All it takes is one link from a top blog or social media influencer, and you’re set…
That one link can flood your website with thousands of leads, and if you’re lucky customers.
Question is how can you get just that one link?
Keep reading.
The Drafting Technique
What I call “the drafting technique” is the most effective way to land your first link from a major media outlet, blog, or social media influencer.
Sound hard to believe?
I’ll explain.
Before I tell you about the technique, first let me tell you all about drafting.
When you’re racing at high speeds, like with cars or cycling, there’s wind resistance that slows you down.
However, you can eliminate that resistance by drafting, which is a fancy word for aligning in formation behind the person ahead of you.
Hows that work?
You see, the person in front breaks the wind resistance, and the people behind him can maintain their speed while expending less energy because they take advantage of the “slipstream.”
Makes sense, right?
Right!
How Drafting Helps You Score More Links
Like with racing, top bloggers also have a slipstream, or better yet, a “link slipstream.”
What’s a “link slipstream?”
Well, there’s two types of link requests. First, you can ask a blogger to link to something they’ve never linked to before.
As you might have guessed, that’s a hard-sell because there’s a lot of friction in convincing them to link.
Or, the much better option is to ask a top blogger to link to something they have a history of linking to.
In other words, instead of leading the pack and breaking the friction, you slip in behind the leader—every other link—and take advantage of a frictionless environment.
Two Examples of the Drafting Technique
Nothing sells a story like a good example, so I’ve got two of them:
Example #1:
Let’s say you want me to link your blog from DIYthemes. How can you pull it off?
Well, as you know, I often run link round up articles where I feature Thesis designs, Thesis tutorials, and other helpful articles for bloggers.
(As an example, check this out).
What’s the best way to get included in that roundup?
Write something worth linking to and tell me about it.
(Naturally you should make it Thesis related, since this is the Thesis blog, after all).
You’re not guaranteed a link, but if it’s a fit, why wouldn’t I share it?
Exactly…
Example #2
Now let’s say you want my blog Social Triggers to link you. What would you do?
First, you’d have to figure out my “link slipstream.”
After careful analysis, you’d realize that Social Triggers often links to psychology studies because my site focuses on teaching entrepreneurs how to use psychology to score leads and sales.
So, if you wanted to hop into my “link slipstream,” how would you do it?
If you thought about writing an article that quotes some new research I have never heard of, that would be a sure-fire way to get my attention.
Or if you didn’t want to write the article, sending me an email with a link to the research is another way to get my attention.
(That’s PERFECT because you’d make my life 100x easier. And why wouldn’t I want to reward that?)
But the question remains…
How Do You Grab The Attention In The First Place?
You’ve got three options, and each of these options works splendidly.
Remember, you’re drafting. You’re asking top bloggers to link things they already have a history of linking to. There’s no friction.
So, here’s how you reach out to them:
1. Give them credit in the blog post
If you want a blogger to link you, the best way to do that is to link them first.
Look—I won’t lie to you. When you link a top blogger, there’s no guarantee that they’ll link you back.
However, when everyone else is begging them on Twitter, a link helps you stand out from everyone else.
Plus, a link is sort of like a gift… and people feel the need to reciprocate gifts. It’s human nature.
One more thing: there’s an incoming link section in the WordPress dashboard. Chances are they’ll see your blog post there if you link them. Added benefit :-).
2. Email the blogger directly
This is the most under-used tactic for getting attention because people assume it doesn’t work.
Wrong.
This remains one of the best ways to get in touch with people… as long as you do it right.
Remember, you’re drafting. So, when you’re emailing someone, you’re emailing them exactly what they want.
How do you word that email?
Say something like this:
Hey Name,
I know you wrote about this [insert topic here] on this date [insert date here].
Given that, I think you’ll find this [insert topic here] interesting. [insert link].
Let me know what you think.
Thanks,
[insert your name here]
And now… the final step.
3. Send them an @ reply on Twitter
This is the least effective way to get a blogger’s attention, but if you’re using Twitter, as is the blogger, it’s worth a shot…
…And if you time it right, you’re golden.
Here’s what you’ll want to do:
Wait until you know the person is active on Twitter.
How do you know this?
Wait until you see them tweet something.
And then you can simply send them an @ reply shortly thereafter.
What do you say?
“I saw you wrote about [topic], and I think you’ll like this [link]”
You shouldn’t use that template word for word, but you get the idea.
Bonus Tip!
If you really want to grab someones attention, this is what you need to do:
Step 1: Write a blog post that cites some new information. Make sure you’re drafting behind a link with no friction.
Step 2: Find the blogger that you’d like to get attention from, and link them in that blog post.
Step 3: Email that blogger and tell them about your new article that you think they’ll like. Note: DO NOT ask for a link.
Step 4: When you see that blogger on Twitter, tell them that you just sent them an email with something they may be interested in.
And bam.
You’re done.
Now go get your links.
