This week I ran a backlink outreach campaign for a UK-based e-commerce client. Here is my exact 4-step process:
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Step 1 — Prospect Research
Used Ahrefs to find websites in the client's niche with DA 40+, real traffic, and contact pages.
Built a targeted list of 150 prospects.
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Step 2 — Email Template (62% open rate)
Subject: Quick question about [their recent article]
Body:
- Personalised compliment about their article
- Mention a relevant resource I can contribute
- Value-first offer (not asking, giving first)
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Step 3 — Follow-up System
- Day 1: Initial email
- Day 4: Soft follow-up
- Day 8: Final follow-up
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Step 4 — Results
From 150 emails sent:
📧 93 opened (62% open rate)
💬 41 replied (27% reply rate)
🔗 30 backlinks secured (20% conversion)
Average DA of secured links: 48
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Key Lesson:
Personalisation is everything. Generic "I noticed your website" emails get ignored. Research each prospect for 5 minutes before writing. That 5 minutes is the difference between a link and silence.