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Blogging for Business - Ahrefs
Blogging for Business - Ahrefs

Morgan Schofield

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https://ahrefs.com/academy/blogging-for-business⁠

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Key Takeaways

Write based on what prospects are searching for - perform keyword research within topics of interest.

Always be targeting new audiences - it's the only way to expand your reach and capture new referrals

'viral' is a diminishing return

Your aim should be to build a hysteresis of residue traffic - your blogging efforts should return a background level of traffic that remains even when you stop blogging

Action - Steps

Create a list of themes you want to target in your niche

Create a spreadsheet of: 'keyword/topic' ; 'search volume' ; 'best articles' ; traffic ; linking domains

Discover Keyword ideas - use keyword research

competitor sites, reddit, forums etc.

Assess competitor content and performance

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1.1 Primary Goals

traffic is a vanity metric

the main KPI should be - making money! Number of sales/month

Think: customer acquisition not traffic acquisition

1.2 Customer Acquisition Channels

word of mouth

Ads

Do you need a blog? - no

You can layer on blog SEO to expand reach and engagment for customers, increasing ROI and retention

1.3 Why most blogs fail

There's so many tactics for blogs - but, you need to create a solid strategy

(in GA)

'spike of hope'

you see a spike in traffic around blog release date, but no results.

'flatline of hope'

interest falls off, the content is stale

You should be seeing some passive growth over time - ROI on your blogs

There's a compounding effect of posting regularly and getting people to return.

2 -3 articles per month could be a sweet spot.

Growth = traffic doesn't fade over time.

Making sure each article hits hard and converts.

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The Two Hedgehog Model, Perfect for Marketing Early Stage Startups⁠

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The Compounding Returns Of Content Marketing⁠

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2.1 Spike of Hope

Anatomy of 'spike of hope'

instant gratification, false feeling of security

You share with your existing audience.

If you're just starting out there's not going to be a large volume of new subscribers - you need to find ways to reach a new and bigger audience.

New channels are effective when starting out - but, organic channels will fatigue

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The Anatomy of the “Spike of Hope” 2 1 - YouTube (1).png

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You need to be reaching new audiences ALL THE TIME.

2.2 Strategies that work

Viral traffic vs. SEO traffic

Viral

create 'sticky' content

pitch influencers

publish regularly

SEO

Create useful content

Get backlinks

publish regularly

Viral does not pick up over time, it decays

Some Tactics to try:

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https://ahrefs.com/blog/going-viral/⁠

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Add a decent quality infographic

Share in the right place (right channel eg. reddit)

an emotive and current topic

a little controversy

2.3 the 'publish more' myth

You need to focus on building articles that focus on SEO keywords

Viral traffic is a gamble - SEO traffic is data-driven and predictable.

build an audience (email list) to send content for word-of-mouth

Tricks/hacks:

pop-ups, slide-ins, welcome mats, hello-bars, content upgrades, lead magnets

attractive characters, social proof, personal stories

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3.1 - 3.5 Testing ideas for 'search demand'

Using Ahrefs for keyword research

Headlines - SEO keyword focused

Make sure blog post headlines contain keywords people are actually searching for; eg.

"games like... [Pokemon]"

Think about queries people are actually entering into search engines.

Researching Keywords

Use Ahrefs 'keyword explorer' to enter and test new KW ideas

Brainstorm search queries → put them in 'keyword explorer'

Assess keyword volumes (US/UK) (just a guide - dig in deeper!)

Use the 'SERP' button to find exact search results and assess if there's opportunity for you to create content.

Assess 'traffic' (clicks per month - more accurate guide than volumes)

Check the top ranking articles for their monthly traffic - this is a better indicator. Generate more ideas from their content and be prepared to copy.

Click 'KW' column to see what keywords are in the search results - generate more ideas.

filter for '3' in 'position' to see what's getting the most traffic & clicks (top 3 SERP results)

be aware that the " quote marks mean this keyword is in a snippet on Google

Also, 'search volume' for a single keyword is not a good indicator, as most articles rank for multiple KWs - dig into the SERP → top ranking articles, to make sure you understand the depth of the keywords and what other keywords you'd need to include.

Look at 'top keyword'

dig into what people are actually searching for to find these articles - these are the real keywords you want to target

save the top articles into a doc. (see below - create a spreadsheet)

dissect what makes them good.

What KWs and topics are in there.

Search ranking data for a single keyword isn't accurate, you need to dig a layer deeper and look at the SERP for long terms and actual searches.

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Backlinks

The more websites that link to your page, the better SERP rank you'll get.

