If you want to expand your influence online, whether it’s to promote your business, get domain authority, broaden your blog audience or something else, you’re going to have to work with other people. One of the most efficient ways of doing this is to reach out to other bloggers who have already built up a community of followers. But actually getting them to do what you want them to can be tricky.

As with anything in life and business, it’s all about first impressions. And so your initial communication with a blogger is important. But how do you write effective blogger outreach emails? It’s not as straightforward as you think.

Don’t Use Template Emails

Finding out how to get a guest post published can be a real challenge. There are dozens of sites out there purporting to know exactly what approach to take. But it’s worthwhile being wary of anybody offering you a “template” solution to blogger outreach. While it’s important to be polite and considerate in your initial communication, it’s also important to appear authentic. Bloggers, however, are used to receiving emails, sometimes on a daily basis, from people requesting the use of their sites for guest posts and other reasons. If the email appears generic, the blogger won’t accept your sincerity, and you may find yourself struggling with uptake.

Be Specific

When approaching bloggers, try to be specific to their blog, rather than just sending out as many emails as possible and hoping that something sticks. Being specific means more than just their name in the email. Spend some time talking about how your work coincides, why what they’re saying is important, and why you can contribute to their existing body of articles.

Another common tactic is to reference something from the blogger’s social media account that shows that you’ve selected them specifically. Discussing their social media antics is a great way to increase the chances of getting a response. Flattery works even better.

Help The Blogger Out First

The principle of reciprocity is hardwired into human beings. When you help somebody out, it’s only natural for them to want to return the favor. And since bloggers are people too, the principle of reciprocity applies to blogger outreach too.

Helping a blogger isn’t always easy, of course, but it can be done. One way you can do it is give them exclusive rights to review your product. You could also send them guest articles for free – no strings attached – that get their users buzzing. If you scratch their back, they might just scratch yours.

Talk About Your Needs

Blogger outreach is a tricky business. You don’t want to appear too demanding in your first email, but at the same time, you don’t want to leave them in any doubt about what it is that you actually want.

When reaching out to bloggers, include a call-to-action: something they can do to further their relationship with you immediately. For instance, if you’ve posted guest posts before, send them a link to how they’ve performed and show them that you can do the same for them too. Don’t leave them in any doubt of your intentions.