Blogger Outreach Strategies (and If They Really Work)

Comprehensive guide to blogger outreach strategies that actually work. Learn from industry experts with real examples, case studies, and proven tactics for 2025.

Blogger outreach has been the talk of the town for years.

So many strategies have been shared and then reshared from every angle imaginable, illustrated with real-life examples, backed up by case studies, eased with templates, sped up with email automation tools…

Today, when everything should be crystal clear, I'm still confused about some tactics suggested here and there. They either go against my logic or hold back some important details, making the whole point a bit vague.

Or maybe I should just retake an IQ test, lol.

But am I the only one? Once in a while, I run into criticism of outreach emails. People post screenshots of erm… not so good unsolicited pitches or follow-ups to them. And then, as if on cue, their followers show up, and group shaming starts.

You've probably seen it all too.

To figure things out, I surveyed people about the major controversies happening at every stage of outreach.

After reading this post, you'll have more reasons to use some strategies and ditch others commonly known as "effective."

1. Blogger outreach status of today

Is blogger outreach live, dead, or erm… living dead?

Gurus say you'll succeed in blogger outreach using their tried and tested strategies. Just like they did years ago, and look where they're now.

Their teachings inspire and help (no sarcasm here), but…

I wonder why response rates are so low.

The Numbers Don't Lie: Studies show that less than 10% of recipients usually reply back. And response rates aren't even success rates – some people actually say no. Why is it so?

Opinion from Nela Dunato

Brand Strategist, Designer, and Writer at NelaDunato.com.

Connect with Nela on Twitter & LinkedIn.

Nela says:

I've been a blogger for many years, and I get dozens of outreach emails every month. They're all focused on link building and ask me to link to their product, article, infographic, or services. Those folks don't even look up who I am and what I do. I've had several companies, including someone working for UpWork, ask that I link to their logo design services from my blog. I am a logo designer. I wouldn't advertise competitors even if they paid me to, that's just dumb. They don't even check who they're messaging. Their offers to share one of my posts on their social media in exchange for a link? Despite supposedly having 10+ thousand followers, their posts get less than 5 likes on average and zero comments. This means their followers are bots, not real people. Some value exchange they're offering. I know what they want, and I know why they want it. And because I know how valuable links from reputable domains are, I find outreach requests just laughable.

My two cents. When link requests come daily, there's no need to be a genius to smell a rat.

Even if a blogger doesn't know much about link building, it's quite obvious that you're not the good Samaritan who only wants to educate their readers with additional info.

Since links help with search rankings, giving you one is basically equal to providing a mini SEO service. And who's gonna do it just for a "thank you" note?

Who are false prophets of outreach (and how do they affect your work)?

I still wonder if things look any different on the other side of the outreach funnel. I'm referring to people who provide outreach services professionally.

Opinion from Tom Pick

B2B Digital Marketing Consultant at Webbiquity LLC.

Connect with Tom on Twitter & LinkedIn.

Tom says:

I get deluged with crappy outreach daily. People who clearly have never looked at my blog, don't use my name, they are just doing high-volume mass outreach, hoping they can get crap copy published that has zero value to anyone, except it links back to their site. And worse, they advertise this as a "service" to brands. I do personalized, carefully researched outreach on behalf of my clients, and I'm offended by offshore spammers whose actions cheapen my profession.

My two cents. Even outreach specialists admit that the playing field is shaky these days.

And mass, hit-or-miss outreach makes things worse for all players, not only spammers. The tension on the field definitely needs some de-escalation.

2. Targeted outreach: when topic relevance is not enough

Are you too late to the party with your pitch?

Gurus say you should target pages of topical relevance only.

Especially since there's no shortage of ways to find articles where your link could fit in. From Google search operators to SEO tools, you'll probably end up with a lot of targets on your list.

Unless you're in some narrow field, of course.

I wonder if it makes sense to treat all the relevant pages as our targets. I mean, every single one of them?

From 2014 to 2017, I used to publish compilations of website templates for basically any business out there. Today, I can hardly remember what I wrote back then, let alone the external pages I linked to.

And I don't really care.

How willing are bloggers to add new links to posts from their good old days? Is there a time frame to stay within when targeting relevant pages?

Opinion from Richard Kennedy

Marketing Director at Arken Digital (SEO agency helping eCommerce businesses improve their rankings).

Connect with Richard on Twitter & LinkedIn.

