Best way to approach a contributor.

[TheSEOGuy1]

Hello, Let's say I have got contact details of a contributor of ABC.com and the domain authority of this domain is 83 and the website is very relevant to my website. What sort of words I need to use to approach the contributor? Last time I sent the following message to a contributor and never heard from him.

Hello John, My name is Blah blah, I have been reading some posts that you have written on ABC.com and was very impressed with your work. I was just wondering if you are able to write about our website on ABC.com and let me know what will be the cost of this project?

Is that not a good approach? If not, what you reckon is a good approach and please mention the words.

Thanks!

[CleverPhD]

I think of getting contributors like dating, you can't just reach out in an email and expect a lot of hits, you gotta woo them.   Get to know them.   My suggestions.

1. The phone.   If this person is that important, don't send them an email.  Talk to them on the phone.  If the DA is 83 and they are that important you may also consider ...

2. Food / beer.  Nothing beats a meeting in person.   Take them out to lunch.  If they are related to your website, try and connect with them at an industry conference.

3. Friends of this person.  The person you want may be just unapproachable.  I bet they have people like you sending emails like you just did all day long.  If they have a colleague, buddy up with them and get an introduction.  On one of my sites, we actually paid "Associate Editors" on a contract basis not to edit, but to help us connect with the top tier folks.

4. Do #RCS and eventually this person will notice you.  You may have to show off and then get thier friends to brag about you, but word will get around.

This is not always easy stuff, but eventually it all pays off!

Good luck!

[TheSEOGuy1]

CleverPhd, Thanks for the nice ideas! Really makes sense and worth trying. Any advice, at which point do we need to mention about price?

[AlanBleiweiss]

CleverPhD has great tips - and is 100% spot on with regard to establishing a connection first.  I have found its vital to first establish a trust basis - proving through action that I am a respectful human being.

For me it starts out with social media - following someone on Twitter, sharing their content when I genuinely find it valuable, engaging in dialogue politely and not in a forced "doing this for a future link" manner, being helpful...

If I can connect with them at a conference or meetup where we both have a valid reason to be at the same place in person separate from "going there to get a link from that person", it allows the POTENTIAL for in-person real world reinforcement of that genuine connection.

NOTE - I have had people do that with me but then when they heard I was going to be at such-and-such conference, invited me to dinner.  I played along out of respect, and it turned out they were just looking to suck my life-force, it wasn't as genuine as they led on to believe.

Don't be that person.

[CleverPhD]

See Alan's points.  The answer is, it depends. 

Ironically, when I think about it, Alan is a good example of the type of person you are wanting to connect with.  He talks at all the conferences and has a great client list.  He is one of "the top people" for website SEO audits.  He is an expert in the field with a great reputation.   I would like to make more professional connections / mentors in the SEO world, with folks such as Alan, how could I connect with him?

I do follow Alan on Twitter.  I even referred a client to him here in Dallas.  I went to PubCon this year and attended a site review where he reviewed my site and went up and thanked him for his input and also introduced myself as the person who gave him a referral.  Today, I end up answering a question on Moz that he chimes in on and I get to engage with him again. Funny how that works out.

My opportunity here is that I am learning a lot about SEO audits in the process and potentially make a professional networking connection (notice the order there).  Does Alan know who I am? heck no!  This whole post is probably even creeping him out a bit.   That said, it has opened up another opportunity for me to have another conversation that can help me be better at what I do in working in the SEO area.

Good luck!

PS - Alan happy to buy you a beer anytime and talk shop.  Promise I will not suck the life force out of you - HA!

[AlanBleiweiss]

LOL Paul - I don't know you as well as I hope to in the future, however you have already through the multiple interactions we've had, proven you're trustworthy, friendly and a good person by nature (your actions have spoken).

So yes, this is a great example of how to build a valid professional relationship.  Because even if you hadn't made that referral, the interactions themselves beyond that have been high quality and "trustworthy".  So I am already inclined to be of help should the situation arise.