Earning Attention: PR and Partnerships

Introduction

Earned attention is when other people choose to talk about, link to or recommend you. It cannot be bought honestly, and it carries more trust than adverts. It takes patience, and it is mostly about being genuinely useful and easy to cite.

Why people link and share

People mention you because you gave them something valuable for their own audience:

• Original data or research, even small: a survey of 100 customers, your own sales trends or a local study
• A clear explanation of something confusing
• A useful free tool, template or checklist
• A timely, expert opinion on something in the news
• A great story with real people
• A comprehensive resource that saves others time

Ask of every idea: why would someone else want to share this?

Create linkable assets

• Original data: run a short, honest survey. Share the method, the sample size and the limits. Present results with clear charts.
• Guides and glossaries that are the best on a narrow topic
• Calculators and templates others can use
• Case studies with real numbers, showing what worked and what did not

Make them easy to cite: clear titles, dates, named authors, summary statistics, and permission to quote with a link.

Pitching respectfully

When you contact a journalist, blogger or podcaster:

1. Do your homework: read or listen to their work, and match your idea to what they cover.
2. Be brief and specific: who you are, the idea in two sentences, why their audience cares and what you can provide.
3. Offer value, such as exclusive data, an expert comment or a story with a real person, not a sales pitch.
4. Respect their time. Send one polite follow-up, then stop.
5. Be honest about your credentials, and never exaggerate.
6. Say thank you, and share their work.

Never send mass copy-and-paste messages, or demand a link.

Guest content and podcasts

Writing a guest article or appearing on a podcast can introduce you to a relevant audience. Choose outlets where your audience actually is, offer something original, and do not republish the same text elsewhere. Disclose any relationship, and link naturally where it helps the reader.

Partnerships and communities

• Non-competing businesses can co-host events, swap resources and recommend each other to customers.
• Local organisations, schools, charities and associations often welcome helpful speakers and sponsors.
• Professional bodies and forums can build your reputation if you contribute generously. Follow their rules on promotion.
• Events and talks build relationships. Share your slides afterwards.

What not to do

Search engines treat manipulative linking as spam. Avoid:

• Buying or selling links to influence rankings
• Link exchanges arranged purely for rankings
• Mass-produced guest posts with keyword-stuffed links
• Comment and forum spam
• Fake reviews, fake accounts or fake press releases
• Hidden links or networks of sites made to link to each other

These risk penalties that can remove your pages from results. Good marketing earns links as a by-product of being useful.

Track and learn

Record each pitch, response and result in a simple sheet. Use Search Console to see new links and their pages, and note which assets attracted interest. Do more of what works.

Try it yourself

Design one linkable asset you could create with your own data. List five specific people or outlets who would care, why, and write a two-sentence pitch for one of them.

Summary

• People link and share what is genuinely valuable to their own audiences, such as original data, tools and clear guides.
• Pitch with research, brevity and value, follow up once and give thanks.
• Never buy links or use spam tactics, and track what earns attention.