Don’t Just Linkbait Top Bloggers, Write For Them

You wrote a great post on anchor text links. Well done, and that's good advice.

Your trackback got my attention because earning links from other websites and blogs is what we're trying to do right now. Linkbaiting isn't easy and can be time consuming. You're absolutely right that guest blogging can do wonders.

Wow you've been getting lots of guest posting chances recently.

Would it be ok for you to share with us your experience on how you actually did the "you try that a few times, build up a bit of a relationship" method?

James - Thanks for stopping by, and commenting.

Linkbaiting is a great way to tell people, "I'm here, come check us out."

And I've posted a few other tips in the Blogging category recently about how to make sure your links to others are noticed...

I've had some trouble getting the attention of high traffic blogger. They receive so many back links and trackbacks, that I've gotten lost in the storm.

In any case, congrats on the post. Brian's blog is kind of a big deal. I've been doing some guest blogging myself lately, and I know how great it is to reach a new audience.

Ben - great article.

James, I see you finally got online, then. Hope you're well. Haven't seen you in a year or more.

Ahhh, but Ben... You didn't provide me with anchor text links to those posts! ;)

I agree. Guest writing can be a great idea for all concerned. That's why we're trying to build a whole network around the idea. Of course, the challenge is the catch-22 of getting folks to guest post in the early days before your site carries any prestige. On the other hand, building a network totally around the idea of trading blog posts for backlinks is the ultimate bootstrap startup. Content and traffic for free in exchange for organic SEO that money can't buy.

Jonathan - Good question. How do you build relationships online? The simplest piece of advice I can give is this -- be observant.

On social media sites like digg, who are the power users? Can you learn more about them on their profiles? Do they leave contact information?

The bloggers you want to reach - what's on their ABOUT page? Is there some kind of connection you have? Are they friends with someone you know? Can you use LinkedIn?

Most of the connections I've made have been because I'm paying attention to details, and figuring out what's the best way to reach out to people, and when I do reach out, figuring out what will interest them...

Shawn -- You're completely right. Getting people on board before they get instant rewards off something is tough.

I know I owe you an email or two at least!

Raj - Must be another James you're thinking of. Heh, but I'm well, hope you are too.

Shawn - Yeah, that's the catch-22 alright. Good solution.

and lastly,

Ben - What about when you don't have the time to surf all the social networking sites? It seems ridiculous. Just after I tell someone we have a LinkedIn page, they ask me if the business has a MySpace page. Then a Yahoo page. Then a Facebook page, a Digg page, and so on. \

Not only am I expected to have a page on every social networking or media site or blog possible, I'm expected to surf and browse all these sites, comment, keep in touch and be active.

It goes on. I still have to visit relevant blogs to my subject area and target audience, reading, commenting, etc. Plus there is my own blog, of course, and I do have to work for a living as well...

Stop the madness is a phrase that comes to mind. What's your solutions to this "be active everywhere at once" problem?

James - Good question. There is definitely an overwhelming number of places to participate and stay active. You can't. That's tip #1 really. You have to pick your battles. You have to pick the place that best suits what you're doing.

Having said that I've been thinking of tips on how to stay up to date as easily as possible, so expect (hopefully!) a blog post on that soon.

Thanks, Ben. I'll look forward to that one (and I'm glad I stumbled on this blog).

We've spent a year building up our blog and trying to get it not only effective but the way we want it. We don't know what tactics are most effective and get overwhelmed by the "do this" advice. It seems like it never ends.

There are only so many hours in a day.

James - I'd say it depends entirely on what you're trying to accomplish. If you're looking for raw page views to satisfy advertising needs, that's one thing. If you're looking to build relationships within certain communities that's another. Still, both can be done at the same time as well.

@CT Moore: The key with top bloggers (or anyone for that matter) is to go beyond the trackback or link to get their attention. You need to reach out in other ways, by figuring out where those people are spending time.

Are they hooked on Facebook? Are they obsessed with Twitter?

Find out where they spend their time, and build a relationship there.

I learned an interesting lesson - be really good to your commenters/readers, they can be your best evangelists. A reader of one of my blogs posted a link to one of my posts in the comments of a top blogger's post - the blogger soon wrote an entire post about my post and that still sends us about 3K visitors per month.

How to encourage others to do this, I don't know. Does lightning strike twice?

@Linda: That's a great story. I think you encourage commenters/readers to link to you by making sure you interact with them properly, quickly and effectively. Treat your audience well, especially those that take the time to comment, and they will reciprocate.