Richard says:

Over time, we've noticed that people are usually quite unwilling to edit posts that are over a year in most typical markets, something like fashion for example. You're asking somebody to change something that really, they completely forgot they'd even written, so why would they care? But it depends on the market. We've worked with a client in the building trade, where regulations have changed, and it makes perfect sense for someone to update an old post that is essentially incorrect. For markets like that, we will reach out regardless of how long ago the post was made. It's hard to give a definitive answer. We try to keep it recent, but if the page we are targeting is ranking for its own terms and could potentially send us traffic, it doesn't matter how long ago it was posted. If it has been updated within the last 18-12 months, that's a good sign.

My two cents. Even when I was gathering opinions for this post, some people said they'd changed their minds over the years. What they preached back in 2017 wasn't something they'd recommend today.

Here's one more.

To act on time rather than rake over the ashes, you can use tools like Ahrefs Alerts. Each time a new post on your target topic gets published, you'll receive an email notification.

How to grow your domain authority from zero (and feel wanted in outreach)?

Gurus say you should target blogs that have some authority.

As a rule, the minimum threshold of domain authority to set is around 30 DR (by Ahrefs) or DA (by Moz). I guess it can work if you have a site with DR 30+ yourself.

I wonder what to do if you don't. What if you're a startupper with a brand new domain that's at the bottom of the DR hierarchy?

Bloggers you're gonna contact will probably follow the same logic – respond to people behind sites with DR 30+, as they are of "sufficient quality" to link to.

What should link builders do in their early days?

Opinion from Martin Benes

Individual SEO Specialist and Online Marketer at Benes.me.

Connect with Martin on Twitter & LinkedIn.

Martin says:

If I were starting a business from scratch and were standing before the decision of which domains to pursue for links, I would first check competitors' backlink profiles. If they had no DA 30+ sites in their profile, then it might take DA 20-30 to beat them in SERPs. Also, it would probably save some budget and end up in better ROI. However, I would still target the highest DA first (maybe DA 25 in this case), as the impact would be probably the biggest. Let's say, on the other hand, that I have zero link-building budget, and the competitors have all DA 30+ backlinks. Then (speaking only about active link-building efforts), I do not think it might be worth investing the time in DA 0-10 sites to have low-value and potentially hurtful links. Maybe it would be worth building some brand awareness first (for example, via PPC or social media) to naturally attract high-quality links afterward. The only instance where I would still aim for DA 0-10 links would be if my site has not yet been discovered and indexed by Google. As for DA 10-20 domains, I think they are still useful when the content is very relevant to your niche. In the end, DA is just a metric developed by third-party tools, such as MOZ or Ahrefs, and their algorithms can always change. In general, I would always check DA in connection to other metrics and decide accordingly. For example, if the site is highly relevant, then I would allow a wider range for the DA. If the site is a generic news site with DA 30+, I would still go for it even though the connection to the niche is insignificant.

Curious to know if Martin is OK with linking to 0-30 DR/DA domains? There you are.

If I were a recipient, DR/DA would also influence my decision. In general, it would depend on a few factors and, as a site that provides backlinks, I would need to see a business value in linking back to the pitch sender. First of all, the decision would be dependent on the topic relevance. For example, if I had a blog about dogs, I would be more likely to link to a pet shop. Then, the DA would not need to be exceptionally high to make me want to link back. Let's assume my site has DA 30+ and I get contacted by a DA 10+ site. Let's also assume that the main topic of both sites is similar. In this case, I will be happy to link back, as I might also benefit from the connection in Google's eyes. Also, I might be willing to negotiate about the deal in terms of the budget or other ways to support my linking site. On the other hand, let's assume that the pitch sender has a site DA 0-10. In that case, I would be asking for a premium value back, as I am risking being connected with a low-value site and potentially hurting my search performance. I would still consider linking back, however the budget would need to be agreed on accordingly. It would also depend on the overall strategy. If I had a full-scale private blog network, I might be willing to take more risks, as I could always adjust the link juice flow and potentially start new blogs. If I had only one main site that I operate, I would be much more careful with linking back to low-value domains, as my business is dependent on having a stable organic performance. But in general, I would suggest checking the pitch sender in more detail instead of following the Domain Authority only. It can be determined only after a detailed analysis whether the site is a genuine startup that wants to build a long-term value or a scam site with an unlimited budget that only aims for short-term gains. I would always suggest linking back only to the former example 🙂

My two cents. To decide whether to link to sites with a low DR, I personally check how Google treats them.

There's no way they'd rank for popular keywords and drive a lot of traffic, I totally understand that. Still, I expect to see them ranking for at least a few keywords with a low search volume (around 10-30). That's when I feel relieved.

