That new job? That guest column in the publication of your dreams? Help promoting that piece? A chance to walk through your product with your ideal sales target? Getting people you don't know to do you small (and medium-sized) favors that can have huge impacts on your marketing? HARD. But there are ways to ease this friction, increase your odds of success, and form real relationships with powerful professional impacts. In this presentation, Rand Fishkin, cofounder of SparkToro (prev. Moz) will show exactly how to turn seemingly impossible asks and unconquerable outreach into high probabilities for success.

1. Rand Fishkin | Founder & CEO
How to Kick Butt with
Your Email Outreach
Get Everything You’ve Ever Wanted (professionally)
by Sending the Right Message to the Right People

2. Bit.ly/artofoutreach

3. Analysis of Rand’s Strengths & Weaknesses
BloggingSEOSales Writing
Code
Public
Speaking
Email
Top1%
Solid
Mediocre
Dismal
GAH!Run!
DamnGood
BeingGeraldine’s
Husband
Sohowcomeyounever
talkaboutyourtopskills!?

4. Rand Fishkin | Founder & CEO
How to Be
Married to
Geraldine!
A comprehensive guide on how to be an excellent
partner to my favorite person in the world.

5. What We’ll Cover in Today’s Talk:
How to plan for inevitable hangriness
Shopping Tips for TJ Maxx and Nordstrom Rack
Baking ingredient emergencies
Protecting your legs from frozen feet
Emotional support during writer’s block
The subtle art of not bringing up JFK “conspiracy” theories

6. Analysis of Rand’s Strengths & Weaknesses
BloggingSEOSales Writing
Code
Public
Speaking
Email
Top1%
Solid
Mediocre
Dismal
GAH!Run!
DamnGood
BeingGeraldine’s
Husband
OK…Fine…We’lltalk
aboutthisone.

7. First: How Not to Use Marketing Tactics
Awesome new
tactic I learned at
Searchlove
Go back to office and
re-shuffle marketing
efforts to prioritize it
Think up a way to
use it for your
organization/goals

8. Instead, Do This:
Awesome new
tactic I learned at
Searchlove
If it doesn’t fit
cleanly right now,
don’t force it!
Align it to current
business &
marketing goals
Experiment on side
projects; have tactics
ready when they’re useful

9. E.g. Podcasts… SO HOT RIGHT NOW!
ViaChartable

10. E.g. Influencer Marketing… Everyone else is
doing it; shouldn’t we?
ViaGoogleTrends

11. E.g. SEO Keyword+Date Hack
ViaMoz

12. Tactics First Leads to Poor, Long-Term Results
Business Goals
Marketing Channels
Marketing Goals
Individual Tactics
Learningabouttheseatconferences
leadstofeedbackof“thiswasn’t
actionable,”or“advancedenough.”
So…events&speakersbias
totacticaltopics
(includingthistalk!)

13. Promise to use these tactics only when it fits
with your business and marketing goals?
Let’s talk about how to kick butt
with email outreach.
Cool.

14. As Part of My Research for SparkToro…
I Spoke to Lots of Outreach-Focused Marketers

15. The Sobering Reality:
Content,social,&link
agencieshavetoldme
theiroutreachresponse
ratesareevenlower…
~1 in 200

16. The 1-minute outreach email:
FoundanEmailAddress
SentaCrappy,Low-Value,
Programatically-
CustomizedBulkEmail
GoogleSearch
Probablyhasa<0.1%
successrate

17. The 5-minute outreach email:
Dugaroundmysiteto
findmyemail
Slightlycustomizeda
mildlyclevermessage
TriedtoIDreasonable
customertargets
Probablyhasa<1%
successrate

18. 100 messages at 1%
5 messages at 20%
vs.
Spend20Xaslongon
theseandgetthesame
results?Yes,please!

19. Justafewlinksoratinybit
ofamplification,andyour
work’sinthetop1-5%ofall
webcontent
ViaBacklinko

20. Most Outreach Fails.Why

21. The Outreach Spectrum
AltruisticTransactional
Helpsonlythe
outreacher
Helpsthetarget
and/ora3rd party
Offersvalueto
bothparties
Self-Seeking

22. Transactional Usually Yields Evaluation
I want X in exchange for Y.
to meet you
to get your input
to raise money from you
to get a link/share
to get an endorsement
to use your work
money
reciprocation
credit (link or other)
exposure
connections

23. Altruistic Usually Does, Too
I want X in order to helpY.
to meet you
to get your input
to raise money
to get a link/share
to get an endorsement
to use your work
social cause
political issue
friends/people
charitable org
thing we believe in

24. Purely Self-Serving… Not So Much
I want X .

25. This is Why Most Self-Serving Outreach
Pretends to Be Transactional or Altruistic
Of course, these make us all more suspicious
of outreach, and raise the bar for breaking
through the barriers people develop.

