In Affiliate ABCs #14 host Deborah Carney (a.k.a Loxly) interviews guest Cathy Stucker about her service that links bloggers (or webmasters) with other bloggers and writers appropriately named Blogger Link Up. BLU, as Cathy refers to it, is an email newsletter that currently has four ways for bloggers/webmasters to use it:
Request Guest Posts
Offer Guest Posts
Request Sources for Interviews
Offer Products for Review
There are other similar services, like Peter Shankman’s Help a Reporter Out, but BLU is more focused as a tool to create relationships between webmasters/bloggers and HARO is more focused on actual media connections. They are complimentary tools, and you probably want to subscribe to both.
As an affiliate looking for more content for your site, you can take advantage of BLU to make connections, and to get ideas also. You might see a guest blogger offering content that is in your niche but from an angle you didn’t consider or that you aren’t able to write effectively about.
One question I have been asked when talking about Blogger Link Up with people is they want to know why they shouldn’t just submit their articles to article directories (like ezinearticles, ideamarketers or any of the others) and the answer is simple, still submit your articles there, and go find artilces there, but use BLU to make personal contact with people so that you can get guest posts that are more targeted and offer your articles directly to blogs that really need your content so that you both benefit. It’s all about the personal touch and making direct connections.
The sources area is great for finding sources to quote for articles, and for finding people to interview for podcasts as well.
And the products for review is very valuable for affiliates to find things that are appropriate to their sites to obtain to review and put you in touch with merchants that are willing to give you items for contests or giveaways also.
Listen for tips from both Deborah on how she uses the service, and Cathy about why she started it, how she knows people are using it and where she hopes to take it in the future.
Links from the podcast:
Blogger Link Up Newsletter
Twitter: @CathyStucker
Cathy’s Idea Lady Website
Cathy’s Blog
To subscribe to Blogger Link Up you go the http://bloggerlinkup.com and use their sign up form.