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ssahoodrathotchner · 3 years

Text

Tumble

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Fem!Reader

Requested by: @realtrashcan

Word Count: 1.5k

Prompt(s): 9 “You are very attractive. Therefore, I will stare at you.”, 10 Falling asleep/cuddling on the jet, and 19 “You’re an idiot.” “But I’m your idiot.”

Summary: you fall down a hill, but luckily, Aaron still thinks you’re beautiful.

Warnings: swearing, brief mention of blood, lots of fluff

A/N: sweet sweet fluff. i wanted to write something a little more case-centered, but still cute for this one. enjoy !!

Masterlist

---

All things considered, the case was a success. However, part of what made it such a success was the slight tumble you took down a hill. Whatever it takes, right?

To be fair, you hadn’t planned on tumbling down a muddy hill while pursuing an unsub, but these things just seem to happen. The case had taken the team to the Sierra Nevada mountains that border California and Nevada, as the unsub, Trevor Northridge, kept crossing state lines with his…activities. Activities that involved 12 year old Caleb Kingston, who was now safe, and had told you the location where the unsub had taken him.

The team had tracked Northridge to a specific trail on the California side of the Sierras, and you had caught him exiting his car. That was, of course, when he decided to take off into the forest. Shaking your head, you share a look with Derek before pursuing the unsub.

“You’ll never catch me!” Northridge screams over his shoulder.

As if.

“He took off, Hotch,” Derek’s voice filters through your comms. “Your lovely girlfriend and I are chasing him down.”

Even though the only thing you can see is his back as you run through the underbrush, ducking to miss branches and stepping over shrubs, you just know Derek is smirking.

How Morgan has the ability to be snarky while literally sprinting after a murderer is beyond you, but nevertheless, appreciated.

“We’ll cut him off further up the trail, just don’t let him get away,” Aaron says sternly.

“Obviously,” you can’t help but mutter under your breath, rolling your eyes.

You can just imagine the frown that Aaron has right now.

Northridge takes a hard turn to the right, up some steep hillside, and you barely keep up with him.

Damn him and his knowledge of these mountains.

You pass Derek and vaguely hear his voice through your comms as he notifies the team. However, you keep going, trying to track Northridge as he weaves between trees and over rocks.

How the hell does he know where to go?

Breaking the top of the hill, you can see Prentiss and JJ up ahead on the new trail—thank God—weapons drawn and ready to take him into custody, with Dave, Spence, and Aaron not too far behind them, holding steady.

Just a little further, now.

And that’s when Northridge comes to a sudden stop, in the middle of the trail. Given your close proximity to him and the speed at which you were climbing, you do your best not to run him right over, and instead, try to swing left and take him down. The only thing, is that to his (and your) left is the hillside you just scaled.

Fucking great.

You miscalculate your next few steps, and end up just a touch more left than you wanted, which sends you stumbling and then tripping and then rolling down the side of the trail with a short yelp.

Back to the beginning.

The world passes by in a stinging green and brown blur as you make your way to the base of the hill in a crumpled heap. Ouch. With a huff, you lay still for a second, letting your mind catch up with your body that now resides at the bottom of the hill. Sitting up and catching your breath, you pull a few twigs from where they’ve lodged in your clothes and hair before looking up to the top of the hill.

Well, shit.

Running a (muddy) hand over your face, you begin your trek upwards. Again.

About halfway to the top, you can see Derek and Aaron looking over the edge, worriedly calling your name.

You pause and really assess how you feel, making note of the bumps and bruises you acquired on your trip downwards.

“I’m fine!” you shout up at them, voice hoarse. “I’ll live,” you say with a slight groan.

Of all the team members this would happen to…

Looking up at the task ahead of you, you take a deep breath before grabbing ahold of a nearby tree root and pulling yourself up. Hand over hand, you continue your way upwards, stopping occasionally to catch your breath and curse Trevor Northridge. Nearing the top, hands appear above you, and you gratefully reach for them, allowing Aaron and Derek to pull you to the top.

Slumping to the ground, feet still dangling over the edge, you lay in the dirt for a moment, closing your eyes and letting Aaron pass a hand carefully over your back and sink into your hair before you roll over and face the sky.

