This is a guest contribution by Frank Angelone.
It’s safe to assume that you want your blog to succeed, right?
It’s easier said than done, but whenever you’re trying to market your blog to others, it can be a very discouraging process. Not only that, as bloggers, we continually suffer from the inability to get in touch with those we aspire to be like.
It’s not that those individuals don’t want to connect with us, but their email inboxes are full to the max and the Internet is flooded with content. Tough obstacles ahead of us to stand out from the crowd I’d say.
Obviously, email marketing is an effective way to communicate with our readers, but more often than not, a well known blogger is not signed up to your email list. The thing is…being associated to these well known bloggers in some capacity can help build the authority your blog needs to get attention.
So how are you suppose to grab the attention of these people?
Keep It Simple, Stupid!
I’ve learned, from my experiences, the best way to grab the attention of others is to keep my enquiries simple and straight forward.
Granted, in reality, I am marketing to them.
It’s true, whenever you email someone and you wish to market yourself to them, it’s never a good idea to just email them a link to your blog. You can be sure you won’t be contacted at that point. You want the email to capture their attention from the subject line.
Since you only have a short period to grab their attention, what can you do?
The Subject Line Is The Magic Potion
Before you start trying to think of creative headlines, let me stop you right there. That kind of advice you’ll see many people give for blog posts and email newsletters.
This doesn’t apply when you’re trying to encourage a well known blogger to open your email.
In fact, it’s much simpler and easier than you may think. On top of that, you may have used this tactic before and never even realised what a POWERFUL strategy it is.
Tell Me What To Do Already!
This brings me to my personal sure fire way to grab a response…
The magic answer is…
Use the subject line – “Quick Question.”
Really? That’s it? Yes, that’s it. It’s worked for me many times. It’s how I’ve published guest posts on sites like CopyBlogger and here on ProBlogger.
The goal is to create a relationship. Quick Question lets them know…”this won’t take long.” This is what I use all the time.
I can’t believe I’m giving this away because it’s my best kept secret, until now!
How Does This Apply To My Blog?
Interestingly enough, I’ve used this little subject line to build my blog’s credibility.
I’ve been able to leverage my podcast to build authority for my blog. An authoritative blog is something all bloggers strive for. By using that “Quick Question” subject line, I’ve brought guests onto my podcast like Gary Vaynerchuk, Chris Pirillo, Brian Clark, Seth Godin, and Robert Scoble to name a few.
I can officially say that all these great people in some way are associated with my blog.
I’m not throwing these names at you to brag, but rather show you that by having these relationships, I’ve been able to connect with new readers / listeners and provide advice to others on how to go about podcasting.
This additional layer of my blog that started with a simple subject line also gave me the freedom to not have to rely on writing blog posts. Writing can be tiring, time consuming, and writers block can occur frequently. Doing audio interviews was my way of overcoming these obstacles and in the process I’ve developed relationships with well known bloggers.
You may not be able to build the readership that you want at this point. You may not be able to get a ton of comments on your posts. However, you can start finding other avenues to build that authority for your blog.
Don’t believe that just because it’s a blog that you’re restricted to only written content…you’re not!
Even though podcasting isn’t what I talk about on my blog, because of the well known bloggers I’ve connected with, I was able to talk to Chris Pirillo’s mastermind group in a webinar on bringing guests to your podcast and wrote a blog post about it too.
So, try this in your next email and let me know how this works out for you in the comments and if you’re able to build some new authority for your blog.
Frank Angelone teaches people how to use social media in business and how to adapt to technology. He’s also coupled these teachings by interviewing well known entrepreneurs like Chris Pirillo, Robert Scoble, Brian Clark, and Leo Babauta to name a few, on the STZ Podcast. Be sure to subscribe to be notified of new episodes!
