Cornwall SEO

Content Marketing Blog

Lyndon Antcliff

Create Linkbait like you are Channeling Elmore Leonard, adding Hookers and Xbox along the way

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This week one of my favourite writers, Elmore Leonard died.

His work makes for a great read. His stories flowed like an electric eel going down the Alton Towers log flume. Along with James Ellroy and other American writers he really helped me nail my writing and ultimately my linkbait.

What these guys do is reach down deep into the brain and bring it to the open and do it with wit and intelligence.

I wrote a story back in 2008, some of you will remember it, some of you may not have heard about it.

It got a lot of attention.

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Some people did not like what I did and even went to the extreme of saying I should go to prison for it.
Matt Cutts even made me the subject of a Keynote talk about such marketing tactics.
All for few hundred words of pure fiction.

What I learned from that time is the power of the written (OK typed, but written sounds better) word and how it can be used to get people to react.

I don’t know if it was the biggest linkbait ever, it got 10K links and mentions in every mainstream media I can think of. But it’s certainly one that people don’t forget.

One of the puritanical nutters who at the time were saying that such work is the spawn of Satan just reminded me of it.

The story is quite simple.I had a short story knocking around my head that I had not used when I was in my creative writing, poverty induced period. I had a client that wanted some linkbait so I wrote it as spoof news and posted it. With zero indication that it wasn’t actual news, it was blatant and beautiful hoax.

As the piece was written in a ” too good to be true, this is nuts mode”, I expected people to quickly figure out it was not proper news and just a bit of fun. This did not happen, you see the article what designed to engage with the primal brain, it was littered with psychological hooks that would keep people reading and keep people thinking long after.

And it worked.

Back in the day, getting a front page digg was all you needed to do to launch a bit of linkbait, nowadays it’s a bit more fractured, but still doable.

A mainstream journalist picked it up and of course did not check the story, rewrote it and put it in their newspaper. With of course no accreditation to where it came from.

And then it kind of went mental.

It was picked up by as many people as I could even think of and I had people contacting me from places like Greece, saying they heard it on the radio.

The results were huge.

And then, just as that was dying down, Matt Cutts hinted that Google was not going to allow websites to benefit from stories that are not true. And of course things went mental again, with a good write up about this from Lisa Barone.

Which was bigger news than the original story.

The debate over if this kind of marketing was ethical or not raged for weeks, with a number of people foaming at the mouth doing their “burn the witch” routine.

Planting an untrue story in the media is, I agree unethical. But when it’s crafted as a funny story that hurts no one, does not sell a product and includes Texan’s of restricted growth trying to get laid, Hookers and pizza delivery, less so. It’s completely missing the point to start thinking along the ethical/unethical argument.

What is far more interesting is how the human brain craves a good story and how newspapers create not-exactly-true stories. And Google loves this, it gives these newspapers huge authority, to the point where SEO agencies have to buy links in the online version of the newspaper, planting a story that promotes their client.

Here is Fox news doing a piece on the story.

And Simon Mayo did a bit on Radio 1


I don’t talk about this stuff publicly anymore, not because I am ashamed and think it unethical, I am extremely proud of the work, and as for it being unethical, well that’s just silly.

I don’t talk about this because it’s a technique that most cannot do well. Some can and a lot of people have contacted me privately to tell me of how they created a completely faked story that got traction in the news media.

Something like this is extremely sophisticated and hard to pull off, although it happens more than you realise it and yes, I have done a few of these since.

Now I mostly consult with companies how to utilise content marketing for their websites and create content that gets publicity. You note I did not say links, because its people you need to target, not links. The links come after you attract the people, not the other way round.

I do sometimes talk about this marketing event on Linkbaitcoaching.com as I am able to teach the technique in a more detailed way. A number of people I have coached have gone on to create thousands of links using it.

In conclusion, if you are going to create linkbait. You may as well write it about a 13 year old boy coming back from a World of Warcraft tournament who wants to score chicks and play Xbox.

And if you want to know more about this, Google it, go read all about it, good and bad and then join linkbaitcoaching.com to learn how to implement such techniques into your content.

Positive thinking in outreach: How a rejection can be the start of a conversation

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When building links, one is always two emails away from rejection. Aside from practical tips for dealing with this situation itself, there are attitude adjustments that should be made. I believe that leaning towards optimism is a great start because optimists are prone to see failure as a setback they will be able to bounce back from.

In his book, Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life, Martin Seligman writes “The very thought, ‘Nothing I do matters,’ prevents us from acting”. What’s important here is not to see yourself as a helpless observer in the link building process, but as an active participant with the power to change the course of things.

Paddy Moogan suggests that after rejection, you should reach out again and ask the blogger why he/she isn’t interested in your pitch in order to improve your campaign. It’s a solid and constructive approach, but I think there’s more to it than that…

Dismissing a prospect because they rejected your pitch is bad practice

One of the biggest setbacks I see is that link builders normally approach sites with one specific type of link in mind, and if they can’t get it then they move on to the next potential site. When you are open to new ideas, your pitch is much more flexible; hence you’ve got a better chance to turn that ‘no’ into a door to a ‘yes’.

