Securing Your Links Before Producing Your Content - Stacey MacNaught -BrightonSEO September 2018
•
8 likes•4,962 views
Content marketing with link building as a primary objective has its risks. Producing content can be expensive. Designers, copywriters, developers (in some cases), photographers, even videographers might all be involved in producing assets for link building. So if you're going to invest in a content asset or multiple assets, you need to be as sure as your possibly can be that you're going to achieve your objectives. In this talk from BrightonSEO September 2018, I talk about the steps you can take before going into production that help to secure interest before you invest in creating the content.
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to Securing Your Links Before Producing Your Content - Stacey MacNaught -BrightonSEO September 2018
Similar to Securing Your Links Before Producing Your Content - Stacey MacNaught -BrightonSEO September 2018 (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Securing Your Links Before Producing Your Content - Stacey MacNaught -BrightonSEO September 2018
- 1. Stacey MacNaught @staceycav MacNaught Digital Securing Links BEFORE You Produce Your Content https://www.staceymacnaught.co.uk
- 3. Me when I’m launching a new content project. @staceycav
- 4. Me when it doesn’t get the traction I expected. @staceycav
- 5. For almost ¾ of people in outreach, hitting targets is “hit or miss” at best. https://www.staceymacnaught.co.uk/outreach-statistics/@staceycav #brightonseo
- 6. Failure can happen anywhere in the process @staceycav #brightonseo
- 7. I’m going to focus here today. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 8. 300+ linking domains at its peak 4 key nationals “secured” before we commissioned the survey @staceycav
- 9. 89% of its links secured after active promotion ended and based on research done before the survey was even commissioned. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 11. Producing content can be expensive. So by the time you go into production, you ideally should have… @staceycav #brightonseo
- 12. 1Validated your idea @staceycav #brightonseo
- 13. 2Devised a well researched media list based @staceycav #brightonseo
- 14. 3Journalists already interested in your story @staceycav #brightonseo
- 15. Understanding audience is everything. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 16. I asked 1,000 people to complete the sentence @staceycav #brightonseo
- 17. I asked 1,000 people to complete the sentence Daily Mail readers are….. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 20. Other common answers “Tories” “Bigots” “Right wing” “Gullible” “Awesome” @staceycav #brightonseo
- 21. And a special mention for… “People who enjoy crosswords and puzzles” @staceycav #brightonseo
- 22. So, what exactly does this have to do with link building? @staceycav #brightonseo
- 29. Misunderstanding the audience of your target publications is a common reason your content doesn’t get published. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 30. (I’m not suggesting we all assume Daily Mail readers are idiots and bigots – extreme example!) @staceycav #brightonseo
- 31. But humans make assumptions and have subconscious biases. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 36. Study media kits. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 37. This will confirm some things you already know… @staceycav #brightonseo
- 40. But equally it can turn up findings about their audience you might not have considered before. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 42. Use your findings in your pitch emails…. @staceycav
- 43. Study them for each campaign…. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 44. But if you’re in the content marketing game, just study them anyway. Become familiar with them. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 45. Here’s a list of some of them I compiled: @staceycav #brightonseo http://bit.ly/media-kits-uk
- 46. (They also sometimes tell you the best topics to be pitching at certain times) @staceycav #brightonseo
- 48. It’s also important to understand the different desks within any publication @staceycav #brightonseo
- 49. Pitch the most relevant one.
- 50. Know your snowball sources @staceycav #brightonseo
- 51. Mail Online never links these days. But I go after it every single time. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 52. Because, not only do a load of smaller regional and local papers run their stories, but so too do other Nationals. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 53. Sun did not respond to emails about a recent piece, then… @staceycav #brightonseo
- 55. I find the Mail lands other Nationals regularly. So too does the Sun and the Standard. But do your research around your niche. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 56. That will give you great insight about which publications should be top priority. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 57. I contact 3 to 5 journalists before producing any content or commissioning any research because I want to… @staceycav #brightonseo
- 58. 1Validate my idea @staceycav #brightonseo
- 59. 3Get journalists interested in my story @staceycav #brightonseo
- 60. This helps to improve your ideas and secure interest. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 66. And can also save you some expensive mistakes. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 71. So how do we make that approach? @staceycav #brightonseo
- 72. The practicalities & contact details: @staceycav #brightonseo
- 73. The practicalities & contact details: @staceycav #brightonseo
- 74. The practicalities & contact details: @staceycav #brightonseo
- 75. The practicalities & contact details: @staceycav #brightonseo
- 76. How do you ask a stranger for a favour? @staceycav #brightonseo
- 77. You don’t have to. There should be mutual benefits. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 78. My Bible. (Or 400 pages on getting your own way) @staceycav
- 80. ”I’ve a couple of questions still to add. Is there anything you’d want me to ask for you?” @staceycav #brightonseo
- 81. “Commitment and Consistency” Contact journalists whose work suggests an alignment with your planned content.
- 82. Is there demand for what you want to produce? (Not essential, but definitely useful!) @staceycav #brightonseo
- 84. 89% of its links secured after active promotion ended and based on research done before the survey was even commissioned. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 86. Idea was finalised based on this… @staceycav #brightonseo
- 87. This is why it builds links passively. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 88. And it’s not just stats queries people search to find content of the sort we often produce… @staceycav #brightonseo
- 90. So, you’ve got demand. You’ve got journalists interested. Your idea is awesome (and validated).
- 91. Do you need to produce content to land the links and coverage you want? @staceycav
- 92. IMHO: Often, but not always. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 93. Little “stuff” without a big asset at the centre of it can also land links from top tier sites. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 94. Daft little puzzles STILL work:
- 95. Circa 15 inbound links…. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 96. Distributing images under Creative Commons still works…
- 97. Founder Interview Pitches and Profiles work… @staceycav #brightonseo
- 98. Side note: Here’s a list of publications that regularly run founder interviews https://bit.ly/founder-opps@staceycav #brightonseo
- 99. And here’s a book by Paddy Moogan packed full of ways to build links. http://www.linkbuildingbook.com/@staceycav #brightonseo
- 102. Just don’t make content marketing the only way you build links. @staceycav #brightonseo
- 103. And before you produce a thing, make sure it’s the right thing and the best way to achieve your objectives. @staceycav #brightonseo