Outreach is one of the most important parts of link building, but it can also be one of the most time-consuming.
There are a lot of ways to go about doing outreach, and creating the right template from scratch can be overwhelming.
That is why we've done all the hard work for you. In this article, we'll show you 9 different templates that will help you craft perfect emails every time. These templates have been used to get results time and time again so there is no need to reinvent the wheel.
What is email outreach?
At its very core, email outreach is nothing more than contacting bloggers, journalists, or other website owners to let them know about your website and ask them to promote your brand content.
However, the process of contacting these people can be difficult and time-consuming if you don't have a strategy in place. That's where email templates come into play.
Template emails are simply pre-written emails that contain the foundation of the email already written. All you’ll need to do is personalization the email, add in your name, email, and potential link to your website, and you’re off to the races.
This way you can easily send personalized outreach messages without spending hours crafting each message from the very start.
Learn more about how to start an email.
Why should I use templated email outreach?
There is no doubt that writing individualized outreach messages is hard work: it takes time and effort to do so in addition to finding the right person with the right audience who would be interested in your website.
At the same time, there are only so many times you can contact a blogger before it starts to feel like spam. At this point it becomes very tempting to start using auto-responder emails which send the same message over and over again, hoping to strike gold eventually.
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However, templated outreach doesn't operate on these shady practices. It is not automated because every single email sent out becomes personalized by simply filling in the blanks for each recipient with their name or other relevant information.
This way you're able to build relationships with bloggers rather than sending them the same generic pitch over and over again.
The main drawback of templated emails is that they lack personalization - but this can be fixed by using the right outreach template.
Why are email outreach templates important?
A good outreach template helps you find the right person to contact and makes it easier to craft a perfect pitch. No matter how talented you may be, sending out unpersonalized messages will hurt your success rate more than you would expect.
If you're not using templated email outreach yet, you're missing out on countless hours of saved time, stress, and effort. It's well worth the investment needed to set this up once and use it over and over again.
Who should I reach out to?
Before you can use a template, you need to know who you're reaching out to.
For effective outreach, it's important to find bloggers or other website owners that have a large audience and would be interested in your content. This depends on the topic of your site, so think about what sort of people would be interested in your products or services and try searching for them online.
First, look at the social media accounts of these people: if they have followers from your target market then they can become a great link source.
In addition, check if their website is related to yours by doing a Google search with "inurl:websiteurl" (replace "websiteurl" with a keyword you want to target). If you have a fitness blog for example, then entering "fitness" into the search field will find all websites that are about fitness. Although these pages probably won't be linking to your site (yet), they're important because they may bring traffic and influence others within your market.
A good basic outreach email will usually result in at least a few responses from each batch that you send - after which you can switch over to a more personal email. After all, the aim is to build relationships with other website owners in your niche and use this relationship to collaborate in the future.
My list of 9 outreach templates
- The social proof pitch
- The footnote pitch
- The content pitch
- The innovative approach
- The kind note approach
- The competition analysis approach
- The expert roundup pitch template
- The big media pitch
- The opinion pitch
Let's now look at the different templates you can use to help you reach out to people more effectively.
The social proof pitch
This is a very basic outreach email, which focuses on letting the blogger know that others have linked to you in the past. Customer psychology can (and should) be used when attempting to get backlinks to your website - not just when you’re closing sales.
When it comes to this template, It's important to emphasize that these were not just any links from random sites - rather, they came from "powerhouse sites".
Example email outreach:
Hey John,
I came across your site and it looks like you're doing great work with [website]. Your recent post on [topic] was especially interesting - I enjoyed reading it very much.
Many of the websites in your niche seemed to have found my content useful in the past and posted it on their sites. I thought you might find [url to your content] useful as well, but if not - no problem. Just wanted to share this site with you.
Best regards,
John Smith
The footnote pitch
This is another very simple pitch that can be used to build links. It works because it adds value to the blogger's website and asks for a link in the footnote. This is a very low-effort approach since a footnote link usually doesn't require any additional work from the blogger.
Example email outreach:
Hey John,
I enjoyed your recent post about [topic]. I've got a site that's all about [x] and would love to have you take a look at it. Could you possibly consider adding my link in the footnote of your article - if you feel that it adds value to your readers?
Thanks so much,
John Smith
The content pitch
This is a pitch that focuses on adding value for the blogger while building up your personal brand. You can emphasize this by sharing your content first and following up with a link request.
Example email outreach:
Hey John,
I came across your post about [topic]. I've been writing about this topic for quite some time now and I think my site is a great resource for people who are wondering about [topic 2]. If you're interested, here's a link to my most popular post about [topic 2].
Do you think my content will be useful to readers of [website]? If so, I'd love to have you use this content or even create a unique post for your site.
Best regards,
John Smith
The innovative approach
Sometimes, bloggers are open to new ways of promoting other sites - especially if you come up with something interesting. This could be anything from building a widget that has a specific function or just offering a twist on a new opportunity for a marketing internship within your company. As long as you are offering something new, chances are the blogger will be interested in checking it out.
Example email outreach:
Hey John,
I came across your site and think that [website] would be a great resource for people who are looking to learn more about [topic]. I've got this widget that might interest some of your readers. It's called [name of widget] and it helps users save time with [function of widget].
If you're interested, I can send you a free copy to give it a try - let me know.
Best regards,
John Smith
The kind note approach
This is another approach that can be used to reach out to bloggers. It works because it shows that you are interested in the blogger as a human being. You can mention something personal or even share some kind words about their content.