Something that I like to do is to always have more than one link building idea for each site I contact. Whether it is broken link building, guest posting or a different kind of collaboration such as an interview, I’m always armed with 2-3 possibilities. What happens is that when the blogger rejects my initial pitch, I’m in a position in which I can offer them something new they might like.

The key is to spend enough time on their site to learn about their style, their audience and what’s working for them already. Once you’ve come up with diverse ideas, it’s time to choose the top 3 and reach out to them by pitching the least appealing one (which shouldn’t be a poorly thought idea, by the way.) If the first one you’ve pitched works, then great; if it doesn’t, you’ve got backup.

The byproduct of this approach is that you’ll be exercising your creativity A LOT more than when you’re just focusing on one specific type of link. As a result, there will always be a flow of link building ideas that could be applied to different prospects.

Don’t focus on the ‘no’, be glad you got an answer

To me a failure is not receiving a response at all because that’s the loudest and more conclusive ‘no’ you can get. But when a website owner takes the time to reply to your pitch, he/she is open to engaging in conversation with you. What you do after receiving their reply is what will change the outcome of the exchange, so the ball is in your court.

After I’ve exchanged a number of emails with a blogger or webmaster who has rejected all of my ideas, I will usually ask them what would they be interested in. That one would be the next logical step because I’ve already showed them how determined I am in working together, so asking for their opinion is the easiest way of reaching common ground. Of course I wouldn’t do that right after they’ve rejected my first pitch because most answers would be “just pay me, woman”, and this woman doesn’t like to pay for links.

It’s not just about accepting rejection, it’s about what you do with it

Ammon Johns left an inspiring comment on my post “We are missing the point” and I think that part of what he’s said applies to what we’re discussing here today:

“You have to push the envelope. You have to not only think outside the box, but also climb out of it and move the box to a better location. You need to be creative and original.”

This culture of treating website owners as one-night stands is limiting the growth of link building. Imagine being contacted every day by ‘super nice’ people who want to work with you, but will disappear as soon you tell them that you didn’t like their idea that much. “What a bunch of a-holes”, you may say and you’d be right. That’s not how you’d treat people in the offline world, so why do it online?

As I mentioned before, optimists view adversity as temporary and specific, as opposed to pessimists who are more likely to give up when facing setbacks because they see adversity as unchangeable. One could say that optimism is an important component of achievement: Those who have an optimistic outlook will be more proactive, persistent and won’t abandon hope that easily. For some people, being optimistic comes naturally but if that’s not your case, consider that optimism is an attitude that can be learned and practiced.

I have a tendency to be optimistic and that makes me the way I am in the face of rejection. But there’s another reason why I always try to be proactive in both link building and life: showing how much I care. When you show link prospects that you don’t mind being flexible for the sake of their site and their audience, that’s when the conversation begins.

By Gisele Navarro

Buying an expensive Handbag? I'm sorry, but you're Black

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It’s not too late to Newsjack the “you can’t buy this handbag because you are black”, Oprah Winfrey, Swiss handbag story.

But you probably only have an hour or two to start, and if you are not geared up to launch something tasty then probably best not to launch anything at all.

I first saw this story on the BBC this morning,

I was surprised there was nothing on the US news outlets, but then realised that Oprah had revealed the story on a late night show, when most of the US media people are tucked up in bed. Which raises the interesting fact that the UK is in a very good position to take advantage of any news that comes out at that hour.

We had a good few hours of prime newsjacking planning before even the earliest US blogger pinged their RSS fee. Of course those staying up late could have caught it, but they didn’t.

CBS though got a good write up about it, even locating the store where the incident took place.
And I love the quote from the Swiss spokesperson for the store, We didn’t know it was Oprah…it was a misunderstanding…”We don’t have any facial recognition here.”

Which of course raises a number of issues regarding racism and particularly when you look at the current attitude to asylum seekers in Switzerland.

I have sent out a few ideas over the Newsjacking Alerts service and hopefully a few will see the light of day.

There are of course some great handbag stories out there to be curated, such as I was handbagged by Mrs Thatcher

It’s always better to newsjack something that you really believe in and which promotes a positive messages such as anti-racism. When you go after the positive narrative it does help carry the story along.

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Press Release for Bongo Bongoland Campaign

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This is the press release I wrote for the client

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DUNDEE MUSIC SHOP SENDS BONGOS TO UKIP MEP

Dundee, Tayside, Scotland.

Local music shop http://www.rainbowmusiconline.co.uk heard the concern of UKIP MEP, Godfrey Bloom about foreign aid money going to “Bongo Bongoland”, on the BBC Radio 4 radio show, the Today, programme.

Confused as to where “Bongo Bongoland” actually was, shop owner, Stefan Pogrorzelec asked the UKIP MEP if any foreign aid money will be coming their way as they play and sell Bongos in the shop.