“Sweetheart?” you can hear the apprehension in Aaron’s voice.

Oh you sweet, sweet man.

“You got him, right?” you pant, eyes closing for a slow moment. “Please tell me you got him.”

Hotch huffs a laugh at your question, running his fingers through your hair and over your cheeks before standing upright, and you watch as he readjusts himself into being BAU Unit Chief after reaffirming that you’re fine.

“You’re an idiot,” comes his reply with a fond shake of his head.

“But I’m your idiot,” you say hopefully, sending him a cheeky smile.

With another shake of his head, you let your eyes fall shut for a longer period of time, reveling in the first actual moments of tranquility you’ve had since the case started.

You hear footsteps retreating, and you know that Aaron has gone back to check on Northridge, who is hopefully in custody by now.

Taking another moment to collect yourself, you refocus on the mission at hand before letting Morgan and Spencer to pull you to your feet. Spence immediately starts brushing stray leaves and forest debris from your person, as you zero in on Northridge in the back of the cop car that’s on site. Walking over, you cock your head at him before smirking.

“Got you,” you say, as he stares straight ahead, jaw clenched.

Turning back to the team, you can’t help but shoot them a tired smile.

“Anyone else ready to head home?”

“Hell yeah, Princess,” Derek responds, and you can’t help but shoot him a tired smile.

---

On the jet, you land heavily in your seat, tipping your head back against the headrest and taking a deep breath.

“That is the last time I chase an unsub,” you sigh. “Prentiss and JJ? You’re up next.”

The team laughs in response, and you shoot an amused look over at Emily, who playfully rolls her eyes.

A body lands next to you, and you know it’s Aaron; you can almost see the concerned look on his face before you even glance at him.

“You have leaves in your hair,” his voice reaches you, serious as always, before you feel his careful hands extracting whatever else has caught in your hair.

“Thanks, Aaron,” you say quietly, gently.

His hands still, coming to rest on both sides of your face, and you can’t help but turn and look at him.

The look on Aaron’s face can best be described as pensive, bordering on caring, as you stare into his eyes and try to let him know you’re okay. Leaning forwards, you let your lips rest against his in a soft kiss.

I’m okay. I’m here. A little banged up, but I’m alive.

You pull back and scrunch your face up at him, feeling the blood from some cut on your forehead drip further down your forehead.

Ugh.

That doesn’t seem to hinder Aaron’s adoring looks as he gently swipes mud from your cheekbone.

“You liking the show, Hotchner?” you quip, lips brushing his with each word.

“You are very attractive,” he says in a low voice.

You scoff, pulling back and rolling your eyes.

“Therefore, I will stare at you,” he continues, a soft look on his face.

You allow yourself to smile—well, smirk, really—before responding.

“Even with shit in my hair and mud on my face?”

“Especially then, Sweetheart,” he answers with a small smile.

“Well, lucky for you, I happen to have both, my Love” you say before leaning your head against his shoulder with an exhale.

With a sigh of his own, Aaron takes one of your hands before bringing it to his face and kissing your knuckles while leaning his head against yours.

“Lucky for me indeed,” he murmurs into your hair, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

Closing your eyes, you let your body finally relax into the comfort of your boyfriend, moving yourself closer to him.

“I’m happy we caught him,” you whisper softly, lips brushing his shoulder as you speak.

“Me too, Sweetheart,” Aaron responds, shifting so one of his arms can rest around your shoulders and pull you further into his body.

You hum in response, sinking further into Aaron’s suit jacket.

“I love you,” you mumble, consciousness slipping away as the jet takes off.

“I love you more,” Aaron states, the certainty in his voice comforting you as you fall asleep.

With one final deep breath, you allow your full weight to fall into Aaron’s side. A weight he easily—and happily—accommodates.

Tumbling down a hill will always be worth it, as long as you can end the day in the arms of the one you love.

