation. They may ask what site you want to advertise, and once you tell them, they will know you are in a similar space. PayPal them the money right then, don’t wait. If they are being receptive, ask for them to review one of your articles (it must be killer and reflect the same well-thought out approach of the comments you made on their Blog). But make sure they understand you aren’t asking for the article to be posted, just commentary with a link to your article.

Do you see the power of this yet?

It’s coming. Once you do this with the top 3-4 Bloggers, the secondary Bloggers, who follow the top Bloggers like puppy dogs, will pick up the article as well, and they will do the same thing … they will comment on it and link to your article. Using Digg and the other “Social Bookmarking” tools is fine … but you won’t even come close to getting the same amount of quality traffic as going direct to the top Bloggers.

Why?

Because they control the quality traffic on the web right now.

Let me repeat that: Top Bloggers Control the Quality Traffic on the Web.

Think about that statement for a moment. It isn’t the QUANTITY of traffic, it is the QUALITY of traffic. If someone you trust recommends a source, you are going to at least check it out aren’t you? You will also be more willing to spend more time on that site and really look into it, wouldn’t you? Of course. That is human nature.

Here is the kicker: If you sell a product or service, make sure the Blogger understands that you track all sales and if any sales are the result of his/her traffic, you will personally see to it that they are paid an affiliate commission for that customer for life. Yes, life. Make it worthwhile for them.

As my grandfather would always say, “Take care of the people who take care of you.”

Build and nurture these relationships and you will see great things happen for your promotions. Here are some actual stats that were achieved by getting three top bloggers to post their opinion on an article I wrote:

  • Blogger One: 1,015 uniques
  • Blogger Two: 345 uniques
  • Blogger Three: 156 uniques
  • Total Uniques to Page: 2,551

In just 30 days, 432 links were acquired. While most of those links will not be counted in Google’s new measurement, that is still an excellent achievement.

If we placed each unique visitor at a cost of 30 cents per and each link acquired at $2.50, this is our “projected benefit” from this campaign:

  • Uniques: 2,551 * $0.30 = $765.30
  • Links: 432 * $2.50 = $1,080.00
  • Total = $1,845.30

This figure represents what it would have cost to deliver the traffic and getting the links. In other words, I can use that $1,800.00 for something else. Remember, all the links acquired are one-way links. That is a nice added bonus. And link builders, even those overseas, can charge up to $8.00 for each one-way link.

This technique gets better. Look at the referrers in your log files. Start at the top and work your way down. Those who are sending you the most traffic are those you want to contact first. Look at their site and/or their blog. Is this someone you want to do business with? To promote you? To advertise with?

Based on your needs and goals, you can decide if you want to continue and contact them. Remember that just because the page is a PageRank0 doesn’t mean you shouldn’t contact them. There could be an issue with the site, the Blog being new, or the owner not understanding how to get their site indexed. You would be surprised how many Bloggers don’t understand fundamental Internet Marketing. If they don’t, offer to help them in that area in return for their help to promote your business with their readers. It’s a win-win.

As you go through the list of referrers, your goal is to expand your own “PR Distribution List”. You have the top three Bloggers on your list, now you want to expand into the secondary level. While the secondary Bloggers tend to have a very small fraction of the readership the big Bloggers do, they are worth contacting. If you expand your circle to include 40-50 Bloggers, when you have your next great article, you have a distribution list that will give you immediate quality traffic … plus, you’ll get some great incoming links to boot.

If you are struggling with qualified traffic and getting solid links, this approach can breathe life back into your site.

Did You Download Your FREE Copy of "How to Build a Business NOT Just a Blog" Yet? Click Here Now to Get Your Copy!

RSS feed | Trackback URI

16 Comments »

Comment by Clog Money
2008-09-29 15:21:28

Now this is a very good post. Once I have established my blog a little more, and improved on my writing style, I’ll try it out. I fear I have a long way to go before I can write a quality article that a “top blogger” would want to comment on.

Clog Moneys last blog post..Facebook a tool for branding? not profit.

 
2008-09-29 15:33:42

The whole post is worth the one point about top bloggers controlling the quality of traffic online, but I also like your idea of using sponsorship as a way to really open the door. Good stuff.

Michael Martine - Remarkabloggers last blog post..What’s Your Blogging Creed?