This approach is suitable if you've been reading the blog for quite some time and have built up some sort of relationship with the author through the content they produce.
Example email outreach:
Hey John,
I've been reading your blog for some time now and I just wanted to let you know that it's awesome. Your posts are always so well-researched and thought out - I love them becase [list reasons here].
Having said that, I've got a site that's all about [topic] and would love to have you take a look at it. If you're interested, here's a link to my most popular post - I'd appreciate your feedback.
Best regards,
John Smith
The competition analysis approach
This is a more advanced approach that requires you to do some competitive link research. It's an email outreach method that works well because it shows that you are doing your research and not spamming anyone with links.
This could result in your blog posts getting published on very reputable sites - which can send thousands of visitors your way.
Example email outreach:
Hey John,
One of your competitors just published this post about [topic] and it has a lot of social shares. I've got my site with some info on the topic, so I thought you might be interested in seeing it.
Here's a link to my most popular post about [topic]:
Do you think this would be useful to your readers? If so, I would love to send you my most relevant post - let me know and I'll send it right away.
Best regards,
John Smith
The expert roundup pitch template
Bloggers love getting featured because it's a quick and simple way to establish credibility and authority in the eyes of their readers. It also allows them to grow their email lists - which can result in more subscribers and sales. You can try this approach if you want to get your content published on someone else's site.
Pro tip: If you’ve already invested in podcast hosting and built up your own audience, industry experts will usually accept an invitation to share their knowledge with others and join you on your podcast so long as the audience is large enough. This can be a great way to get an introduction if you can’t find another way.
Example outreach:
Hey John,
I loved your post about [topic] and was wondering if you'd be interested in doing an expert roundup on it. I love gathering opinions from people who are actively involved in the industry - it's a great way for readers to engage with important figures.
If you're up for it, here's what I'm looking for:
- Short introduction about yourself and how you're involved with [topic]
- One sentence answer to the following question: What is an actionable tip that people can use to grow their business?
- A link to your website, Twitter account, and/or email address (so readers can get in touch with you if they have additional questions)
I think it would be a great fit for your blog because it will give you exposure to my audience. Plus, I can promote this roundup to my email list - which means more exposure for you too.
Let me know what you think.
Best regards,
John Smith
The big media pitch
This approach is best used when you want to get press coverage for your company's latest product or service. The idea is to share resources and content with bloggers so their readers can benefit from your company. It demonstrates that you are keen on adding value for them and not just promoting yourself.
Example outreach:
Hey John,
I hope I'm emailing at a good time - I just wanted to touch base about something important.
We've spent a lot of time and effort on [topic] and we wanted to share it with some trusted bloggers. We've got a great library of articles, infographic templates, and videos that would be perfect for your readers.
I know you're very selective about which companies you feature - but we'd appreciate the exposure if we can get featured in your article.
Here's a link to our library: [link]
We can provide you with even more resources if it would be helpful for your website. Let me know what you think.
Best regards,
John Smith
The opinion pitch
If you want to get your content published on a more established site, this approach might just do the trick. You can also use it as a way of getting feedback from bloggers and influencers since they will be more willing to contribute if they know their audience will benefit from it.
It's a great way to demonstrate expertise within the blogger's field and how you can add value to their readers.
Example outreach:
Hey John,
Recently I came across an article on your website that talks about [relevant topics]. However, I noticed one of the main points was missing. I've done some research and created a guide to help bloggers understand what they should be doing (you can see it here: [link]).
I think this would be quite valuable to your audience since it has never been explored before.
If you like what you see, I'd be more than happy to write a guest post about it on your blog. Let me know what you think about this.
Best regards,
John Smith
Dos and Don'ts Of Email Marketing Outreach
Here are some details to remember when you email someone - these are the dos and don'ts of email marketing outreach.
Do's:
- Do show appreciation. Acknowledge their work before engaging with them - especially since you want something from them.
- Do make things easy for them by giving out as much information as possible (such as titles and links).
- Do make your email short and simple - no one wants to read lengthy emails these days. Try to keep the message below 3 paragraphs: intro, pitch, and call-to-action (CTA).
- Do show personality. People are more inclined to respond if there's personality attached to the email. This is what gets people interested in your message because it makes it appear less robotic and more personal.
Don'ts:
- Don't spam people. If you've got a specific person in mind, do your research about the topic they cover and their readership so you are aware of what kind of content might interest them.
- Don't expect them to give you a link straight away. You might have a piece of content that would be perfect for their audience but if it doesn't contribute to the conversation, they'll most likely just read what you wrote and ignore it.
- Don't send people long lists of links along with an extensive introduction - this just wastes their time because there's no need to explain yourself if everything is already laid out for whoever reads your email. Doing this might just annoy them which will damage the relationship before it even starts.
- Don't forget that bloggers are real people too. Treat them as such and make sure every detail about your emails is appropriate because remember that actions speak louder than words.
- Don't forget to include your company name or blog URL in the signature at the bottom of each email you send out.
- Don't use spammy email addresses like: sales@domain.com
Conclusion
Email marketing outreach is a great way of starting a professional relationship with bloggers.
Make sure every detail about your email looks and sounds professional because you're representing yourself through it - whether that's an individual or business.
Remember that people are more receptive when they get the feeling you appreciate them for what they do so always remember to mention their articles or blogs before asking for something.
If done correctly, this will immediately put you in an advantageous position which could lead to mutual benefits - they get great content and you get a link back to your site.
Author Bio:
Hanson Cheng is the founder of Freedom to Ascend. He empowers online entrepreneurs and business owners to 10x their business and become financially independent. You can connect with him here.