--- Taglist (dm to be added): @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @averyhotchner @prentisswrites @mylovelysnowflake @hqtchner @fakin-it-til-i-make-it @emlynblack @clarawatson @andromedasstarship @madamsnape921 @mac99martin @midsummernightdream @itsmytimetoodream @homoose @whosscruffylooking @agentaaronhotass

#andi writes #andi hits 400 🥰#aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x fem!reader #aaron hotchner x y/n #aaron hotchner x you #hotch x reader #hotch #aaron hotchner #aaron hotch hotchner #aaron hotchner fanfiction #criminal minds #cm #bau

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bexofalltrades · 4 years

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Extensive Commission Info

___________________________________________________ pt. 1

Status: OPEN!

Depending on the complexity, I am willing to take up to THREE orders at a time with a first come first serve basis. If you have a deadline to meet but are in slot two or three, we can discuss getting your order completed faster.

1st: -open- 2nd: -open- 3rd: -open-

About commissioning me:

Before you order, please make sure to have read my Terms of Service located at the bottom of this page (pt. 5). These terms apply to private commissions only, therefore the art can only be used for the client’s personal purposes.

If you would like a commission for commercial purposes, that is a different conversation and one I am willing to have if you'd like to email or DM me about it.

**Kickstart Discount**: Since I’m new to the commission scene I’m offering 25% off my first 25 orders! These are first come first serve and it’s per order, not per person so you could technically get this discount as many times as you want while it’s available!

Discount Status: 22 orders left!

___________________________________________________ pt. 2

How to Order:

1. DM me either here on tumblr, or send an email to [email protected] with your request. Feel free to open up with any questions you have before you commit. At some point you will need to fill out the form below.

GENERAL INFO:

Your name/alias:

Your email:

Commission request:

Extra Details/Information:

Hours willing to pay*:

Payment method: (I currently can accept payment via PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App. If you have a suggestion for a different method, I’m willing to discuss)

By sending this order I confirm that I have read and accept the terms of service for commissioning “BEXOFALLTRADES”.

(terms of service are included at the bottom of this post in pt. 5)

*I currently am willing to work for a flat rate of $12/hr (about minimum wage where I live) and require half of the initial price to be paid up front. A few example scenarios are as follows:

Scenario 1: You request a simple commission to be made in 2 hours which would be an upfront payment of $12. It only takes me 1 hour to get the piece to a point that we are both happy with. No further payment is required.

Scenario 2: You request a commission to be made in 3 hours. The upfront payment is $18. At 3 hours the piece is completed. You owe a remaining balance of $18.

Scenario 3: You request a commission to be made in 2 hours. The upfront payment is $12. The piece is more complex than anticipated and at 2 hours it is not quite done. After discussion we agree to one more hour of work. After the 3rd hour, the piece is complete. You owe a remaining balance of $24

Scenario 4: You request a commission to be made in 5 hours. The upfront payment is $30. The piece is a lot simpler than anticipated and only ends up taking 2 hours to complete. I owe you a refund of $6.

**scenarios 3 and 4 are highly unlikely. If I think a piece will take shorter or longer than you request, we will discuss it properly before any upfront payment is made**

___________________________________________________ pt. 3

Pricing examples:

**I work on commissions at a flat rate of $12/hr. The following pricing examples are estimates and subject to change depending on the simplicity or complexity of your commission.**

Bust: $12-$30

Half-Body: $25-$45

Full-Body: $40-$75

Sketch: $5-$25

Polished: $12-$45

Painted: $24-$75

Extras:

Complex Accessories/Weapons Fee: $5-$25 per item based on complexity

Stuff like intricately designed swords, large backbacks, guns, etc. Basic items like jewelry, small bags, and simpler weapons that could be considered part of the character’s basic outfit are no additional cost. I will notify you if I think a particular accessory is worth an additional cost before accepting your order so you know exactly what you’ll be paying for.

Fursonas/Mechs/Complex Character Fee: Anywhere between $5 to $50 depending on complexity.

I’m most comfortable drawing humans/humanoid figures but I love to branch out. That being said, in order to produce an artwork that’s worth your money and my time, it will take me extra research and practice to make something that we’re both happy with and time is money.

NSFW Discount: As a standard, a character usually wears a top piece, a bottom piece, footwear, and underwear, right? Well, for each item that you request to be removed, I will add a 5% discount to the final price of the piece.

