The Market Your Message Show

Why I Ditched Guest Blogging—and What I Do Instead (Ch 15. Build Your Audience)

• Jonathan Milligan

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Podcast Show Notes: Market Your Message Show – Chapter 15: The Guest Blogging Traffic Playbook

Episode Summary:
Host Jonathan returns from his July sabbatical to continue the "Your Message Matters" series, focusing on building your audience. This episode dives into guest blogging and, more importantly, how to leverage media mentions for explosive audience growth.

Key Topics Covered:

  • Why Jonathan takes a July sabbatical and the importance of work-life balance.
  • The story of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" and how media mentions transformed its success.
  • The pitfalls of traditional guest blogging: time-consuming, uncertain results, and low ROI.
  • The smarter alternative: using media mentions to reach larger audiences with less effort.

The Media Mentions Playbook:

  1. Sign Up for HARO (Help a Reporter Out):
    Get daily emails with journalist queries looking for expert input.
  2. Be Selective:
    Focus on queries that match your expertise and target audience.
  3. Craft Snappy Responses:
    Keep answers under 150 words, clear, and quotable.
  4. Polish Your Bio:
    Make it short, relevant, and include a link to your blog.
  5. Play the Numbers Game:
    Respond to multiple queries daily to increase your chances.
  6. Track and Follow Up:
    Use a spreadsheet to log submissions and follow up on potential publications.
  7. Amplify Your Mentions:
    Share your media mentions across social media, your website, and newsletters.

Action Step:
Set up your HARO account, pick 3-5 relevant queries, craft concise responses, and track your progress. Make this a daily habit to build credibility and visibility.

Key Takeaways:

  • Media mentions are more efficient and impactful than traditional guest blogging.
  • Consistency and focus on high-impact strategies are crucial for audience growth.
  • Leverage existing platforms to boost your authority and SEO.

Connect:
For more tips and resources, visit Jonathan’s blog and subscribe to the Market Your Message Show.

Hello and welcome to the Market Your Message Show, and you've probably been wondering, Jonathan, where have you been? It's been over a month since the last podcast dropped. Well, I take every July off as a sabbatical, and I do that for several reasons. Number one is it's just on the back end of our two day. Annual event, your message matters live, which takes a lot of work, a lot of effort, energy, and so it's an opportunity to relax. Number two, it is my wedding anniversary month, so we always look for a trip or something we can go on with my wife, charity and I, and uh, so we take that time off. And then finally, it's just an opportunity for me to reset, kind of take my hands off the plow as a Christian, trusting God to. Work in my business and to teach me, to help me to remember that my identity is not just in my work, but I'm also a dad. I'm a father, I am a husband. I'm a son and a friend. And I wanna make more room for relationships as well. So now with all that, we're gonna get back to the task at hand. We've been going through the Your Message Matter series. We're on book four. This is the Build Your Audience book. This is the book that you want to read. If you do not have. Enough email subscribers or a big enough audience, you need to increase your wear awareness. And so we're gonna dive right into a chapter 15 in the audio book. This is all about guest blogging. Now, when I first started blogging back in 2009, it took a lot of energy and effort to do guest blogging. You had to spend several hours writing a really good piece. Oftentimes, they wanted something that was at least 1200 or 1500 words Long. But what I'm gonna teach you in this chapter is a way to get media mentions on really amazing, big platforms by just providing a hundred to 150 words of expertise or insight. So if I haven't teased you enough, let's jump right into it.

Speaker 30:

