Part 3: Follow-up

Once you’ve reached out to a blogger or website owner, don’t just leave it at that. It’s time for the follow-up process.

Hopefully we’ll be getting some positive responses back from our email outreach campaign to the sites we’ve chosen. But let’s quickly go over all possible scenarios.

• If we get no response at all, it’s a no. We’ll mark them off our list.
• If it’s a no, we’ll thank them for their time and move on.
• If it’s a maybe/request for more information/anything else, we’ll continue the conversation and offer any additional information our blogger asks for. Use followup opportunities to get to know each other better.
• If it’s a yes, we’ll follow up right away with am enthusiastic responses (and, of course, those promised goodies).

Deepening the relationship

For those websites kind enough to give our business or product a mention, our work isn’t done.

If the blogger has given you a mention, we should do the same: mention them on our website, share the link on Twitter and Facebook, even put up a paper copy of the mention in a store or physical business. They will surely appreciate it, and it will help us spread the good word too.

In the case of Mardy’s Munchies, we could post a link to the article or review on their home page, send it out to their Twitter and Facebook followers, even pass out flyers with the mention when making home deliveries of baked goods. It’s a win/win situation for everyone involved, and a nice gesture for the site owner who was kind enough to take the time to mention their product.

If it’s a blog mention, we’ll also make sure we keep tabs on the comments on the post. We’ll respond to other users, comment on other posts on the blog, etc. Staying an active participant within the online “communities” that we’ve found is an important element of the process. Even if our outreach didn’t work the first time, staying active in those spaces could possibly open up the door for us to get that mention in the future.

Keeping records

And remember, we’ll want to keep notes throughout this entire process – our research, the perfecting of our outreach, and any other communication or followup we do with a contact.

When we reach the follow-up stage, it’s likely the list of bloggers we’ve talked to will be pretty long. Having notes on who’s who, what conversations we had, and what type of follow-up we need to take will help us keep it all straight so we’re not scrambling to remember where we are in the communication process.

We’ve been keeping our spreadsheet updated throughout the process, so now we only need to add one last item: the link!

Link building isn’t hard, but it does take some time to understand how to find websites that make sense to contact, how to build a sold relationship and how to follow through with contacts you’ve made.

But if Mardy’s Munchies can build great links, so can anyone. Follow our process of research, outreach and follow-up and you’ll be building meaningful relationships and links that will be beneficial for your business for many years to come.