If you have the same keywords and keyword density - google will use 'backlinks' as a top-trump to decide who gets the #1 position.

Although, this is not a linear correlation

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Lesson 3 4 How to determine your chances to rank in Google.png

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You want to look for topics with high search traffic and low backlinks - so you can position yourself in the SERP

Keyword Difficulty

avg. number of links to a website (linking domains)

Use 'KD' to assess how difficult it would be to get backlinks to the blog content you're building.

eg.

To compete with

Ahrefs → Google keywords + clickstream

Resources:

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Why you can't ALWAYS trust keyword search volume for traffic estimations⁠

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How many keywords can you rank for with one page? (Ahrefs’ study of 3M searches)⁠

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How To Do Keyword Research for SEO⁠

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Long Tail Keywords: how to get TONS of traffic from ‘unpopular’ search queries⁠

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How Low-Volume Keyword Strategy Can Get You High-Value Clients [Case Study]⁠

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Long-Tail Keywords: The ‘Secret’ to Getting TONS of Search Traffic⁠

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On‐Page SEO: An Actionable Guide⁠

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4.1 - 4.5 Finding content ideas

Study your niche

niche forums

online communities

groups: facebook, reddit, slack, linkedin etc.

review sites

physical : magazines, newspapers, trade shows, white papers etc.

If any of the above is missing - create your own and ensure your content is on there first.

Generate Keyword Ideas -

Ahrefs Academy: Blogging for business⁠

: Keyword Research

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6 Best Keyword Research Tools for SEO⁠

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6 Keyword Research Tips to Find Untapped Opportunities⁠

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Google Keyword Unplanner - Clickstream Data to the Rescue⁠

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Google Throttles Keyword planner low spending ad words⁠

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Answer the Public -

Search listening tool for market, customer & content research - AnswerThePublic⁠

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Ubersuggest -

Ubersuggest's Free Keyword Tool, Generate More Suggestions⁠

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Soovle -

Soovle - Let the web help.⁠

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Google Keyword Planner

Ahrefs

Clickstream

Competitor Analysis

⁠

How to Do an SEO Competitor Analysis [Template Included]⁠

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study competitors,

find their best content,

beat them

use Ahrefs 'top pages' and 'competitor analysis'

Content Ideas

Use Ahrefs 'content explorer' to target: competitor pages and topics for content ideas.

Filter searches for domains with '0' backlinks to find places with high traffic, but low backlinks (opportunities/ low-hanging fruit)

Use the 'details' tab and find organic keywords that piece of content ranks for

Be careful of Domain Rating - you can only outrank these with strong backlinks.

Combine with:

SEMRush

Spyfu

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5.1 - 5.4 Optimize for: target keyword and searcher's intent

When building a piece of content and finding keywords that fit the article, remember what the 'intent' of a searcher may be.

Don't just target the highest volume 'generic' keyword because you see that as low-hanging fruit, find areas with low competition but some search volume (100/mo gives 1200/year) so that you can build a niche for yourself.

After producing an article, ask your friends: "what is this about?"

If you don't have an article formed yet, ask yurself:

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Lesson 5 1 What is “searcher intent” and how to match it.png

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Optimising Search Traffic

80% of optimisation is making sure the 'searcher intent' matches the theme of your content.

10% of ranking is URL/title/headline/content

⁠

How to Craft the Perfect SEO Title Tag (Our 4-Step Process)⁠

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On‐Page SEO: An Actionable Guide⁠

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This is the last 10% (for pros)

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More than Keywords: 7 Concepts of Advanced On-Page SEO⁠

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How many keywords can you rank for with one page? (Ahrefs’ study of 3M searches)⁠

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Audit existing content

Published articles likely already have some backlinks

Competitors probably don't bother updating content or optimising (you can beat them)

Past articles may be targeting the wrong keywords and need adjusting

Go through all your content and catagorise them into three groups:

Update

These articles already bring some traffic, but could do with an update

Refresh content etc.

Merge

having multiple articles on the same topic is nowhere near as good as 1 hard hitting piece that ranks #1

merge duplicates or use 301 redirects

Delete

any totally out of date articles that are pulling down your ranking

this (maybe) a ranking signal for google

⁠

A Simple SEO Strategy (The 'Middleman' Method)⁠

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How to Create SEO-Friendly URLs (Step-by-Step)⁠

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6.1 - 6.3 Creating great content that promotes itself

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r/bigseo - Rethinking Long Tail Keywords: how to get tons of traffic from ‘unpopular’ search queries⁠

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SEO Mythbusters: Top marketers share the most counterintuitive SEO truths⁠

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Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts — by Ryan Holiday⁠

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6 Keyword Research Tips to Find Untapped Opportunities⁠

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Quality of content determines your success. Think:

quality

uniqueness

authority

Quality

Learn to write well:

read copywriting and great authored books

google: "how to improve your writing"

Improve how your content looks:

the layout and design of your blog & website

quality images

short paragraphs

subheadings

quotes

lists

(look at other good blogs and blogging sites)

Headlines:

The headline is what's going to be shared and lure people to click in.

make sure you have at least 5 different headline ideas for each piece of content

Uniqueness

Be careful of the trap of replicating what you've already read.