Google wouldn't rank a spammy site on the first page, would it?

To prove your site with a low DR isn't spammy, try to get it ranking for some unpopular keywords first.

3. Pre-outreach stage: actions to take before sending a pitch

To warm up, or to go cold? That is the question.

Gurus say you should warm up your prospects before hitting their inboxes. For example, you can engage with them on social media by liking or sharing their latest posts.

The logic is quite simple here – people are more responsive to someone they can recognize.

I wonder if bloggers don't understand what this prelude is all about.

When I just started out, there was a guy who shared a few posts I published and later suggested his link to "improve" one of them. I was young, naive, and absolutely flattered by someone's attention. Long story short, I added his link and never heard from him again 🙂

Now I know he pretended to like my write-ups to warm me up. It worked with me because I didn't know much about link building. But do seasoned bloggers buy it too?

Opinion from Alex Birkett

Product Growth Expert at AlexBirkett.com and Co-founder of Omniscient Digital (digital content marketing firm that helps with inbound customer acquisition).

Connect with Alex on Twitter & LinkedIn.

Alex says:

So, the reason people try to "warm you up" before asking for something that benefits them is that friends are more likely to do each other favors than strangers. I give links to my friends quite often. The problem is, artificially creating the perception of friendship has the reverse effect. Leaving aside any moral quandaries I may have with using humans like chess pieces in the pursuit of a backlink, it's also just ineffective. Layer one, if I don't know what someone wants after the first email, it's a waste of both of our time (thus, my advice to stop beating around the bush). Layer two, if I sense I'm being "tricked" through clever flattery or tactics, I'm likely to be annoyed rather than charmed. People are smart, and most can see through the gimmicks. You can still compliment someone's work or whatever, but if you're asking for a backlink, just put your request on the table and don't act like a weirdo.

My two cents. If you decide to warm someone up with likes or shares, you can't just stop once you get a link. It'll make your true intentions way too obvious.

Don't forget that removing a link takes the same few seconds as adding it.

Should you bother building connections before outreach?

I still wonder why so many gurus advocate warming up if it smells a bit fake.

If it's not about imitating an interest in someone's work, what is it about then? Is there a right form of warming up?

Opinion from Amy Copadis

Content Specialist at Close (inside sales automation CRM) and Freelance Blogger & Marketer at AmyCopadis.com.

Connect with Amy on Twitter & LinkedIn.

Amy says:

Personally, I believe that now there's more to warming up on social than resharing or liking someone's posts. It's about building your network, making business connections. People are on LinkedIn to learn and to connect, and if you're there interacting with people and developing a network of connections who recognize your name, you will naturally be warming people up for direct outreach. When the focus is on building relationships with relevant people in your industry, this works. If you're doing it simply for the sake of later asking for a backlink, it will come off as spammy. And in my experience, having valuable relationships is always worth the time.

My two cents. After interacting with your prospects, you can't act as if you did them a big favor, and now they owe you.

They never asked you for anything.

You did it of your own free will and can't even know if they truly appreciate your overtures. Be ready that the time you'll invest in warming up won't pay off with every single prospect.

4. Email personalization: a few corners to slow down at

Outreach déjà vu: how do recipients recognize templated emails?

Gurus say people can recognize templated emails in the blink of an eye. Especially if their mailboxes have been a longtime destination for mass outreach.

Template Recognition Signals: Even with a bit of personalization, mass outreach still gives itself away through formatting issues, different fonts in custom fields, spacing problems, and reused paragraphs that flow around the community.

Where's the fine line between email personalization and cyberstalking?

💬 Opinion from Kit Smith

Digital Content Manager at SoPro

"Whether you mention something personal can be a little complicated, and depend on who you are talking to. If someone is a lifestyle influencer, then the boundary of their online persona and personal life is a little blurred. On the other hand, if you are a food critic, painter, or content marketer, then you might be a little disturbed if someone mentions something personal. Basically, if it's a detail that they've shared publicly, and it's something that was upfront (not something you've had to go back 3 years and zoom into a photo for), I think it's fair enough to mention it."

How to inflate your social proof for the sake of outreach?

Gurus say you should use social proof in your pitch to look credible.

If this is a guest posting campaign, send URLs of your previous publications on popular blogs. Seeing that other authority resources acknowledged your writing, editors will have more enthusiasm to check it out too.