A fully nude male is eligible for 20% discount (top, bottom, footwear, and underwear = 4 pieces of clothing) while females can have up to a 25% discount (top, bottom, footwear, bra, and underwear = 5 pieces of clothing). For obvious reasons, this does not fully apply to busts and half bodies as these would not feature all articles of clothing. For example, a nude female half body would only be eligible for a 10% discount (top+bra).

___________________________________________________ pt. 4

✔ Will do:

Humans

Creatures*

Personas (furries*, genderswaps, self-insert characters, etc.)

Robots/Mechs*

A portrait of you and your loved ones

Couples/ships of any gender

Fanart

Original characters

Any gender and sexuality

Smut (NSFW. Can be discussed)

Mimic a style of your choice (any anime, cartoon, comic, etc.)

Gore

Anything that doesn’t make me extremely uncomfortable

(*note my complex character fee)

✘ Will not do

Hateful art

Any depiction of abusive, rape, or staight-up pornography

Anything that makes me extremely uncomfortable

___________________________________________________ pt. 5

By purchasing a commission from me (the artist) you agree to be purchasing my services only. If you have a problem with any of the below conditions, they may be changed if discussed with me prior to paying for your commissioned piece.

Please read the terms carefully:

I, Bex Kohl (the artist):

I reserve the right to cancel and refund the order at any time for any reason.

I retain all copyrights over the commissioned artwork.

I will NOT claim the intellectual property (IP) of the commissioned artwork.

I will NOT profit further from the commissioned artwork unless you (the customer) give permission or break any of the terms.

I reserve the right to post the commissioned artwork online, in my portfolio as well as in publications such as art books.

You (the customer):

You may upload the commissioned artwork on any website and social channels. Credit back to me (the artist) is encouraged but not required.

You may NOT make profits from the commissioned piece (reselling, redistributing, uploading to POD-services, make prints, etc.)

You may NOT alter the commissioned artwork without my (the artist's) consent.

You MAY be allowed to sell the artwork if it is a part of an Adoptable. Please discuss this with me prior to paying for the artwork.

You retain the rights to the intellectual property (IP).

You may NOT use the commissioned artwork for commercial purposes. The license to the commissioned artwork may be purchased at any point - contact me for info.

___________________________________________________ pt. 6

And that’s it! Thank you for reading all the way through, I know it’s a lot!

#commission #status #art #info #extensive #detailed #terms of service #open #commissions #WIP

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stormofblue-blog · 5 years

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submit | storm of blue press

We want every unsent text you wish you were brave enough to send. Consider this an open phone plan.

Below is a snippet from our editor-in-chief; it includes a list of things we're always interested in reading more about, primarily feelings and ideas that excite & break us like waves against the shore.

GIRLS, electric loss, pink + blue + neon colors, unsent text messages + sent ones that blink back as read, vodka, dancing in the street at night, sloppy mouths, the day after, regret, plastic flamingo lights, 4:17 am, ruined cuticles, murmuring both ends of a conversation because I find myself talking to you through every orgasm, bathroom sinks, whole foods green hair, rewriting texts 6 different times bc I can’t bear to mess this up, pink drinks, glow in the dark stars, taking hours to fall asleep because it’s so easy to picture you sprawled out against this warm body, crying over “Someone Great” on Netflix, blaming everything on astrology, or timing, or me over you, sunsets, drinking just for an excuse to spill my guts, when a heart breaks does it echo, Boston accents, smiling into a kiss, New York, the state almost touching it just as much as I’m never touching you, empty spaces that make me choke, bright, half hideous stuffed animals won from claw machines, that moment when someone smiles + they put their hand over the camera lens, wishing I could make out with my phone and somehow transfer it like a Venmo, throwing dumb shit across my room to feel in control, eating Cheetos and nothing else all day, more alcohol, not remembering anything about that dream except knowing you were in it, pining, standing in the pool for hours and not moving, music videos in my head spilling out onto pavement, colored smoke, hazy boundaries, lines that slip like Crayola chalk in the rain, touching myself and wishing it was you instead, screaming sounds instead of words bc what do I even say, begging for a release bc this body can’t hold it all in, every single “I love you” + “I’m sorry” + “do you think we will ever be able to work” + all the in-betweens, a compilation of snapchat messages + insta DMs + texts + Spotify songs played right when you log on just in case you’re still watching me + the day we first met, digitalized 4ever, heartbeats sent through iMessage, voice memos recorded at 3 am & never sent to you but sometimes played back to myself years later to remind these fangs that there was a time I still fucking cared about something [anything], fisticuffs, friends to enemies to lovers to emotional tag as an Olympic sport, concentrated want like orange juice but it hurts more when I swallow, unobtainable vulnerability, balloons after a party when they fall really slowly and it’s like watching you leave all over again but in slow motion [funny bc you’re always running], birthday cake, 6 years of cards, candles which remind me of fire, remind me of your hands, remind me of that Buffy episode where she & Spike fuck & the whole goddamn house falls to the ground, absence, missing flights, missing chances, + missing you

