So you’ve created an amazing piece of content for your audience which you’re sure is going to offer them real value. You spent countless hours generating ideas, designing your piece of content and making it a reality. The end result is a thing of beauty, so you post it on your website and wait for the inevitable boost in traffic, enquiries and conversions. Unfortunately, you might be waiting a long time! The Internet is choc a bloc with every type of content imaginable and unless you take a proactive approach to content promotion, the competition might just blow you out of the water.
You may be wondering how on earth you are going to establish where your content should be shared, so here are just a few (I’m not giving away all my secrets!) techniques that I use to find the best places to get your content shared online:
Start from within!
The first step is to share your content on all of your businesses’ social media profiles so that your existing audience can get a look at it. You might want to send a friendly Tweet to relevant businesses letting them know about your shiny new content to make sure it definitely gets in front of them. It’s also a great idea to encourage every staff member you employ to share the content on their own personal social media profiles, which is something we do regularly at Adido. Chances are that they will be friends with likeminded people who will share the content even further, expanding your reach far and wide!
Related:where do your audience hang out online?
It’s highly likely that you have an in depth knowledge of the audience you created this content piece for, as all content should be crafted with the audience in mind. Hopefully this will give you an idea of where your audience might hang out online. Once you have discovered one highly relevant website that would be an ideal fit for your audience, there is a simple trick which will provide you with several more! Simply type ‘related:www.ExampleURL.co.uk’ into Google and you will be given a list of suggested websites which are related to the example you searched for. These are the websites you want to share your content!
Google display planner
The Google Display Planner is designed to give potential advertisers an idea of where their Google Display Advertisements can appear online, but there is no reason why you can’t use this to your advantage on your quest to get your content shared! Simply sign into your Google account, search for keywords related to your business and click on ‘Get Placement Ideas’. Google will then provide you with a list of relevant websites where your Google Display Ads can appear, however you can simply get in touch with these websites yourself to see if they would be interested in publishing your content for free!
#journorequest
Twitter is absolutely crawling with journalists looking for contributors, ideas and content that will impress their audience. By simply dedicating a bit of time to search #JournoRequest on Twitter, you might find a journalist who is actively looking for content like yours! Adding other hashtags relevant to your piece of content will shorten the list down a bit and before you know it your content could be in front of millions of eyes!
Use your competitors to your advantage and find out where their content is being shared online. You can use a tool such as Moz’s Open Site Explorer to discover a full backlink profile of your competitors (you will need a Moz subscription, but you can get some information for free or start a 30 day free trial. Alternatively, talk to our team at Adido about or competitor backlink reviews). Take a look at the websites sharing your competitors’ content and contact the ones which seem most relevant to your content piece.
Of course it is important to remember that any website you contact to share your content should be of the highest quality. Sites with a low domain authority and lack of fresh content amongst many other factors are not the most effective places to share your content. Once you have found some high quality, relevant websites, it’s time to start building your relationship with them. This is something which takes a lot of time and effort but the results are well worth it.
Top tips for contacting publications and journalists
Once you have found appropriate placements, the real hard work begins. Getting your piece published can be a difficult process, so here are a few tips to increase your success rates!
Before you contact each publication, take a look at their website and the type of content they publish. Can you offer anything with a similar angle? You should be fully prepared with a relevant hook before you start contacting.
Most publications and journalists receive hundreds of emails every day with people seeking content placements and there is a chance your unexpected email might get ignored. You should always try and call first to introduce yourself and your ideas, then they will be expecting your follow up email.
This tip is especially important when sending emails. No one is going to read an 1000 word essay about how great your content it. Keep it short and sweet, introduce yourself, your ideas and how it will benefit their audience.
If you don’t get a reply to your email after a week, pick up the phone and follow up. Mention that you emailed or called recently and you are calling again to gauge interest in your idea. Don’t give up on any opportunity unless you get a definitive ‘no’.
Outreach does not always end in a positive result. Website owners will have a lot of content coming their way, so if you get rejected, don’t let it get you down. Pick up the phone and try again with a new potential placement. If your content is good enough, someone will want to publish it!
If you want to talk to us about getting your content the attention it truly deserves, feel free to contact us today!