 
2008-09-29 16:31:03

Now that is a good post. Oops sorry didn’t mean to kiss a$$.

I’m particularly interested in how beginners can improve their intial traffic and commenting is something that everyone can do.

However I do believe that real beginners, especially in a tough market have little to no chance of pulling this off. I believe beginners should target social media such as digg and stumble to create an intial presence online before targeting the big boys.

This is a good post though Jerry. Thank you for the ideas. I will most likely post about this when the time comes and hopefully send some people your way! :grin:

The Blog Academy [dot com]s last blog post..Lesson #6- What is a Web Host and a Domain Name?

 
Comment by JhonChow's Cow
2008-09-29 18:10:44

Certainly even the greatest content one could ever produce will be futile if no body knows about it. About approaching top bloggers? hmm i think ill put this in my list for future plan.

 
Comment by KushMoney Subscribed to comments via email
2008-09-29 18:34:58

I totally agree that the top bloggers control the quality of traffic. It’s just a matter of time before I am one of them.

KushMoneys last blog post..I Got My First Check From NeverBlueAds

 
Comment by Franklin Bishop
2008-09-29 19:15:33

This was a well written article. It is hard to find an article of this quality these days. traffic is hard to come by if you are looking for quality. I am not sure that top bloggers control all of the quality traffic but they at least control 50%.

Franklin Bishops last blog post..Listen Up You Panzees: Content is not King

 
Comment by Ben - frogstr.com
2008-09-29 22:21:22

This is all good stuff. Am I being a kiss ass because I agree with what’s been said? ;) Seriously, sponsoring is a great way of getting traffic, but it’s not an option for every blogger out there. You have to invest money, which I’m always doing, but certain bloggers won’t invest because they fear they’ll loose money. YOu know, it’s business.

Ben - frogstr.coms last blog post..Google killed it!

 
Comment by sunduvan
2008-09-29 23:15:49

The article is indeed both very well written and informative. However putting those suggestion and tips into practices requires lots of work and still whether it will be successful or not will be another problem. Thanks for the post Mr.Cow. It is very helpful :twisted:

sunduvans last blog post..A Good Quick Free Show On My Floor

 
Comment by Top CD Rates Subscribed to comments via email
2008-09-29 23:55:50

We’ve done this with other sites and it worked well. Those sites had been around longer and had established traffic.

One thing I’m trying is giving free links for a time and then will be going back and seeing if they want to advertise.

Top CD Ratess last blog post..CD Rates In USA

 
Comment by Otooo
2008-09-30 05:30:14

I like your thinking :)
But it makes a lot of sense - once a big gun starts talking about it then so will everyone else

I guess in a way u are link baiting

 
Comment by salwa
2008-09-30 07:48:52

Thanks for the very informative article.

 
Comment by Freddie
2008-09-30 10:48:20

John,

I totally and complete disagree with 80% of this post. First of all, I am joking. LOL!

Didn’t want to kiss a$$, so I went for my humor.

Seriously, good stuff! I agree with one of the commentors above, I have get my writing style, content, and awareness together first.

However, I understand like in any business; you have to go before you are ready because if you wait….well, that is all that you will be doing.

Good stuff, keep it coming!

Freddies last blog post..Monday’s Motivational Moment: Urgency

Comment by John Cow
2008-09-30 10:51:12

LOL… you did get me with that :)

 
 
Comment by ChrisCD
2008-10-01 00:59:52

No time like the present to get started at least being aware of the top bloggers in your area. Even leave some comments.

They’ll remember you when you are ready to make a proposal.

ChrisCDs last blog post..Bitten By Bankruptcy?

 
Comment by Ultralog
2008-10-01 10:57:38

Hey, I know you said not to kiss ass, but this was a really good post. Sometimes you have to give credit where credit is due..kudos!

Ultralogs last blog post..PR Update - Directories Getting PR on Inner Pages?

 
Comment by VlogHog Subscribed to comments via email
2008-10-27 21:35:21

Most top bloggers are very approachable and this could work IF you have the content and the writing chops.

With 80,000 blogs or more a day being launched and if you goal is too make money with your blog, this is a method you need in your tool box.

 
Name (required)
E-mail (required - never shown publicly)
URI
Subscribe to comments via email
Your Comment (smaller size | larger size)
You may use <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> in your comment.

Powered by CommentMilk

Trackback responses to this post