Multimedia, nontraditional, and experimental collections are encouraged but not required.

Storm of Blue Press is by & for lgbtq women & nonbinary people. In your cover letter, please highlight the connection you personally have with the lgbtq community and with being a woman or nonbinary. We discourage third person bios with a string of publications and no personal connection. At Blue, it doesn't matter where you've been previously published (although it's really cool to meet those familiar with our friends of course). Bios can instead be built around unique aspects of your presence, and even include non-writing related attributes. Who do you fight for? What makes you angry, mad, or passionate? Who do you love and why? What's the saddest thing that's ever happened to you? Favorite food, dogs or cats, tiny, microscopic details you don't think anyone cares about... [spoiler alert: we care a lot]. Choose some of the above prompts or create your own, but please remain original, authentic, and unapologetically yourself.

We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if your work finds home elsewhere.

There is currently no reading fee for Blue Literary Magazine. Because of this, we currently don't have the funds to pay online contributors. If given permission to showcase your work on our online store via merch, you will receive 50% of all net proceeds. If Blue accumulates the resources to print monthly issues of our literary magazine, our contributor compensation policy will change.

Storm of Blue Press requires a $15 reading fee for zines and micro chapbooks (25 pages and less), a $20 reading fee for chapbooks (50 pages and less) and a $25 reading fee for full length poetry collections. We are not currently accepting young adult manuscripts unless they are lgbtq centered and absolutely amazing ($25 reading fee as well because we value both your time and ours).

We waive our reading fees for ALL lgbtq women & nonbinary people who ask, to help bridge the elitist divide in creative spaces. If you need a fee waived, email [email protected]

Blue Literary Magazine and Storm of Blue Press are by & for lgbtq women & nonbinary people. All male submissions will be automatically declined.

As an author, you are considered a collaborator not only regarding royalties, but also in relation to artistic liberty. If accepted, our team will edit, guide, and format your manuscript while respectfully considering your vision. Because our team values your partnership, we share 50% of all manuscript profits with our creators and will pay to commission your book cover. Blue is composed of poets, writers, and artists with strong social media presence and dedicated readers/viewers. If accepted, said team will foster and promote your work via social media, help generate engagement, and potentially arrange for public readings. Blue remains a small, independent publisher, so we are able to give personalized attention to all of our authors, while guiding them through the literary world.

Homophobia, racism, sexism, ableism, xenophobia, slut shaming, fat shaming, romanticism of mental illness, etc. is NEVER tolerated and will automatically earn you an indefinite block via Blue. This includes anything posted on your social media accounts or shown in other aspects of your life, because Blue does not believe in the separation of art and its creators.

#press #small press #literary press #literary magazine #magazine #zine #chapbook #microchap #collection #poetry collection #lgbtq poetry #confessional poetry #sapphic #sapphic poetry #lgbtq #lgbt #writers #paid content #call for submissions

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kuriiiiiiiiiii · 6 years

Photo

KC Coffee: guaranteed to keep you up all damn night while you perfect your interdimensional space cannon. What, you don’t have a space cannon to lose sleep for? Then feed your $3 to the miserable goo over there!

