1. Using Your Blog to Build Links
Through Interviews
Visible.net
By
Cody Barrus
2. We Will Cover
What your blog needs to be effective
How to find quality websites to build links
Collecting emails and info
Using interviews to reach out, create a rela-
tionship and solicit a link
Following Through
4. Before you begin
In order to use your blog to build links, your
blog will need to already have quality blog
posts
5-10 posts minimum
The reason: Nobody wants to link to an ugly,
unprofessional, spammy or empty website
5. Tools you will need
Download and install -
Google Chrome:
https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/browser/
Install these Google Chrome extensions
SEO Site Tools
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/diahigjng
Status Pagerank/Alexa Toolbar
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bjgpmafb
6. Finding A Site
There are many ways to search for quality
sites to reach out to. One useful method is a
blog search in Google. Simply search for
“blog:search term”
For example:
Blog:self defense
Blog:fashion
Blog:school issues
8. Here's the blog
First lets ask, “Will it make a good link?”
Read content to make sure the posts are relevant
to your niche and good quality
9. Lets Check Our Tools
Check the page rank (PR)
The higher the PR, the better the link
Only reach out to sites with a PR of 2 or more
10. Make Sure the Site is Reputable
You can do this by checking the blogs backlinks
using the Alexa Toolbar
Make sure they are linked to by good sources
11. This is a good source
We've checked on this site, and it will make a good link.
It has a PR 3 and doesn't look like it has suspicious
back links.
Now it's time to gather the bloggers email and store it in
a spread sheet.
Emails are sometimes hard to find. Look in About and
Contact pages.
If you can't find an email, check what social networks
they use and copy a link to their profile into the spread
sheet instead.
13. Send an Interview Proposal
We are going to ask each blog if we can interview
them via email
People love to talk about themselves so the
response rate is very high for interviews
People who are interviewed usually link back to
the interview without even needing to be
reminded
14. An example interview proposal
Email is short and direct
Mentions them by name and mentions their niche
Gives a link to an example blog post or interview
16. The Interview
Now it's time to write a 5 question interview
Look at their site and ask thoughtful questions which
they will be interested in answering
Also make sure the questions will create good content
Remember, they still may not respond if they think you
are trying to use them or take advantage
We are constantly building a relationship
18. The Follow Through
After they respond with their answers, simply
copy and paste them into a blog post in a Q&A
format.
Q: Tell me about yourself. A: Well, my name is
Alice and I am an artist...
Or be as creative as you would like to be.
Make sure to add a link to their website at the
bottom of the article
19. After you post the interview
Follow up with another email mentioning that the
post is up
Give them the link
Let them know, “I would appreciate it if you could
share a link to this interview on your blog and
social networks.”
Remember to thank them
20. Rules
Send out Interview Proposal emails in bulk to
manage time
Do not post interviews back to back on your site,
instead keep them spread out between regular
blog posts
After the interview process, keep their email. A
relationship has been created, if you have
something you would like the world to know
about, email past interviewee's
21. Win Win
While what you are doing is building links and
promoting your online business, you are also
promoting the people you are interviewing
This is good for everyone involved, as long as the
work you do is well done