The Borrow Method Partner Traffic, chapter 15, the Guest Blogging Traffic Playbook. Their book was rejected by 144 publishers. Sales flatlined and two authors were on the brink of giving up. This was the reality for Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen when they launched Chicken Soup for the Soul in 1993. Fast forward a couple of years, the same book is a bestseller. It is flying off shelves and is spawning a multimillion dollar franchise. What changed? The secret ingredient media mentions Canfield and Hansen didn't just sit back and hope for the best. They cooked up a media storm. They pitched themselves to radio shows, TV programs, and newspapers. Big or small, it didn't matter. They were everywhere. Have you heard of the Rule of five? That's what they call their strategy. Every single day they do five things to promote their book. Five calls, five emails, five interviews, whatever it took to get people talking. And boy did people talk One appearance on Oprah. Boom. Millions of viewers suddenly craved their book. Even a shout out from Country Star, Naomi Judd sent sales soaring. Each mention was a stepping stone. Each interview, a building block Before long Chicken Soup for the Soul wasn't just a book, it was a phenomenon. Here's the kicker. They didn't have a massive marketing budget, no fancy PR team, just two guys with a book and a whole lot of determination. So what's the takeaway? Media mentions aren't just nice to have. They're the secret sauce that can turn your brand from zero to hero. And the best part, you don't need to be a household name to make it happen. Ready to write your own success story. Let's learn how to create a media mentioned strategy that will have your brand sizzling in no time. The guest blogging grind ever feel like you're shouting into the void. That's what most people's guest blogging strategy looks like. The typical playbook involves sending countless cold emails to any blog that will listen. Then you cross your fingers and hope someone bites you. Spend hours crafting the perfect SEO optimized post tack on a bio with your precious backlink. Submit it. And pray they like it. Then comes the endless cycle of following up again and again. It's exhausting just thinking about it, why it's a dead end. Let's face it. This approach is about as practical as trying to fill a swimming pool with a teaspoon. It's a massive time sink with hours upon hours spent on a single link that might not even see the light of day. You're at the mercy of other people's schedules, never knowing when or if your post will be published. The payoff is uncertain at best. Will it drive traffic? Boost your rankings? Who knows? It's like playing darts blindfolded. You might hit the bullseye, but odds are you'll just end up with a lot of holes in the wall a smarter way. Media mentions, what if there was a way to get more bang for your buck? Enter media mentions. Instead of chasing after every blog under the sun, why not tap into platforms that already have massive audiences? This approach works because you're piggybacking on established credibility when a big name outlet mentions you. People listen. High traffic sites mean more eyeballs on your brand. It's simple math, quality trumps quantity. Here one mention from a reputable source can outweigh dozens of guest posts on unknown blogs. Think about it. Would you rather have a whisper heard by a few or a shout out on a megaphone? Media mentions are your ticket to the big leagues. They're your shortcut to reaching thousands, even millions of potential readers. And the best part, you don't have to write a novel to make it happen. Ready to ditch the guest post hamster wheel and start playing in the big leagues. Let's dive into how you can make media mentions work for you. This could revolutionize your outreach. It would save you time and boost your visibility. It's time to stop shouting into the void. We must connect with our target audience through strategic media mentions. Your media mentions playbook, ready to make waves. Let's break down the process. Step by step one. TAP into Harrow stands for Help. A Reporter Out. It's your golden ticket to media mentions. Sign up for free and you'll get daily emails packed with journalistic queries. It's like a matchmaking service for experts and journalists you provide the know-how they provide the platform. Two, cherry pick your queries. Don't spread yourself thin. Focus on queries that align with your expertise and a target audience. As Gary Keller said, the key is not to do more things, but to focus on the right things. Be selective quality trumps quantity every time. Three craft snappy responses. Journalists are busy. Make their job easy. Keep your responses under 150 words. Pack them with clear quotable insights. Think of it like a Twitter thread. Concise, yet impactful. Get to the point fast and make every word count four, polish your bio. Your bio is your handshake. Keep it short and relevant and include a link to your blog. Remember Anne Hanley's wisdom. Your bio is not a resume, it's a handshake. Make it warm, professional, and memorable. Five, play the numbers game. Increase your odds by responding to multiple queries daily. It's like playing the lottery, but with skills instead of luck. The more quality responses you submit, the higher your chances of getting picked up. Six. Track and follow up. Keep tabs on your submissions. Create a simple spreadsheet to log your responses. Follow up on potential publications. Remember, the fortune is in the follow up, as Jim Rohn put it. Don't let opportunities slip through the cracks. Seven, amplify your mentions. When you score a mention. Don't just sit on it, share it, promote it across your platforms. Each media mention is a seed. Nurture it to grow your audience. Post it on social media, feature it on your website, and include it in your email newsletter. This strategy isn't about overnight success. It's about consistent, focused effort. Each step builds on the last, creating a snowball effect of credibility and visibility. Remember, every major brand started somewhere. Your next hero response could be the first step towards becoming a recognized expert in your field. So ready to dive in. Today's exercise, submit your first hero response. Here's a practical exercise to get you started on your media mentions journey. Set aside a couple of hours and let's make some magic happen First. Head to hero's website and sign up for a free account. It's quick, easy, and won't cost you a dime. Once you're in, check your inbox for the day's Harrow email. It's a treasure trove of opportunities. Scan through the queries and pick three to five that align with your expertise. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Quality matters. Now, roll up your sleeves and craft your responses. Remember, keep them under 150 words. Be clear, concise, and quotable. Imagine you're explaining your point to a friend over coffee. Next, write a short, snappy bio. Two or three sentences max. Highlight your expertise and include a link to your blog. Make it impossible for them not to wanna know more about you. It's time to hit send. Submit your responses through the hero platform. Take a deep breath. You're putting yourself out there, and that's huge. Don't let your hard work go to waste. Set up a simple spreadsheet to track your submissions. Include the query details and submission dates. This will be your roadmap moving forward. As the day wraps up, take a moment to reflect. How did it feel? What could you do better tomorrow? Commit to making this a daily habit. Remember, consistency is key. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is media presence, but with each query you answer, you're one step closer to becoming a go-to expert in your field. So what are you waiting for? Your first media mention could be just a hero response away. Let's get cracking key takeaways. Efficiency is key. Focus on high impact strategies like media mentions over time consuming guest posts, leverage existing platforms. Use Harrow to connect with top media outlets and get valuable back links. Consistency matters. Regular expert insights can boost audience growth and SEO.