Research what 'research' is being done

What are new ideas of the space

How can you find a new angle or relate the issues in a more digestible format

Information you own that others don't is worth sharing - we live in the 'information age'

industry data

insights that people don't have yet (pull people into your world, educate them)

Authority

Why should I read your piece vs. someone with more authority?

How can you create this authority?

Use great sources and quote/ link them in your article.

Be a great journalist

Reach out to people in the space, ask them questions and quote them directly.

⁠

Headline Hacks - A Cheat Sheet for Writing Blog Posts That Go Viral⁠

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How to Craft the Perfect SEO Title Tag (Our 4-Step Process)⁠

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8 Winning Headline Strategies And The Psychology Behind Them⁠

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10 years of professional blogging - what I've learned⁠

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How to Become a Marketing Manager (Advice From Those Who Made It)⁠

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The Content Marketing Handbook⁠

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Guest Post ROI: The Data Behind 273 Guest Posts Says It's No Good - BloggerJet⁠

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7.1 - 7.3 - Link building

You NEED backlinks to rank - its a big signal that your site is worth people's time.

You need to make your readers 'want' to share it - it's hard to force it

Things people enjoy sharing:

Emotion

news, entertainment, controversy

Utility

tutorials, guides, how-tos

Numbers

research, data, statistics

Stories

Case studies, examples

Think: NLP

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Contagious: Why Things Catch On⁠

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Analyse competitor pieces to see what people are linking to

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How to Create Content That Attracts Backlinks 7 2 - YouTube.png

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Now we know: Here are Google’s top 3 search ranking factors⁠

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On Page SEO: A (2M Keyword) Data Driven Analysis⁠

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New Ahrefs’ DR: Everything You Need to Know⁠

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Contagious: Why Things Catch On — by Jonah Berger⁠

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Deconstructing Linkbait: How to Create Content That Attracts Backlinks⁠

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6 Linkable Asset Types (And EXACTLY How to Earn Links With Them)⁠

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Backlink strategies

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The Noob Friendly Guide To Link Building⁠

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personal outreach email

guest newsletter

organic posts: tweets etc.

paid ads - for reach

Until you have a large audience, you'll need to build backlinks manually

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8.1 - 8.3 - Promoting content

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How long does it take to rank in Google? (A study by Ahrefs)⁠

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Evergreen Content: How Updating An Old Post Boosted Pageviews by 468%⁠

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75 Actionable SEO Tips (That Work Like A Charm in 2018)⁠

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Tactics:

Newsletter to subscribers

post on social

submit to reddit and relevant forums

submit to relevant FB groups, linkedin and Google+

Mention on slack & discord channels

repurpose content into different formats and syndicate

publish guest articles

reach out to everyone mentioned in the article

outreach: to linked articles on the same topic

outreach: published articles mentioning that topic

Don't stop promoting your article just because you ticked off your promotion tactics.

Do not abandon old content! - put your assets to work.

Do not stop until you rank the piece of content:

work hard on producing quality content

work hard on promotion

Update your content:

make sure visitors have up to date information that's useful

sends a positive signal to Google for ranking

allows us to promote content again

(disclose that it's not new, but updated)

Paid promotion

Don't let the 'i can't afford it' limiting belief restrict you here!

Your time is worth money:

eg.

10 hrs x £50/hr = £500

Why not take 10% of that (£50) and spend on FB ads? Google ads?

The ads may have a better ROI than your time.

Paid promotion is an excellent test of the business goals of your article - why did you create it if not to get more customers/money ??

Common Mistakes

Focusing on short-term traffic over backlink building (outreach and shares!)

Giving up on content promotion too early (keep going!)

Abandoning old content (put your assets to work! )

Not spending money on paid promotion (your time is money; make your content fly!)

⁠

How to Build Backlinks and Get Press Using HARO [Case Study]⁠

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How We Use Blogger Outreach To Promote Content And Build Links⁠

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Reach your existing audience:

email newsletters,

slack channels etc.