💬 Opinion from Adam Enfroy

Founder of AdamEnfroy.com

"If you're looking for a sponsored guest post, try to find a site like HackerNoon. They are a blog, but almost more of a news site. You can pay somewhere between $100 to $200 per article, and they have a high Domain Rating. It's actually all about the value to the site. Links are a value exchange – you can't ask for a link or a guest post without offering something of value in return. It just doesn't make sense."

6. Content outreach: stories that have two sides

Can the addition of YOUR link improve the value of THEIR entire post?

💬 Opinion from Tim Soulo

CMO at Ahrefs and Founder of BloggerJet

"I'm not proactively building links these days, but from my experience, it is INSANELY hard to add your link to someone's existing article. Especially if that article has been published a long time ago. And if you want someone to add your link to their existing page, you shouldn't be thinking about them 'adding a link.' You should be thinking about them using something from your page on their page to make it better: • an original idea; • a striking statistic; • an experiment, case study, proof of something; • a good-looking image or illustration, etc. And if they DO use something from your page to make their own page better, they will HAVE to give you credit via linking to your page."

7. Blogger outreach values: content is not the only king

What can you offer besides "great content"?

Alternative Value Propositions

Reciprocal links from your other high-quality guest posts
Social media promotion to your genuine audience
Custom graphics/infographics tailored to their brand
Free access to premium tools or resources
Expert interviews with industry leaders in your network
Exclusive data from your proprietary research
Technical assistance or consultation in your expertise area

8. Outreach request: how not to mess up at the defining moment

The art of the ask: timing and presentation

The moment of truth in any outreach campaign is when you make your actual request. This is where many campaigns succeed or fail based on how you present your ask.

Best Practices for Making Requests

Be specific about what you're asking for
Explain the mutual benefit clearly
Provide all necessary materials upfront
Give them an easy way to say yes or no
Set realistic expectations for timeline
Show appreciation for their time regardless of outcome

9. Creative outreach: using someone's inbox as a channel for your ingenuity

Standing out in crowded inboxes

With bloggers receiving dozens of outreach emails daily, creativity becomes essential. But there's a fine line between memorable and gimmicky.

Creative Outreach Ideas That Work

Interactive Content: Send a personalized video message or interactive demo
Seasonal Relevance: Tie your pitch to current events or trending topics
Problem-Solution Format: Identify a specific issue on their site and offer a solution
Collaborative Proposals: Suggest joint content creation or cross-promotion
Exclusive Previews: Offer first access to your upcoming research or tools

10. Outreach problems: what you can sort out yourself

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Top Outreach Mistakes

Generic mass emails with obvious template structure
Poor timing - sending during holidays or busy periods
Broken links in your pitch or portfolio
Spelling/grammar errors that undermine credibility
Wrong contact person or outdated information
Unrealistic expectations or pushy follow-ups
No clear value proposition for the recipient

11. Following up: your second chance with prospects

The follow-up strategy that doesn't annoy

Follow-ups can significantly improve your response rates, but they must be executed thoughtfully to avoid becoming spam.

Effective Follow-up Framework

First follow-up (1 week later): Gentle reminder with additional value
Second follow-up (2 weeks later): Different angle or updated information
Third follow-up (1 month later): Final attempt with "closing the loop" message
Always include: Easy opt-out option and respect their decision

12. Outreach finale: how to nurture relationships with bloggers the morning after

Building long-term relationships beyond single campaigns

The most successful outreach professionals understand that each campaign is just the beginning of a potential long-term relationship.

Relationship Nurturing Strategies

Express genuine gratitude: Send thank you notes and acknowledge their help
Share their content: Regularly promote their work to your audience
Provide ongoing value: Send relevant resources, introductions, or opportunities
Stay connected: Engage with their social media and comment on new posts
Offer reciprocity: Look for ways to help them achieve their goals
Maintain professionalism: Be reliable, responsive, and respectful in all interactions

Wrap-up

Blogger outreach remains a powerful strategy for building authority, driving traffic, and improving search rankings. However, the landscape has evolved significantly, and what worked five years ago may not be effective today.

Key Takeaways for Modern Outreach

Quality over quantity - focus on building genuine relationships
Provide real value beyond just "great content"
Respect recipients' time and expertise
Be transparent about your intentions
Invest in long-term relationship building
Continuously adapt your strategies based on results

The most successful outreach campaigns today are built on authenticity, mutual benefit, and genuine human connections. While tactics and tools will continue to evolve, these fundamental principles will remain the foundation of effective blogger outreach.

Remember: every email you send represents your brand and your values. Make sure both are something you'd be proud to put your name on.