(caption credits to @duelmepharaoh)

Anyway actual message is

Capsai got a Ko-Fi

>>http://ko-fi.com/capsai<<

(QR code in picture also works, guys :D (smushed

To find out how many ppl would throw me change to see my shitposts (my guess: 0) I’m opening ko-fi commissions - details under cut

What you throw in: A coffee ($3) and a request

What you’ll get: Anything from a 30 minute pencil doodle (something like this or this) to full color, depending on how free and motivated I am. Most likely a 30 minute doodle.

Plus my gratitude :D!

How long you’ll wait: Tentatively a week, more if there’s a line-up. I have a bit of work stacked up irl so things might get hectic before end of next month, but well... 30 min doodles are not supposed to take more than 30 mins right? :D (sweats profusely)

Note that I will not send progress, rework the piece nor do refunds. This is not a “standard” commission - I’m only looking for something to keep me busy when bored, which is why it’ll only cost you a coffee... but I will do my best to also entertain you in the process :P (is thoroughly smushed)

Number of slots: Tentatively 7 (1 request per ID). Colour me surprised if I get more than that :P but I will consider adding slots if I have time/energy. Please check status on my ko-fi page or shoot me a pm on Tumblr to make sure the commission offer is still open.

How it works:

1. Feed me a coffee on http://ko-fi.com/capsai

Remember to mention your tumblr id in your support message.

2. BY TUMBLR PM: give me a character and (optional) a detailed prompt

eg - Marik dancing through a field of daisies

(is sent to shadow realm covered in daisies)

I won’t guarantee I’ll stick to the prompt, but it’ll at least be something close... (is consumed by goo-eating shadow realm daisies)

YGO-DM characters only. Please inquire for other series (including YGO-GX etc. I could draw other anime/games, provided I know the characters... please inquire)

Additional coffee for 1 additional character. Inquire for more than 2 total human characters. Inquire for any nonhuman characters. Kuribohs not counted as additional character - can include up to 11 free of cost

Additional coffee for NSFW - only accepting Atem/Seto/prideship, pls inquire for anything else

Additional coffee can also potentially guilt-trip me into putting more effort into your doodle (is smushed)

3. I will confirm your request by pm, and publish a list of pending requests.

4. You’ll get your doodle around a week from the time I confirm your request... if it took more than that feel free to poke me a reminder. Doodle will be posted on Tumblr and you will be mentioned and notified by pm. Please let me know if you would prefer not to be tagged/mentioned in my posts.

You can do whatever the f* you want with the doodle, as long as you credit me when applicable and not use it for profit. I’m keeping the copyright, even though it’s a shitpost :P (is smushed)

That’s it - pm me if you have more questions :)

(and before you ask - I’m not opening “standard” commissions any time soon... mainly because at the speed I draw no matter how much you’ll reasonably pay me I’ll still be working under minimum wage (is shot))

Here’s the QR again :D

(smushed)

#Yu-Gi-Oh!#seto kaiba #bewd #commisions open (?)#regular shitpost :)#coffee doodle

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lakelandseo · 3 years

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How Lead Generation Tactics Can Boost Your Link Building Results

Posted by AnnSmarty

How effective is your link building campaign? I bet your answer is “I wish it could be better.”

Talking to business owners and executives on a daily basis, I have yet to meet one who would be satisfied with their link building strategy.

Everyone needs links, yet they are getting harder and harder to get.

The solution?

Change your link building mindset.

How link building is similar to lead generation

In any business marketing strategy, we’re really interested in one thing: sales.

Yet, if we keep focusing on that end goal, we won’t achieve much. A customer may need up to eight touchpoints before they finally make a purchase. If you only focus on that final sale, you’re missing out on all those extra steps that drive your customer to buy.

It may sound obvious (so I’ll stop here) but the point I’m trying to make is: Marketers cannot focus on the final sale. We need something in between — a secondary metric that will bridge the gap between “a stranger” and a “a buyer”.

This is where the notion of a “lead” came from, i.e. a contact which we consider our prospective/possible/future customer.

A journey from a “a stranger” to a “lead” is shorter and much more predictable than a journey from “a stranger” to a “a buyer”, and once we turn a visitor into a lead, we can reach out to them in a much more meaningful and personalized way (via email, Facebook re-marketing, on-site personalizations, etc.).

What does this have to do with link building?

In link building we need links, just like in marketing we want sales. But focusing on the final goal is just as limiting in link building as it is in marketing.