Reaching relevant communities:

be careful of self-promotion

slide your content in a natural way

Action:

start joining key communities and contributing so people won't mind you mentioning your content.

Content repurposing and 'syndication':

audio

video

slides

images

Answer quora questions

Leave comments on relevant articles (inc. link) - be careful

Pitch yourself to podcasts

Competing with 'big guys':

no matter what industry you're in, there's certainly someone who is already ranking.

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9.1 - 9.4 - Link building strategies

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3 White Hat Link Building Techniques That Go Far Beyond Links⁠

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Strategies:

leaving comments

Replicating your competitors backlinks

Guest blogging

Outreach

⁠

The Noob Friendly Guide To Link Building⁠

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Comments

Use Quora and Reddit type forums where you can post comments and increase your 'authority'

These commments will get 1,000's of views / month

You can input images or quotes and add your link as a 'source'

Avoid spamming at all costs - it could cost you the account.

Add value!

'nofollow' links - don't worry about untrackable or crawlable links - you'll get some natural links from the people who have come to your content.

'steal' your competitors backlinks:

find their 'superfans'

referring domains in Ahrefs

'best pages by backlinks' + filter: HTTP code = '200 ok'

take 10 of these pages and insert into 'link intersect'

add 'prefix' setting

Identify where the main domains that are linking to your competitor

(you can exclude your site so existing backlinks aren't shown)

you can change the search setting from 'all' to 'any'

You can also enter competitor or popular sites in your industry in 'link intersect' and see where there are sites that cover all these

2. Find the 'power linkers'

target using the 'new backlinks'

Guest content

Fundamental rule: "you need quality content - content is king"

Finding blogs to target:

Use 'content explorer' and enter the topic you want to find

check 'one article per domain'

check 'english' in language

use a domain rating of '20-50'

target these blogs with your guest blog post

Qualify: "do I think this blog will be around for the next 3 years? "

Look for a 'write for us' page

But, never mind if they don't have one - email them! Reach out social

Keep searching and don't let 'no's stop you!

Go back to writing smart, insightful comments on their blog, then offer to write a guest blog post.

Finding Blog Post Topics

Techniques:

Take a big piece of content and break it into several 'chapters' - this way you're creating different resources that cover a single overall topic

'splintering'

You can take any idea and add variations by applying the idea to different situations.

Guest post hacking:

Pitch more blogs than you can handle (they'll take time to get back to you or say 'no')

Don't put more than 2 self-promotion links per article

Reach out to people you're linking to

Pitch blogs who haven't linked to your site yet... (no point asking for repeat links)

⁠

Oversubscribed: How to Get People Lining Up to Do Business with You — by Daniel Priestley⁠

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10.1 - 10.3 Outreach and promotion

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9 Actionable Ways To Find Anyone’s Email Address⁠

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Outreach for content marketing

outreach is just a tool to facilitate digital strategy

'outreach' is just a way of saying there's tools for connecting with people and asking them to help you out/let you add value to them

There's a fine line between 'outreach' and spam.

You want to build a long-term strategy that will pay off over a year+

You need to be outcome in-dependant (ie. NOT outcome dependant, but, strategy focused.)

Your outreach and tactics may be the perfect types, but, there are factors outside of your control.

Your tactics and strategies should evolve to focus on the areas and KPIs that you can attack.

Target:

people who have linked to articles on the same topic (eg. in the NFT industry)

people who have already published articles on the same topic

Go through the 'referring domains' process and find people who have pointed to similar articles.

Target and reach out to them

2. Use content explorer to find similar articles, then look at what domains are referring to them

use:

Domain rating, language, 1 result per domain, people who have not linked to our site

3. Tweet content - weak strategy, but its a bit lame. People tweet and forget.

Writing effective outreach emails

have a good excuse or reason to reach out - focus on them and their site (focus on recipient)

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Loading marketingexamples.com⁠

use seduction techniques to get them to take action - use subtle requests not direct

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How We Use Blogger Outreach To Promote Content And Build Links⁠

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I Just Deleted Your Outreach Email Without Reading. And NO, I Don’t Feel Sorry⁠

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I Asked 235 People to Tweet My Article and All I Got Is This Cheerless Case Study⁠

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Loading drive.google.com⁠

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Blackhat:

brief freelancers on content topics & keywords

create a piece of content

supplement with canva / designs for viral sharing

check plagiarism

link content

identify backlink sharing houses (’advertise with us’ script)

task a VA to negotiate deals <$100 ~$50 is ideal

budget ~$1000 to increase article backlinks from launch

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Blogging for Business - AhrefsBlogging for Business - Ahrefs