StomperBlog

Note: This is Part 2 of a series - click here to see Part 1.

So, last time we talked about how you need to rethink your linking strategy to focus on building real connections rather than just plastering links all over creation.

Here's a summary of how I think we can ethically and profitably build connections in our niches:

1. Identify "tribes" of people with common interests
that we want to target with our messaging.

2. Find the bloggers in those tribes who have
readership and influence, and who regularly write about
your niche topics.

3. Of those tribal blogs, identify the ones that will
also give you SEO benefit through linking (primarily,
blogs that don't add rel=nofollow to links in their
comments).

4. Comment on these bloggers' posts and REALLY
contribute and add value. Link not only to your own
resources on the subject, but help strengthen the tribe
itself by cross-linking these bloggers to each other.

That's it. By practicing this kind of linking, you not only get the SEO benefit of keyword-rich links in your comments, but you visibly serve a community of active web users.

You strengthen tribal communities in your niche by connecting people to information they really want, whether you're the source of that information or not.

On top of that, you will trigger really strong reciprocity and goodwill in the bloggers whose sites you contribute to regularly. You add value to THEIR sites with your comments, and you send THEM traffic by recommending their sites to other readers.

Pretty soon, the most visible and influential members of your target tribes are going to jump at the chance to work with you.

Here's where we'll take your new CONNECTION-building strategy to the next level.

We're going to talk about Article Marketing. Now, I know most of you are already familiar with article marketing to some degree. But this (just like last time) will put a new and different spin on what you may have tried.

The most common article marketing practice involves placing articles up on major article directories like EzineArticles, GoArticles, and ArticleCity. And that's great. If you're already placing your niche articles there, keep doing it. If you're not, you should start.

The main reason you want articles in those directories is because the search engines love them, and it's quite likely your articles will rank for your keywords if you wrote them well. If those pages rank high, and they link back to you, it's an instant SEO boost. It's because of that SEO benefit that posting articles to directories is still a worthwhile and vital part of an SEO link-building strategy.

Now, some folks proclaim that by putting your stuff in these article directories, webmasters who need content will pick your stuff and publish it on their site or in an email newsletter, with your link intact. You get instant traffic! Hooray!

Well, the sad fact is that most of the time, your content WILL get picked up from article directories, but it'll be unscrupulous webmasters who scrape out all your links and use their own. You may get an occasional ethical webmaster who really does use those directories according to the terms and conditions, but in my experience - it's becoming rarer and rarer.

So, that being the case - YES - put articles on the directories - all the articles you have EXCEPT your very best ones.

Put the lower-end keyword-targeting stuff up on the directories, but reserve the long, feature-style human interest ones for your new allies.

That's right - we're going to take your best articles and approach your tribal bloggers (especially the ones with blogs that have some authority). If they're active members of their tribes, and they're active posters, they know it can get tough to come up with
good content to keep their readers happy.

If you're already a solid contributor to their sites, now is the time to offer them a UNIQUE and UNPUBLISHED article for their site. They get free, high-quality material that their readers will value, and you get a byline with links back to your own site.

This is one of the most powerful traffic generation methods I know. Of course you get the machine-benefits of SEO in this case, because you're getting your links on niche authority sites.

But the real benefit is that you are putting your best content in front of your most qualified audience, and while you're at it, you're building powerful alliances with influential members of your niche.

Do you think this sounds hard?

"How will I get all these guys to want to post my articles?"

You know what? You only need ONE to post for you. Then, you contact the other possible targets and either send an email to say,

"Hey - I wrote an article about blue widgets that your readers might like and John Doe over at the Widgets Blog was kind enough to publish it for me. I just thought I'd let you know so you can hook your readers up. If you're interested in publishing any of my future articles about blue widgets, I'd love to speak to you about a unique, unpublished article I'm working on right now. Thanks!"

After you get the first one, the rest should be happy to line up to share in the f'ree quality content you want to provide to their readers.

So where can you go from here?

If you're already regularly having your content published on different niche blogs, why not try to leverage for more prominent placement? Maybe work out a deal for a permanent homepage link? Why not seal a deal for a regular recurring spot so you can start to REALLY engage that blog's audience?

Are you more worried about your bottom line rather than exposure?

If you have an affiliate program, do you think it would be hard to sign these publishers up? You're already giving them great content - do you think they'd be opposed to getting paid to publish it? Some might, sure. But most of the time, you'll have a much more friendship-based relationship with these guys rather than a business one.

And if they see they get paid for something they were already doing, I can almost guarantee that they'll be more willing to mail for you or post for you every single time you ask.

Remember, you've been a long-time contributor by this point. You started with commenting, continued with unique content, and proceeded to full on linking and affiliate relationships.

If our last newsletter was about building connections instead of links, this newsletter is about cultivating and strengthening those connections.

You want to find all the sites that cater to your niche and weave your own stuff through them. And if you use a little brainpower, it's not even that hard. You're simply creating mutually beneficial situations, and everyone really does win!

We're really going for the long-term strategies here - by really spending time in your niches, you get to know the players, and more importantly, they get to know YOU. You become the preferred provider of your product or service because you're one of THEM. You're a trusted and active member of their tribe - not some out-of-towner with a snake-oil pitch.

Never forget - markets are people.

What "Web 2.0″ is doing now more than ever is allowing those people to talk to each other, so find where they gather, and join the conversation.

Contribute regularly and wisely, and you'll even begin to STEER some of those conversations your way.

If you cultivate the relationships you build through contributing, then your business will be the first and last name on the lips of your tribe when they decide to buy…

… or better yet, when they make a recommendation.

Until next time,
Keep Stomping,
~Andy Jenkins

P.S. Don't forget to try out Comment Kahuna while you can. They've already released an updated version, and we've gotten a lot of great feedback on the StomperBlog from your fellow readers who have put this free tool to good use.

P.P.S. And of course, don't forget to leave a comment - we'd love to hear what you think.