26. To Break Through, Outreach Needs to Avoid
Certain Characteristics that Correlate with:
Low quality Messages
Spam
Scams
Harassment
Irrelevant Junk
Self-Serving Outreach in Disguise

27. Unclear, difficult-to-evaluate request
Multiple asks in a single message
Historical Reputation from Gmail/Hotmail/etc (i.e. recipients
have marked your email as spam in the past)
Poor targeting (i.e. the request is irrelevant to the target)
Source characteristics (name, email address, photo/image,
writing style, etc) align with common spam features
To Break Through, Avoid These Characteristics

28. Clear Request Unclear Request

29. Two Requests at the Same Time?!

30. One Ask per Email. In the Subject Line.

31. If you’re relevant, well-targeted, and well-timed,
the odds of getting read improve.
Who?
What?
Why?
How?

32. Even a Few Spam Characteristics, & Your
Targets Will Never See Your Message

33. Modern Spam Filters Are VERY Aggressive

34. Email Spam Reputation Can Linger for Years
Ifyou’reanactualspammer,you
probablydon’tcare.But,ifyou’re
tryingtobuildarealbusiness…

35. Brand Memory & Associations Also Suffer
Forbeshastrainedme
(throughbadoutreach,
sketchyauthors,&their
annoyinginterface)not
tovisittheirsite

36. Unclear, difficult-to-evaluate request
Multiple asks in a single message
Historical Reputation from Gmail/Hotmail/etc (i.e. recipients
have marked your email as spam in the past)
Poor targeting (i.e. the request is irrelevant to the target)
Source characteristics (name, email address, photo/image,
writing style, etc) align with common spam features
To Break Through, Avoid These Characteristics

37. Focus on 1:1 Outreach?Why

38. Broadcast is HARD
(until you have a loyal, engagement-heavy audience)
ViaRivalIQ2019

39. ViaRivalIQ2019
Engagement w/ Brands Is Dismal…

40. But Individuals Can Do Far Better!
~30XtheavgonTwitter;
~100XtheavgonFacebook

41. Many of the Most Powerful Marketing Tactics Are
Impossible without Individual, Human Supporters
ViaSEERInteractive

42. E.G.

43. Can Outreach Do
For My Marketing?What

44. Amazing Things Professional, Personal
Messages Can Do For Your Marketing13

45. Social Amplification
ViaLinkedIn

46. Inclusion in Curated Newsletters/Resources
ViaTheEvergrey

47. Press Coverage
ViaNYTimes

48. Crowdfunding Support
ViaKickStarter

49. Un-Advertised Sponsorships
ViaTwitter

50. Speaking Gigs
ViaINBOUND

51. Guest Spots on Podcasts
ViaIndieHackers

52. Turn Unlinked Mentions → Links
Grrr…NolinkL

53. Interviews & People-Focused Content
ViaGoodLifeProject

54. Recruiting for Research
ViaSparkToro

55. Project/Product Advice & Input
(which often turns into amplification support too)
ViaCone&Steiner

56. Reviews & Testimonials
ViaTypeform

57. Brand Partnerships
ViaGeekwire

58. But, Rand…
When I ask directly for this stuff,
I get nowhere L

59. Direct Works Great Once a Relationship Already Exists…
Request for
something comes
into my inbox…
Do I Know This Person?
Yes! And I
like them.
Never heard
of them.
No, but I know of them or
their company/organization
High
Likelihood
of a Yes
High
Likelihood
of a No
Depends on the ask, their brand, my
history, the relevance, timing, etc.

60. In Some Cases, Indirect is the Way to Go:
I want these
things
Get more people to know, like,
and trust me (and my brand)
Links to my site
Create unique value that
stands out to your audience
Press coverage
Social Amplification
What can I do that will deliver those?
Focus outreach on these goals first

61. Tactical Hacks to Improve Your
Odds of Getting a “Yes” from
Someone Who Doesn’t Know You
6

62. #1: Reach Out First When You Have an
Interest, Not an Agenda
ViaTwitter

63. #2: Grow Your Potential Connections Through
Networking (But Most People Get This Wrong)
I want a bigger,
better network.
I should go to
“networking events”
and… “network.”

64. I want a bigger,
better network.
I should go to
“networking events”
and… “network.”
#2: Grow Your Potential Connections Through
Networking (But Most People Get This Wrong)

65. Instead… Create Catalysts for Organic Network Growth
You
Good
Connection
Bubble of
Comfort
That _______ You’ve Been Thinking About
Good
Connection
Good
Connection
class
conference
club
adventure
activity
podcast
video series
Good
Connection

67. The Networking Spectrum
Worse Opportunities
SmallerEvents LargerEvents
Better Opportunities
In-Person Remote
RelativelySpecificinAppeal AppealstoaWideGroup
SharedPersonal&ProfessionalValues DissimilarValues
NotActuallyFocusedon“Networking” SpecificallyFocusedon“Networking”
MoreUnusual MoreCommon

68. #3: Align Your Outreach with Your Target’s
Personal Beliefs, Causes, and/or Values

69. #4: Get High Quality Introductions

70. Opt-In-First Yields the Best Results

71. #5: Create Your Own Amplification Email Group

72. #6: Find Authentic Affinities that Intersect

73. If You’re Struggling for Ideas…

74. Should I Reach Out?
To
Whom

75. Meh.
The Most
Followed
Influencers
The Most-
Trafficked
Publications
Those Who’ve
Amplified
Similar Work
People & Publications
Your Audience
Engages With Most
OK. Better. Suh-weet.

76. The “Most Followed” Influencers in Target Field?

77. The Big Publications?

78. Those Who’ve Amplified Similar Stories?
ViaBuzzsumo

79. People & Publications
My Audience Engages With Most

80. People & Publications Your Audience Engages
With… That Already Know & Like You!
Huzzah!

81. Ready to Rock?!

82. Don’t Forget… Like This:
Bunch of outreach
tactics I learned at
Searchlove
If it doesn’t fit
cleanly right now,
don’t force it!
Align them to
current business &
marketing goals
Experiment w outreach for
small/side projects. Have them
ready when your org needs it!

83. Rand Fishkin | Founder & CEO
Thank You!
Bit.ly/artofoutreach