Internet Marketing - Matt Bailey [193]
Attract Links by Honing Your Content
Link baiting is the term given to the tactic of writing articles with the purpose of getting them to be passed on or recommended to others. Link baiting is what I like to call the “sensational” approach to link building.
These articles have the most extreme headlines or the most fear-based hooks, such as “10 things you have to do to your website, or hackers will steal it!” When marketing an article on the social-media sites, sensationalism works. Social-media sites make spreading sensationalism easier and faster. You have to click only a few buttons to send, post, vote, or tweet a link.
The headline is the most important part of the equation. This is the primary method that readers will judge the content and importance of the article. It has to be something that communicates an element of sensationalism—maybe the fear of being left out or the fear of being the last to know.
The headline also has to be something that communicates the time commitment very quickly. Just browsing through some of the headlines on a typical social-news site will show this tip. You’ll always find articles using the “top 10” formula. This formula communicates to the reader the number of points that will be made and a sensational factor. Using the formulas to create titles such as “10 Reasons…,” “5 Secrets…,” or “7 Worst….” will communicate a very quick and possibly entertaining read to the searcher. They will be able to quickly peruse the content and decide to read further, because they know that there will be a limited number of points made in the article.
A good place to see headlines using this and many other formulas is the website Digg.com. Digg.com is a website where members contribute articles and websites and add their comments and where other Digg members vote on the article (they “digg” it). As an article receives more votes (diggs), it trends higher on the page. High-trending articles that make it to the top of Digg.com will receive thousands of visitors, typically lasting a day or two. Figure 16-7 is a shot of Digg.com showing the headline “hook” in action. Three of the six trending articles this day are using this formula.
Figure 16-7: Digg headlines using the “top 10” formula
Of course, the other three headlines in that screenshot contain another type of headline that does well in social media: secrets. People love to find out something they aren’t supposed to know. Headlines that capture that desire to know more or showcase a prurient interest will do well on a mass scale, simply because of human nature.
Other types of articles that tend to do well are those that cover topics you might see on daytime talk shows. Typically very sensational types of news articles or weird news tends to do well. The weirder the better, but that’s just my opinion.
If you have a business and you are attempting to gain footing in the social-media news sites, then prepare to write articles about something this audience wants to read about. Your new hire or landing that new contract might make for a good press release, but it won’t make it in the world of social news. There has to be a good hook or something that entertains, or it won’t have much of a chance at all.
In addition to these things, a thick skin might be necessary. If your article does not deliver, the large crowd that frequents these sites are not typically hesitant about sharing negative opinions. In fact, in some communities, they thrive on negative comments