Referral-Marketing-Coaching

How to Create a Great List Using Social Media. Step by Step Viral Referral Course Tip #5

(Check Back Daily To Get Our Step By Step Tips and Actionable Items)
No matter what industry you’re in, there are bloggers, website owners, and twitter users that all talk about the subject or similar subjects to what you are talking about. For example when you are inside the food industry [recipes], there are thousands of food blogs, Same with websites, there will be millions of pet related websites and a huge number of Twitter users who like tweeting about their recipe’s.

It will take a while to develop a comprehensive list, but it is worth it. Here is how I recommend you build your list:

Your list ought to contain at the least 200 blogs, 200 websites, and 200 twitter users.

_____ Make a list of the top 200 blogs – It’s Easy – Just Google: “[Your Subject] Blogs” 

Put these in a spreadsheet: Name of Author > Blog Address > Email Address (If you don’t have time, hire someone to do this for you – I recommend Odesk.com).

In the next steps you are going to contact these people but stay away from people who sell products on their sites. For example it will be much harder to get a Store or to hyperlink to you than a blogger who is active.

_____Make a list of the top 200 Twitter users.

Add these to your spreadsheet: Name of Author > Blog Address > Email Address

(Make sure twitter users are active by checking the date of their last post)

Make sure you only list Twitter users who are active. Check if a website hasn’t been updated in over a year or a Twitter user hasn’t tweeted in the last week, don’t bother adding them to your list.

It can take a while to create a good list, but through services like Freelancer.com you should be able to get it all done for under $100.

Whether you create your list or you hire someone on oDesk, make sure it contains their full name, website URL, name of their website, and email address.

If you can’t find their email, check them on other social networks – if they write a lot they should have Linkedin accounts, etc.

Now that you have a list of 200 blogs, you need to start emailing them to see if they will accept a guest post from you. Just use a standard email service and make your email as custom as possible using their name, etc.

Here is the template I tend to use:

_____Use this template for guest Blogging – send to all 200 Top Bloggers 

Subject: you should blog about [insert your guest blog post topic]

[insert their first name], as an avid reader of [insert their site name] I would love to read about [insert guest blog post topic]… and I think your other readers would as well.

Your content on [insert existing post from their website #1, insert existing post from their website #2, and insert existing post from their website #3] are great, but I think you can tie it all together by blogging on [insert guest blog post topic].

I know you are probably busy and won’t blog on it – so I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse.   How about I write it for you? Don’t worry, I’m a great blogger and have written posts such as [insert blog post post URL #1] and [insert blog post URL #2].

Let me know if you are interested, I already know your blogging style, plus I understand what your readers love… as I am one.

Look forward to hearing from you,

[insert your name]

_____ Hit up great sites with .org, .edu or .gov status and high page rank sites.

Guest posting will drive traffic back to your blog and help you gain readers. You just have to make sure you link back to your blog in your author byline or within the blog post when it makes sense.

_____ Link out to other bloggers from your own site.

Hopefully by now you’ve written at least 2 or 3 guest posts, which would mean you should have some new readers. So when you write new blog posts it should gain some traction, hopefully a few tweets and Facebook shares.

_____Using the list that you created in the earlier steps – create a list of people to contact – by any means possible get their Email – Phone or Address (Preferably all three).             

The bigger the list, the better.
Of course, it must be relevant names to your business and contacts. This is where you should be looking to build a large, ever-growing email list, and so continue to build that list as the years go on. Note: Be sure that all emails sent have the option at the bottom to stop receiving your emails.
 
_____ Add all current and past clients to your email list. Go through all records, billing statements, receipts, emails, business cards, etc. Unless they are dead or ill-willed, add all names and emails to your list.
_____ Now add all vendors, past and present. They want you to succeed as they have a vested interest in you staying in business and being profitable.
_____ Add any followers from your social media sites (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook.); import their email data over to your email list.
_____Add anyone that has ever inquired about your services, but has yet to do business with you.
_____Website visitors. Add an opt-in box and/or a pop-up to your website to capture their identity. Offer something, such as a free consultation, white paper or subscription to a newsletter as an enticement for their email.
_____Add the emails of any members of any groups that you belong to, such as the the local chamber, Rotary, BNI etc.
_____Friends & Family. Yes, they should receive your emails as well. This is a great source of word-of-mouth. People who know you sometimes convert more than people who don’t.
_____Now start adding the emails of those that you meet at trade shows, community events, seminars, etc. Follow up and remind them that you exist. 
_____This is a never-ending list so keep updating and expanding it. 
Keep following our Viral Referral Marketing tips – by bookmarking and coming back to our site twice a week.
Best,
 
Charles John
World Class Media
We Increase ROI using Proprietary Software, Content,
Tracking & Weekly Consulting for Top Companies.