Linkbaiting part 2, Linkbait Hooks and Strategies
Linkbait Hooks
Linkbait hooks are different types of baits with which you can attract links. The baits include: news, humor, resource, list, etc. Look at it this way: sitting on the lake with a fishing rod you can select different baits like worms, lures, spinners, etc. You have a similar selection when it comes to “link fishing”.
· News Hook – being number one to break fresh industry news, with expert commentary on the topic. Example: search engine land.
· Humor – laughter is social glue. People love to laugh and if you can make them laugh they’ll love you for it.
· Research – offer your own research in areas with little study.
· Content - “If you think you’re giving away too much information, you’re on the right track.”- copyblogger.
· Story Hook – stories are one of the most effective selling tools. Browse clickbank sales letters and you’ll notice extreme number of sales letter with some story spin. Stories let you present a problem and solution to the problem in a way that readers can relate to.
· Free Stuff – Give away goodies like free templates, tools, books, pdfs, etc. Free is a powerful word, as I used to work in sales and we were not allowed to say the word free, but use “no cost” instead. FREE can help you attract links online.
· Lists and 101s – offer people high quality lists of best content on a specific topic and they will bookmark it for easy reference. Example: Online Copywriting 101: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet
Come up with your own link bait hooks. Sometimes the biggest fish is caught with the bait that no one tried before.
Linkbaiting Strategies
Releasing successful linkbaits can be real tough with no name, reputation and brand. A newcomer is usually met with distrust and caution so it will take time before you linkbaits reach largest network effects. To establish a reputation for yourself, first find a hole to fill in your industry that you have knowledge about and that no one else has filled in yet. Going up against well established players is tough and does not bring the same yield as unsaturated niches. If the field you’re in crowded and there’s little room, try shooting for specific topics, for example “link building blog” (like wiep.net) or “all about keyword research website” or “apple and blueberry pies blog” etc.
Once you have an unsaturated hole to fill in, start developing authoritative content. Remember, there’s still no reputation so your first linkbait will need to be extraordinary. It must overload and overdiliver in order to render brand name irrelevant. In fact first pieces usually help shape the brand, thus those pieces must overwhelm readers with quality. After delivering few linkbaits of this nature, bloggers and readers will wire unconscious associations of your brand with the quality of your linkbaits and perceiving you as a reputable source of information on the topic.
Continue delivering information of highest quality and you will be able to get away with lower quality articles later on. For instance, browse Sphinn.com for headlines and read several article. You will that see many articles with high number of votes do not deserve those votes. What’s going on? The answer is – someone had established himself / herself as an authority in the past and now enjoys respect of opinion and network effects of other bloggers even for mediocre content. The secret is – they have gained their name.
Some more link baiting tips:
· Linking to other websites – be careful as your reputation is at stake each time you link out. Paid reviews and paid links can hurt reputation, so be careful. Readers trust your reputation to find quality information and plain ugly sale pitches lower it.
· Offer private information, insider techniques, legal insight, leaked documents etc.. Controvercy and word from a person on the “inside” always gets attention.
· Link to people who link to you. Bloggers check their trackbacks to learn what others say about them, thus you can attract attention by mentioning their names.
· Participate in topic discussions on blogs and forums. Offer detailed opinions as opposed to “cool post” comments. If you can make other person defend / change their views in a factual manner they will remember you. You can also make friends this way and having online friends help you spread you linkbaits to wider networks, and get more incoming links as a result.
· Take advantage of YouTube, Metacafe, Delicious and other mediums that help to spread your word. I uploaded a video resume on you tube without any intention to spread it and it has received around 50 views in few weeks. Pretty low, but it shows that if I had a helpful video there some people would spot it.
Once your linkbaits pass the “prime” you can include anchor rich text links to your other pages to pass link power. You can also blend in commercial offers, but be careful.
Good luck.