- \n
- What do I mean by digital PR?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Digital PR outreach tips<\/a><\/strong>\n
- \n
- Have some value to justify your cold email<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Talk like a human<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Automate what you can, but not at the expense of quality<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Cut to the chase<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Respect your recipient<\/a> <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- When in doubt, stand out<\/a> <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Follow up appropriately for the context<\/a> <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Measure to the extent that it\u2019s useful to do so<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nWhat do I mean by digital PR?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Quick, let\u2019s get on the same page. When I say digital PR<\/a>, I mean getting brand placements and backlinks on high-value websites<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether you want a story in Entrepreneur or a backlink from a SaaS company blog, I put all of that under digital PR. Any time you\u2019re reaching out to an editor to influence some part of their story or the links or resources they mention digitally, that\u2019s digital PR. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That out of the way, let\u2019s get into some tips and principles!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Digital PR outreach tips <\/h2>\n\n\n\nWhile there are a variety of blog posts with ready-made digital PR templates<\/a>, and they can certainly help get the ball rolling, I highly recommend approaching it from a principles-first perspective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I'll cover tips and baseline strategies here that you can use to craft your own creative email pitches<\/a>. Putting your own spin and personality in your PR outreach<\/a> will be much more effective than cutting and pasting someone else\u2019s template.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Have some value to justify your cold email<\/h2>\n\n\n\nYour first question before sending an email to anyone should be: Is this worth sending?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, depending on how ethical you are or how self-critical you are, that may be a high bar to pass. At the very least, then, you must answer the perennially useful marketing question: What\u2019s in it for me?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Especially in a cold email, begging isn\u2019t a strategy. Asking someone to give you free advice or feedback isn\u2019t valuable either. What do *you* and your email bring to the table? What can you offer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s the truth, however: value is subjective. That\u2019s partially why cold email templates tend not to be effective; they apply blanket values at scale when each and every recipient may be looking for something unique. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So,<\/strong> the real cold email pros end up spending the vast majority of their time researching their prospects <\/strong>and then the remaining time writing the emails. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, our agency has been experimenting with outbound sales, and we\u2019ve found a high response rate when we do a preliminary content gap analysis for our prospects. We type their domain into an SEO tool like Semrush, compare their site to competitors, find a few dozen keyword opportunities, and offer this up as both proof of our expertise and as a valuable document even if we never work together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Value in your case could be anything - reciprocity, a good story, or even just a friendly ask from a genuine person. It could be as easy as buying someone lunch (I took the lunch meeting, by the way):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Finding and aligning the value you offer to your recipient is the hardest but most important part of cold outreach for digital PR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Talk like a human<\/h2>\n\n\n\nWhen you do send an email, make sure you sound like you\u2019ve actually written the thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the risk of making this article a giant rant against templates, it\u2019s just incredibly obvious when someone sends a stock cold email.<\/strong> It\u2019s not only ineffective, but it\u2019s incredibly annoying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The above email, for example, was sent not once but twice with the same text. It also, notably, asks me to add a backlink to an article that I didn\u2019t write. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Side note: your number two prerogative (outside of asking \u201cwhat\u2019s in it for me?\u201d) should be eliminating obvious errors. Via negative principle: you get more value from removing the bad parts than by any addition of brilliant persuasion.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
That example is a fairly obvious example of a bad stock template, but there are others that aren\u2019t so egregious. Still, they feel stale when you read them. You know the person doesn\u2019t know you or care about what you\u2019re working on. It feels\u2026 cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, you can still use \"templated\" components, but you should make it as personalized as possible<\/strong>. Focus on the small details, such as the cold email closing<\/a> and opening, to make it look like you put a lot of effort into your mail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s a great example of a sales email I got recently: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
This is one of the best sales emails I\u2019ve received, I think. It\u2019s studded with interesting copy that sounds like it was written by a human, but it\u2019s also basically pulling all of these references from a blog post on my personal site about travel tips. I also love post-impressionism and Van Gogh, so that PS hit me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I, however, don\u2019t work on account-based marketing, so the only thing they could have done better was research more and find the correct contact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One might also note that small exhibitions of empathy, gratitude, and friendliness go a long way. Send a thank you<\/a> when you achieve your desired goal with cold outreach (whether that\u2019s a link or a story placement or whatever).