Stefan also thought it a good idea to send Mr Bloom a pair of Cuban Bongos on which he could practice and that “if Mr Bloom is ever in the Dundee area, we would love in to pop in for a wee dram and a session on the Bongos”.

They also suggested that perhaps UKIP get a float at the upcoming Notting Hill Carnival and have Mr Bloom play the Bongos on it and in doing so connect with the people of this great nation.

Rainbow music opened its shop in Dundee in 1979, they stock a number of different types of musical equipment including, guitars, keyboards, percussion, accessories and ampli?cation plus more.

For further information contact

Stefan Pogrorzelec
RAINBOW MUSIC
35 Cowgate Dundee DD1 2JF
01382 201405
sales@rainbowmusiconline.co.uk

Bongo Bongo land Newsjacking case study

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This was a newsjacking campaign I ran today for a client, which I intend to use as a case study. It was a great success and proves that newsjacking as a marketing tool is effective when the right news story comes along, matched up with the right client and properly implemented.

A UKIP MEP, Gofrey Bloom has said that all foreign aid should be cut to Bongo Bongo Land, on the BBC

In response, a Dundee music shop has sent the UKIP MEP a set of bongos and suggested that UKIP get a float at the Notting Hill Carnival where Godfrey can pound away and connect with the real people of Britain.

We hope that Mr Bloom puts in plenty of practice on his bongos.

Update

It now has a mention in the Guido Fawkes blog and ST.tv and the local paper is running a story on it.
The thing I am now telling my coaching group is to stop thinking about SEO and mucking around with tool after tool and start concentrating on what people are talking about. People talk about the news, so pick a story and run with it.

I will detail all about it in a future post.

Update number 2
We made the Metro

Update number 3

You can find the press release here

Mention in the local paper

Music press

If you want to know more about Newsjacking and would like an expert to consult with you on implementing it into your own marketing strategy, then contact me about content marketing.

Building a publishing machine without the aid of Crystal Meth

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I doubt there is anyone reading this that is not already at least aware of the hit US TV series, Breaking Bad. You probably already know that the last 8 episodes ever are about to be broadcast on August 11th. Even the BBC are newsjacking a show that is not on their network.

But what has this got to do with seo?

Well, we publish content around what people are talking about to get their attention and engage them.

Although I use the term “seo” in its broadest terms.

What I am really talking about is publishing and networking or even content marketing. The debate about “seo” is currently a topic in the industry. http://insocialwetrust.wordpress.com/2013/08/01/were-missing-the-point/ which we can comfortably leave to others a the moment.

Lets explore the reason of whether you should newsjack Breaking Bad.

The problem
You have a website where you need to increase the rankings in Google for specific webterms.

The Objective
Produce attractive, engaging content that gets links, social signals and branding awareness.

The Solution
Publish content on your website about the Breaking Bad show and promote

How do we implement the solution?

The key is in the word “publish”, get rid for a moment of all those fancy pants marketing terms and stick with the basic concept that you are going to publish something and other people are going to experience it and react to it.

It is vital you keep the approach to the creation process as simple as possible and deal with the fundamentals.

Implementation should not be looked at as a one off thing. You need to build a publishing machine, because the competition for attention online has become such that you need to have the most efficient process possible.

It is no longer about producing that one great piece of content, it’s about publishing a continuous stream of great content that gives a good return on investment.

Therefore any solution that is implemented should be part of a wider process, You implement the solution by first building a process to that can efficiently solve this and any future publishing problems.

This raises the issue of content management. Having run a number of large budget operations I know that you have to organise your infrastructure similar to that of a tabloid newspaper. You then have to optimise every link in the chain, trim the fat and make sure the right people are doing the right thing.

But the process is the same, whether you are an in-house seo with a staff of 100 or a piratical, death dealing, do or die affiliate marketer who builds his website whilst downloading Breaking Bad on Piratebay.

Agencies too are no different, it does not matter that you have multiple clients. The solution is always going to be the same, the process is the same for any client but produces a different output.

It’s actually very simple

  • Establish your ability and resources
  • Develop a realistic objective
  • Create and publish the content
  • Promote the content
  • Use content to further build network and resources

One person can and often does do this, but larger websites have to delegate specific actions to specific people who have a certain skill set. This can be done both in-house and outsourced. I know of many one man bands who outsource everything and basically run a large agency in the cloud.

The problem suddenly becomes one of management and quality control, this can be alleviated with giving well defined tasks that are simple enough to understand and to track.

The bad news is, this is now the default setting. You have to have a publishing machine behind you to compete on a level that is going to make you a decent living if going solo.

And larger organisations need to build the publishing machine at the core of their marketing operations.

Newsjacking is one component of a content marketing strategy, a strategy that must be underpinned by a road map that has been thought out and designed by someone familiar with such things.

I’ve put together several Content Marketing, Road Maps for clients, they are not cheap and require a huge blob of time thrown at them. But it’s amazing the results a publishing machine can get when it is heading in the right direction, knows its destination and knows when it has arrived.

In future posts I will be talking about how to build your publishing machine and how to create a content marketing roadmap.

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