Outreach emails can be a secret weapon to use to ensure a post’s success. Even if the article you write is not that good, it can become viral. This means that it receives a lot of shares and brings a large amount of users to the website. To do this, blog authors should reach out to the people or businesses mentioned within their article. Many companies and people are grateful for this exposure, and in turn, share it with their followers.

There’s a promotional value to the emails, but this is not the most important aspect of outreach emails. Instead, consider the power of a good relationship. This is key to good content marketing, which often starts with an email. These outreach emails can cultivate relationships with content marketers all over the Internet and the world. You can email people to promote content, but you have to do it in a way that benefits both parties. Scratch their back and they will scratch yours.

Relationships and Content Marketing

Blog posts do not last forever, no matter how evergreen they are. However, what will last are the relationships you create through a few simple outreach emails. Those people you connect with will now be on your radar, and you will be on theirs as someone who appreciates them, their work, or company. As a content marketer, you understand the value in this. Other content marketers won’t miss an opportunity to cultivate a relationship, especially when it is beneficial to them.

As a content marketer, your goal is to help others. You know how great a gift this is since others will see this and return the favor. This can even happen after just one email reaching out to another. You should avoid thinking that the goal of an outreach email is promotion because it is not. While promotion is a good thing, your goal is to create a lasting relationship that produces continual promotion.

Metrics to Build Meaningful Relationships

The meaningful relationships that you build need to be worth both parties’ time. Neither you or other content marketers have the time to spend a whole day promoting someone else’s work. The only way the relationship can work is if there is value in it for both of you. You need to consider what value you bring to the table first.

Resources

If you have resources that others lack, you can make yourself very appealing to other marketers. These resources often flesh out other’s work, which will make them very grateful and likely to promote your work in return to their followers. Look for different circles of people that lack this resource you have and offer to complement their work.

Expertise

Experts are still all the rage in the content marketing world. If you’re an expert or influencer in your field, offer an exclusive look or quote. You’ll find that most marketers will jump all over that.

Valuable Data

You’ll have value to others if you have content that no one else has. Some examples of this data include studies you’ve done, trend analytics that you can publish like what Zillow or Jawbone have done, or other proprietary data. Use this content to break the ice with major influencers.

Contributions

Offer to contribute to other’s blogs or even on social media. To content marketers, every contribution counts. And, many people appreciate having another look out for them.

Ask yourself why others would want to promote your content. Does it offer information that others need? Does it make them a better contributor for putting it out there? Consider these questions before you write your next post, and also keep it in mind before you reach out. The relationships you make must be mutually beneficial.

Finding Influencers and Contributers

There’s a massive amount of contributors out there, and you might now know where to start. If you haven’t already come across this gem, check out a list of the best places to find contributors from Say Daily. Other places to look that are not on the list include LinkedIn, social media, and a good old-fashioned Google search. Once you find the influencers you feel you can create a mutually helpful relationship with, you’ll have to get your foot in the door.

Creating and Maintaining Good Relationships with Content Marketers

A good way to open the door for a relationship is an outreach email letting another content marketer know you featured them. Keep in mind that you might not form a relationship after you send that cold email. You’ll need to maintain contact and reach out over time to build it from the ground up. They will not respond if they feel it is automated or that your emails are spam. Stay on top of your outreach efforts and build the relationship for lasting promotion.