Attention Internet Marketers: You Need To Up Your Game

9 replies
Hey folks,

Long time lurker here. I am a website owner, and author who frequently visits but rarely adds to the discussion. My website is an online trade magazine in my niche. I've been publishing content daily for nearly 8 years now, so my name in the industry is out there, and if you ran a search on a keyword in the niche, there is a good chance you'll find one of my articles on the first page.

With that said, I was just perusing my administrator email inbox. To say I get a lot of unsolicited emails is an understatement. Unfortunately, this morning a few stood out. A few of them got opened and read, but most were either opened, deleted or dropped into my junk folder immediately.

Why?

If you are marketing an SEO firm, have a website and an email address from that site. If you don't have a website, at least spend a few bucks to purchase a domain you can use for email. Don't try to sell a publisher or website owner on the fact you are an SEO guru if the email is coming from gmail or yahoo.

If English is not your first language and you are sending an email to an American company, please find someone who can proofread your marketing pitch before you send it out. Nobody faults you for poor English (English is probably the only language the reader is proficient in). But, if you want your message to be read and listened to, it cannot read as though the email was cut and pasted into Google translator.

If you are working to get backlinks to an article I published that has a high rank in whatever tool you found it through, you better have read it. Show the author some proof that you did. Don't just copy and paste the url into your email and then add a link to the article you want linked in the post. If your article does not tie directly into the subject of the article, why would a publisher want their readers to leave their site to read an article they may have no interest in?

If you are looking to guest post, read the website to understand what they write about and if you feel your guest posting skills would add value to their readers. While I do get a lot of good pitches from people who know what their speaking about, I get more offers from people who don't. Again, don't use boilerplate emails. Or if you do, make sure it feels customized and not something that is sent out to the 5,000 websites on your list. Provide a link to other articles you've written and have an idea about what you'd like to write about. This could include a headline along with an intro paragraph to give the editor a better idea about you.

Oh and finally, if you do use standardized templates for your marketing emails, please, please, please. Make sure the main body of the email is all the same font and font size. Maybe it's just me, but this is one of my pet peeves, but the minute I see the bulk of an email in one font, but the parts specific to my website in another, I know something is up, and usually stop reading immediately.

Feel free to disagree, as these are my opinions, but I know I am not the only website owner that shares these opinions. Sure this post may be a little self-serving, but at the same time, it is definitely advice that would get your messages read and responded to.

Best of luck - CG
#attention #game #internet #marketers
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Originally Posted by Charles Goodnight View Post

    If you are working to get backlinks to an article I published that has a high rank in whatever tool you found it through, you better have read it. Show the author some proof that you did. Don't just copy and paste the url into your email and then add a link to the article you want linked in the post. If your article does not tie directly into the subject of the article, why would a publisher want their readers to leave their site to read an article they may have no interest in?
    This is one of my hot buttons. If you want to blow any chance that I'll do anything for you, ever, don't waste a few minutes on making my life easier. It won't take all that long, and it will give you at least a few minutes of my attention, rather than a summary deletion.

    Just:

    Tell me which article you want a link from

    Tell me why you want a link from that article (high rank, domain authority, etc. are not good enough reasons)

    Tell me which article you want me to link to, with URL

    Tell me why it benefits ME to link to that article. I don't really care what it will do for your ranking. I want to know what it will do for MY audience.

    Do these simple things, and you might have a chance, especially if the article will benefit my audience. Skip them, and you have no chance. I don't have time to do my work and yours, too.
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  • Profile picture of the author IGotMine
    If English is not your first language and you are sending an email to an American company, please find someone who can proofread your marketing pitch before you send it out.
    How is this not a no-brainer?

    I can't imagine sending ( Google translated ) emails to people in a language I don't speak and expecting positive results. I could be insulting them for all I know.

    Human proof-readers are cheap and could probably be found for free with a little effort.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    What are the odds a foreign spammy link builder will read this thread or care about a rant?
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    • Originally Posted by yukon View Post

      What are the odds a foreign spammy link builder will read this thread or care about a rant?
      If a single one changes, the thread has done its job. If anything...I felt better after typing it out.
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      • Profile picture of the author OptedIn
        Originally Posted by Charles Goodnight View Post

        If a single one changes, the thread has done its job.
        The precise definition of, 'unrealistic expectations.'
        Signature

        "He not busy being born, is busy dying." - Bob Dylan • "I vibe with the light-dark point. Heavy." - Words that Bob Dylan wishes he had written.

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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Originally Posted by yukon View Post

    What are the odds a foreign spammy link builder will read this thread or care about a rant?
    Given where it is posted, the odds are pretty good on the former and pretty poor on the latter...
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  • Profile picture of the author crackhouse
    There's some good advice, adding a personal touch to any cold approach email is vital. and having bad english and trying to market to english people is a big obstacle.
    Signature
    I sell backlinks on some of the most lucrative editorial websites in the world.
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    Charles, looks like you're the victim of people of who don't know how to do SEO outreach properly

    Your reaction is all too common and expected.

    As it should be.

    Those 'outreach' emails are a nuisance.

    Apparently, the people using those emails to get SEO backlinks are clueless about other methods that get higher value links with much less effort.
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    • Originally Posted by writeaway View Post

      Your reaction is all too common and expected.

      As it should be.
      The sad part is that this advice should be common sense.

      I actually received an email today from someone I replied to last week (before I wrote this). I told him if he wanted a chance at my business, he should get rid of his gmail account. He actually resent his original email with his gmail account without acknowledging the fact that I had responded to his last email.

      *shakes head*
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