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Automate what you can, but not at the expense of quality<\/h2>\n\n\n\nAutomation: As a marketer, I love it. And nowadays, there\u2019s an absolute abundance of outreach tools<\/a> to help automate pretty much any aspect of the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a human and recipient of outreach, however, I\u2019m ambivalent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When done well, it should be invisible. You shouldn\u2019t be able to tell that someone is automatically triggering emails<\/a> or sending them on a schedule. It should all feel natural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s what you can automate with PR tools like Prowly<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Finding email addresses<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The actual sending of the emails <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Measurement and reporting<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Follow up (or set reminders<\/strong> to do so)<\/strong> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"Prowly's](\"https:\/\/prowly.com\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Prowly-PR-Software-Media-Database.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nTRY PROWLY FOR FREE<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Apart from that, you should write your own emails and know something about the person you\u2019re reaching out to. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAutomation can and should eliminate boring tasks, but it shouldn\u2019t come at the cost of reducing the effectiveness of your digital PR campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Cut to the chase<\/h2>\n\n\n\nTime and love are the only resources that matter, but time is finite. Respect people\u2019s time. That means a few things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, don\u2019t beat around the bush and try to cleverly or coyly get what you want.<\/strong> If you have a request, just spit it out. If you work in digital PR & marketing, you get requests all the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those who cut to the chase also cut through the noise.<\/strong> If your request is valuable (see point #1) it will warrant a response. If not, whatever - just send an email to the next person on your list. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Second, brevity is your friend. <\/strong>A couple of sentences will suffice. Don\u2019t write a book (and for the love of all things holy, don\u2019t attach like five documents on the email).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, don\u2019t waste time asking the recipient if you can ask for a favor. Just ask for the favor. This is all simpler than we\u2019ve made it out to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve started many long-term relationships from simple emails that offer a guest post. Sometimes I include a link to past articles, but sometimes I just pitch the post:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
That particular guest post pitch got me a nice link to one of my new projects, a content site about kava tea<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Respect your recipient<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBrevity in mind, that doesn\u2019t mean you should just reach out with an ambiguous two-word message - \u201clink, please?\u201d - and then run away. It also doesn\u2019t mean you should try to wrap your request in any sort of persuasive obfuscation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Give value, be clear, and respect your recipient\u2019s intelligence. Persuasion tactics and games tend to be short-lived at best and, more likely, completely ineffective from the start. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s an example of an outreach email I used to send when building links for Service Hub at HubSpot:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Nothing special, I get it. But also, it was quite effective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This may have been partially because the HubSpot brand name is well known. But it\u2019s also quite apparent that I\u2019m asking for a link, and I\u2019m also offering undeniable value in the form of a guest post offer (these were writers we were reaching out to after all). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In your guest posting outreach strategy, providing value first is one of the most important tactics you should employ.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The opposite of the above email would be one of those super cheeky emails written with chatty copy where, after reading 400 words, you still don\u2019t know what they\u2019re asking for. Sometimes they ask for \u201cfeedback on their article,\u201d and don\u2019t even include the link. This is not cool, because it\u2019s hiding the real request: they want a link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All I\u2019m saying is you shouldn\u2019t think that your recipient lacks the intelligence to see through your ruse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. When in doubt, stand out<\/h2>\n\n\n\nMy friend David Kemmerer wrote an excellent article<\/a> on how he got his startup<\/a> featured in Entrepreneur. He learned that there are agencies who basically have relationships with contributors at all of these \u2018trustworthy\u2019 sites like Forbes, Entrepreneur, etc. These contributors take cold hard cash from these agencies, who charge big bucks to brands for the arbitrage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scumminess of these free lunch publications aside<\/a>, David thought, \u201cwhy not just go straight to the source?\u201d He wrote this email:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a long email, but it worked. He got a response and a placement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You learn the rules so you can break them. When in doubt, come up with a creative strategy and try it out. Nothing to lose! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
7. Follow up appropriately for the situation<\/h2>\n\n\n\nFollow-up is clearly important with cold email outreach. I actually enjoy it when someone sends me a respectful nudge to make a decision, provided that the value is there, and it\u2019s an offer I might be interested in. We all have too many emails in our inboxes, and things can get lost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- The actual sending of the emails <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Talk like a human<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Digital PR outreach tips<\/a><\/strong>\n
![\"Following](\"https:\/\/prowly.com\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Prowly-PR-Software-Follow-up-1024x536.png\")
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/rHNzPaOmRj9y6nsHHOs8jWTAbiusntGQQJn3P5lr8UQhg1vX_usa0v0w4btWO9EzKzQ7-HqwLcykgHvNz1oExZvnx2ykmuh0o-afqi50IK0pXbTOOZrK1UdNw04OllgGSgnbTLo3\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Email](\"https:\/\/prowly.com\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Open-Click-rates-edited-981x1024.png\")