Successful outreach requires more than just finding contacts and sending emails. These best practices will help you maximize your response rates and build valuable relationships.
Setting up for success
Write a strong value proposition
Your value proposition is the foundation of every email. Make it compelling:
Focus on their readers - Explain why including your brand helps their audience, not just why it helps you. Be specific - "We help e-commerce stores increase organic traffic by 40%" is better than "We're a marketing platform." Keep it concise - 2-3 sentences maximum. You'll expand in individual emails.Choose the right incentive
Match your incentive to your target audience:
- Tech bloggers - Free trials, early access
- Business publications - Expert quotes, original data
- Review sites - Product samples, affiliate commissions
- Resource pages - Reciprocal links, co-marketing
If you don't have a strong incentive, "organic mention" is fine - just make sure your value proposition is compelling.
Select relevant topics
During discovery, choose topics that:
- Directly relate to your product/service
- Match articles you'd genuinely fit in
- Aren't too broad (avoid generic terms)
- Aren't too narrow (ensure enough sources exist)
Start with 3-5 focused topics rather than selecting everything.
Managing your pipeline
Review sources before finding contacts
Not every discovered source is worth pursuing:
- Skip sources where your brand doesn't fit naturally
- Skip very old articles (over 2 years) unless evergreen
- Skip sites with obviously low quality
- Skip competitors' content
Skipping early saves credits and time.
Process in batches
Finding contacts and generating emails works well in batches of 10-20 sources:
- Easier to review and compare
- Spots patterns in what works
- More efficient use of time
Keep your pipeline clean
Update source statuses as things progress:
- Mark sources as "Sent" when you email them
- Mark "Replied" when you get responses
- Mark "Converted" when you secure a link
- Skip sources you decide not to pursue
A clean pipeline helps you track success and improve over time.
Sending effective emails
Review before approving
Generated emails are personalized, but review them before approving for send:
- Does the incentive make sense for this specific contact?
- Is the tone appropriate for their role and company?
- Does the email accurately represent your offering?
How sending works
ConvertMate handles email delivery on your behalf:
- Emails are sent from ConvertMate
- Greeting is automatically personalized with the contact's name
- Follow-ups are spaced appropriately (3-5 days apart)
- Sending is optimized for deliverability and timing
You approve which sources to send to, and ConvertMate manages the rest.
Tracking and improving
Monitor your metrics
Track these to improve over time:
- Open rate - Good benchmark: 40-60%
- Response rate - Good benchmark: 5-15%
- Positive response rate - Good benchmark: 3-10%
- Conversion rate - Good benchmark: 1-5%
Lower than these? Consider refining your topics, value proposition, or incentive.
Learn from responses
When people respond:
- Positive responses: Note what worked - topic, angle, incentive
- Negative responses: Often contain useful feedback
- Questions: May indicate unclear value proposition
Iterate on what works
After your first few discoveries:
- Which topics yielded the best sources?
- Which types of contacts responded best?
- Did certain incentives work better than others?
Use these insights to refine future discoveries.
Common mistakes to avoid
Generating emails for all sources - Review and skip sources that aren't a good fit first. Save credits for the best opportunities. Using the same approach for everyone - The system adapts tone based on company size and role. Trust the personalization. Not following up - Most responses come from follow-up emails, not the initial outreach. Use the full sequence. Overselling in emails - The generated emails focus on value exchange, not sales pitches. Maintain that balance. Ignoring responses - Reply to everyone who responds, even if they decline. Professional courtesy builds reputation. Giving up too quickly - Link building takes time. Expect weeks between first contact and secured links.What's next
Need personalized advice for your outreach strategy? Use the chat widget in the bottom-right corner, or email support@convertmate.io.