Link Building Email Mistakes You Might Be Sending To Webmasters

“Here is how to get 100% email open rate with a 100% response rate for your link building outreach email” – said no one ever. That’s because it is getting more and more difficult to even have webmasters open your outreach emails.

Here’s the thing – sending link building outreach emails is not just about blasting out to thousands of webmasters with the hope of at least 10% of them awarding your hard work with a link. The game of link building is not just about the numbers. It is also about the individual webmaster you are trying to close a link for.

You might use up the majority of your time prospecting websites and crafting emails when you’re working on outreach campaigns. And although these take a lot of effort to do, they’re not always the key to winning over webmasters.

Here are some mistakes you’re probably making right now:

You’re Not Using a Professional Email Address

This seems like a very basic thing to consider, but many link builders fail to see the importance of using an email address that is trustworthy. It’s crucial to note that when you’re reaching out to webmasters, you’re representing a brand – be it a blog, an organization, a business, or even yourself. 

This is why you have to present yourself in the best way possible. One way to do this is by having a professional email address for your outreach campaign. Don’t forget to switch out of the email address from the [email protected] email address you’re using on gaming apps!

The best practice for doing email outreach campaigns for your brand is by using an official company email address. Alternatively, you can use a simple one that mentions your name if it’s not available for you. Just make sure that it’s accurate or else you’ll end up looking like a fraud.

Here’s an email one of my team members at SEO Hacker got from someone who wanted to guest post for this blog:

The email address is named “Muhammad S.” yet the person introduced his/herself as “Marina”. 

Wait, what?!

I scratched my eyes to try and clear it up but, yes that’s a Muhammad that turned into a Marina.

This is a small detail that largely impacts how webmasters see you and your credibility. Make sure that you have the appropriate and accurate name on your email so that you’re more likely to build solid partnerships with webmasters in return.

You’re Not Disclosing Your Affiliations

When you tap webmasters for the first time for a link building opportunity, it’s expected that you introduce yourself properly, and doing so shouldn’t be limited to stating your name. You have to let the webmasters know who you are, what you do, where you work, and which organization/s you’re affiliated with.

It can also help if you can share a bit of your experience in your industry and what you were able to accomplish. This might sound like a guide on writing a cover letter for a job application, but an email outreach campaign is actually quite similar to it in nature.

First, you have to let them know about you and then make them understand why they should work with you. This, again, adds a level of credibility to your email.

Here’s an email I received a few months back as an example: 

In the email above, he introduced himself, where he works, and what his role is in the company. He also gave a bit of background on the business which is pretty impressive, I might add. 

An email like this one is a good example of how to sell yourself and your brand. The link to their website, LinkedIn profile, and personalized email signature are all great addition. These are all ways for webmasters to know that you’re legit. 

For instance, if you’re someone who wants to guest post for a marketing-related blog, you have to lay down the information that would tell that you’re an expert in your industry. Otherwise, why would a webmaster let a stranger write something their loyal followers will read? 

You’re Not Addressing Webmasters by their First Name

This is what I find to be one of the most common link building email mistakes people make when reaching out to webmasters. I’ve been called “Hey”, “Dear”, and “Dude” way more than when I’m called by my first name. Considering I get a ton of link requests and content contribution requests daily, it gets a bit tiring to be the receiving end of these inconsiderate email blasts

Here’s another odd way someone addressed me in an email:

What can I say? Yep, I’m definitely not giving this bloke a link.

Addressing webmasters by their first name is a small gesture that shows that you did your assignment. That you researched the website and the people who run it. This isn’t even a hard task to manage if you’re reaching out to my blog. You can easily spot my name at the left-side corner of the blog page. 

When you don’t take the time to research thoroughly, it can also imply that you don’t fully understand the website and the content it needs to improve. This also means that you won’t be able to really add value to it which negates the point of forming a good partnership.

You’re Not Using a Creative Subject Line

When it comes to link outreach, you’d want to go for websites with good traffic and readership. Obviously, you won’t be the only one gunning for a backlink from these websites. There would be hundreds, if not thousands, of people reaching out for the same purpose. This makes the task of link outreach extremely competitive. 

When webmasters get dozens of outreach emails on a daily basis, there’s a huge likelihood that they won’t be able to read every single one of them. So, what do you need to do about this? The only option you have is to stand out. You can do this by making your subject line compelling enough to be noticed and clicked.

Webmasters are busy people so you have to be able to get your point across with just a few words. If you think that it’s too long, you’re probably right. So review and re-edit your email content until you are confident that a busy person would read it and understand it within 1 minute.

Oh, and don’t try to make your subject too clickbait-y, or else it’s just going to be misleading.

Here’s a subject line that blew my mind:

Aside from the fact that this person’s profile photo is of a South Korean celebrity, it also addresses two other mistakes: the name is obviously bogus and the subject line is out of this world.

Emails with subject lines like this go straight to my spam folder. I wonder how many people actually give these kinds of emails a link though? Probably zero.

Key Takeaway 

Outreach emails are still one of the best ways to get an in-content link. My team and I have sent many outreach emails to webmasters and have experienced phenomenal success over the years.

The success we have experienced is achieved by us taking the time to study each webmaster and how they communicate and craft the email with a lot of thought and care.

The quality of the emails being sent to webmasters can be affected by the simple things you probably don’t even think about. This could easily be the reason why you get frustrated thinking of what more you can do to make successful outreach campaigns. 

Next time you are about to hit that Send button, try to take a second look – not at the content but at how you package your message to the webmasters. Do you look and sound credible, trustworthy, and knowledgeable? If your answer is yes to all three, then you might just get your hard-earned link.

Have any link building outreach email tips you want to share? Comment down below and see what others think of them!