Very few link builders these days do anything beyond sending an email, then using automated follow-ups. There’s no “lead generation” in link building. It’s either “link or no link” reporting.

And that’s where that process is broken.

In link building, all those bloggers, publishers, editors, etc. may also need several touchpoints (from something beyond an email). Furthermore, they may not be proper decision makers within the publication you are targeting.

If you apply that lead generation process to link building, you may see much better results, and more importantly, those results will keep growing the more leads you acquire.

How to add lead generation processes to your link building strategy

1. Define your linking leads prior to creating content

In B2B marketing, this is called outcomes-focused data strategy, which basically means you need to know exactly what you want to achieve (the outcome) before you start developing your strategy of achieving said outcome.

This concept is — sadly — seldom applied to link building.

What usually happens:

The content team creates what they think is a great content asset.

The outreach team identifies website owners who are likely to be interested in that asset, and starts the outreach.

Both teams are working in isolation.

But what happens if you turn that process around?

The outreach team shows the content team what’s attracting links on a specific topic (with examples). This insight should come from prospect research, current or upcoming trends, from previous outreach campaign data, etc.

The content team (in collaboration with the outreach team) creates something better than what currently exists on that topic. At this point, both the teams may involve those linking leads in the actual content creation (by reaching out and asking for expert opinions on the topic).

The outreach team delivers that content to the contacts they identified prior to the content creation.

Depending on the outlined link building opportunities, the linkable assets should take a specific format or angle, for example:

Curated lists of resources: Make sure your article fits one of the existing categories in the list, better fills a gap, or fixes an existing broken link.

Links from influencers or experts: Prior to publishing your article, reach out to those influencers and get their quote (opinion) to include in your article. Influencers are more likely to link when they’re featured on that page.

Links from peers and friends: Follow those people everywhere and start interacting with them on a daily basis. Think of this as “lead nurturing” — increasing your chances of creating long-lasting partnerships.

Editorial links from popular blogs: Track down authors and editors of those sites and start interacting with them on social media. Consider inviting them to contribute a quote to your article as well.

By letting your link building research guide the content creation process, you will end up with a highly successful campaign that is still delivering links (without the need to do the active outreach anymore).

2. Organize your linking leads

As we said previously, in link building the end goal is a link. But different leads will need a different number of touchpoints to finally link. Plus, more links are better than one.

This is where a lead nurturing process comes into play.

Just like B2B marketers using different methods to “warm up” leads and take them close to a sale, in link building you will get many more links if you keep reaching out to your leads to remind them of your asset.

If you’re using an outreach tool (both Pitchbox and Link Hunter are good options, depending on your budget and complexity of your project), it will handle some of the lead nurturing for you. At the very least, any outreach solution will:

Save all the emails you sent

Update the email status and dates (replied, bounced back, followed up, etc.)

Many link building teams will find that sufficient. I recommend going further and using a solid customer relationship management approach, which would also include:

Creating a detailed profile for each lead (which would also include their sites and columns, social media profiles, etc.)

Reaching out on social media (through ads and/or manual outreach)

If you want to go even further, you can adopt a well-organized customer relationship management strategy towards your linking leads. To get you started, here’s a solid comparison of major CRM types, as well as lead generation and nurturing platforms allowing you to properly organize and monitor your link building prospects.

You can set your link acquisition workflow and automate some parts of it (like follow-ups) while being in full control of everything that is going on.

3. Find alternative contacts and decision makers within each publication

In B2B, this process is called “account-based marketing”, i.e. when you know exactly which company would make your ideal customer and you start researching how to best onboard it.

In link building, this strategy applies to huge multi-author publications that would make ideal and ongoing backlink providers for your content. Think of the New York Times, Mashable, or a huge research magazine in your niche.

Emailing one of their authors with a request to link to your study or your infographic may not be enough (in fact, it will hardly ever be enough).

To investigate publications I’m really interested in getting links from, I use the following tools:

I don’t use Linkedin for outreach, but I just love its company profiles, which show me which friends (or friends of friends) I have associated with those entities. I have been introduced to quite a few great publications this way:

Twitter bio search

While Linkedin may be useful to identify existing contacts, Twitter is great for building new ones. For bigger publications, all you need is to find people including that publication in their bios.

A tool called Twiangulate is a great and free option for doing that: Just specify the company name (or its Twitter handle) as a keyword and the tool will find all the Twitter profiles that include it:

Now create a separate Twitter list to keep in touch with all of them.

Website’s “About Us” page

This may seem obvious, but it’s often a missed step. Many publications list their whole editorial team with all the emails included on their “About” page.

Try developing an outreach strategy for each of those emails. For example, a CEO may not be the best contact to request a link from, but they may reply and give you clearer directions for who to speak with, so ask for a contact!

4. Diversify your touchpoints

In my experience, an email is still the most effective link building outreach method. Truthfully, I’ve seen better success with a follow-up email versus the initial email.

But other ways to reach out certainly increase your chances of hearing back. These include:

A simple Twitter follow or retweet (no requests here)

A DM (especially when journalists claim their DMs are open for pitches and ideas)

A comment on their personal site

A LinkedIn message

Adding a contact to a Twitter list (Twitter will notify them)

Tagging them on social media (especially when they’re referenced or quoted in your content)

The bottom line here: Simply being there may remind them of your request and prompt them to open your email.

5. Diversify your assets

With diverse touchpoints comes the need to diversify your assets. Your outreach will be more effective if you give your linking leads something of value to include in their article.

If your initial email and the first follow-up weren’t successful, try creating a visual summary (an infographic) in your second follow-up to give them something fresh.

The process may turn quite easy and effective if you provide your outreach and content teams with tools enabling them to handle the creation of those assets. These tools include:

Venngage (to create slideshows and infographics)

Google Docs (to create ebooks and whitepapers)

Surveys (to collect ideas and stats)

Invideo (to create videos)

6. Keep an eye on your team performance

Your team is everything. If you fail to train them properly or distribute tasks among your team members effectively, the whole process will fail to move along.

At the very least:

Include your outreach team in your social media marketing so they can extend their outreach methods beyond emailing. Tools like Agorapulse will help in that process. You can set up lists, monitor certain keywords, save and delegate certain updates to turn them into tasks, etc.

Track your outreach activity. Tools like Email Analytics will help you with that. It will generate daily and weekly reports showing you how actively your team was emailing and how many responses they got. It will also save all emails to backup conversations.

7. Optimize your landing page

Your linkable asset should make an instantly positive impression on the people you email. There may by different ways to achieve that, but certain things help for just about any SEO campaign:

Your page needs to be ad-free

I’ve seen lots of people not willing to provide “a free link” to a page that is monetized with ads. There’s no point in arguing with your linking leads on that. It’s easier to remove the ads from the page you’re actively link building for at the moment. Besides, more often than not, it’s very easy to do.

Create CTAs targeting your linking leads

This one is a little bit advanced, but it will help a lot. Adjust your CTAs on the linkable asset page to fit your linking leads rather than your regular ads.

For example, instead of “Sign up for a free trial”, you may include a press coverage link or invite visitors to download additional data or resources.

Using Facebook pixel to record everyone who initially landed on the site through your linkable asset is another great way to re-market your asset to your linking leads.

8. Keep an eye on those links

Very few people will reply to you saying they have indeed linked to your content. But knowing if they have is important because conversion is a crucial part in the lead nurturing process. It doesn’t stop your relationships with your lead, but it impacts your interactions going forward. Those leads who end up linking to you are your best friends. Cancel your follow-ups, thank them, and keep interacting with them on social media.

Again, if you are using an outreach platform, chances are the link tracking will be included. Otherwise, check out Site Checker that has a handy link monitoring feature included.

Conclusion

Safe links mean those we cannot control. This turns a link building process almost into a form of art, or a well-manufactured serendipity (one of my favorite business concepts). You need to do a lot before reaching your end goal, all while keeping your end goal in mind.

These days, when any site owner — professional or amateur — is bombarded with link requests, you need to up your link building game. Luckily, there’s a neighboring marketing area that you can learn from: lead generation. Adopt more complicated and more diverse outreach methods to acquire great links to your website. Good luck!

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epackingvietnam · 3 years