What do you do?

I’ve been there. Without a doubt, I’ve been there. And there is definitely something to do about it. Whenever I hear someone on my team say, “I’ve looked everywhere and I can’t find any more relevant leads” I know we have a problem for two reasons.

1. Link building never ends. Link building ends where the internet stops. I haven’t found that place yet so there’s still work to do.
2. Nothing stays stagnant and that includes strategies. If you’re still using the same link building strategy that you set up 18 months ago, it’s time for a new strategy.

Given those two statements, let’s look at some options.

Reassess Your Initial Strategy

Like I said before, strategies that are months (or worse, years) old are in need of some revisions. Why? Because the online space changes everyday. Don’t believe me? Take a quick peek at this little tool we call Twitter and tell me that the internet is the same as it was a year ago. Ask Google how different things were after a year or two of operation.

That’s one beautiful thing about the internet; things can change. Fast. So go back to your strategy and evaluate your goals. Are they still relevant? Which ones have been met and which ones need to be changed? Better yet, establish some goals if you haven’t already. I’m not just talking about #1 rankings for keywords. What milestones do you have in place? Number of links to a certain page or to a site as a whole? Traffic goals? What about goals in regards to brand searches? Set these up and then figure out a plan to get there. If you do a thorough evaluation of your strategy and it still stands, move on. But don’t assume that it’s fine and not bother to check it. Do the footwork even if it says that you’re still on the right path.

Identify Keywords

This really falls into two categories:

1. Are the keywords that you’re targeting in your campaign still the “right” ones to focus on? Have searching trends shifted so that your initial keywords are no longer valid? Are there new ones that you haven’t touched yet?
2. Identify the keywords that haven’t budged in awhile. If the answer to this one is “all of them,” pick some priority keywords and craft micro (or “mini” if you prefer) strategies to craft some focused link building tactics.

List Your Pitfalls (Chances are, there’s more than one)

Ask yourself a very simple question:

Why aren’t people linking to my / my client’s site?

Could it be your approach in your emails? Lack of content on the site? Too broad of a target market for link leads? Too niche? Too competitive? Create a list and see what you come up with. Be realistic. In fact, be brutally honest in your assessment. It will only help if you look at things in the right context. From there, come up with action plans to change your issues.

Lack of content = Content Strategy

Bad Email Requests = Change Your Approach

Too Broad of a Market = Pick a Niche and Move Forward

I think you get the point.

Have (Another) Brainstorm Session

I love link building brainstorm sessions. Take the information you’ve garnered from the first few steps and have another session (I’m assuming you’ve already had one). I already covered this topic in another post (pretty thoroughly, if I do say so myself) but the point is, get some fresh people in the room and hash out some new ideas.

First, understand that this post is not meant to be a fix-all. This is just a snapshot of my methodology. And it certainly doesn’t apply to every industry or site out there. I would be insane to make such a broad statement. But perhaps bits and pieces of this coupled with your own ideas would help kick things back into gear.

Photo Credit: http://www.markmallett.com/blog/wp-images/dead-end.jpg

I know that any team I have been a part of has had an exceptional strength in strategizing for a link building campaign. Why? Because we have excellent brainstorm sessions. So I’m going to share our secrets on how to have a great brainstorm session for laying out link building strategies.

So here we go. Without knowing what you’re getting into when you call link building brainstorm session, you could be in for some trouble. Here are my top tips for having an outstanding session.

Lots of people set goals when it comes to brainstorm sessions. But those goals aren’t necessarily good ones. Goals like “I want 10 new ideas for links” don’t really help. Set definable, measurable goals that are well thought out. For instance, set a goal like “come up with 3 solid ideas to pitch to the client surrounding increased brand awareness” or “let’s brainstorm ways that we can reach (fill in the blank) target market with high-quality content” or “we’re going to brainstorm link bait concepts based on these demographics to push the client’s tagline and business philosophy.”

Bottom line, you should always have some sort of idea of what you’re looking for before you stick a bunch of people in a room together.

Never go into a brainstorm session blind. Research the client or the site that you want to build links to. Research the competition and what they’re doing. Know the target market. Where do they hang out online? What type of content are they most likely to be reading? Research everything you need to know before you step foot into your brainstorming session. Trust me. It will make things go much easier.

Brainstorming should never be a one-person show. While some people are very knowledgeable about one particular topic, no one is the end-all-be-all. If you’re having a brainstorm session with your team, dig a little deeper and find out who you have access to that has knowledge or just a general interest or passion in the particular topic you’re going to be talking about. One of my favorite sessions I ever held was a discussion about a camping supply company. We had everyone who was on the project in the room plus a couple of people who weren’t on that team but that just loved the outdoors. The output from that session was phenomenal.

Tool are also important. And they’re basic. Things like having food, coffee, or water for everyone taking part, a white board (anyone who knows me will tell you have an unhealthy obsession with white boards), markers that work, research findings, any creative briefs already pitched and documented goals should all be in the room when people walk in. Plus, I find that if you have snacks it becomes more casual and the atmosphere will allow the creativity to flow much easier.

This is where I see most brainstorm sessions fall apart. Someone throws out an idea and it’s immediately shut down. Never do that. Even if you can tell from the get-go that it won’t work, throw it into the mix anyway. It could lead down a whole avenue that no one considered and be your most stellar idea.

No brainer? Maybe. But I can’t tell you how often I’ve been in a recap session of what was brainstormed and someone will say “What was the idea that involved…” and we all know what they’re talking about, but no one can remember the specifics. Keep detailed notes including the overarching concept, design elements, target markets, and any other items you discuss. One person should be nominated the secretary to follow the conversation closely while someone else is writing on your whiteboard or whatever else you have for the creative portion.

Brainstorm sessions should have two parts at a minimum. Inevitably, two days after your group pow-wow, someone comes up with someone else, so having a “Session Part 2″ will be extremely beneficial. Plus, if the session just isn’t flowing, walk away and try again another time. Forced sessions never work.

You have your ideas and you’ve selected the best ones. Now what? Make sure you have action lists created at the end of each session. Things like who is going to put together the presentation to get client buy in, further research on a particular topic, the creative brief, strategy bullet points, final reports, etc. should all be included. Each item should have an owner, a deadline for completion, and follow up notes if there are any issues that need to be resolved before someone can finish their task.

Whether this process works for you or if you have to tweak a few things, find something that works for you and keep doing it. This type of a creative approach to link building strategies should be an intregal part of your team’s efforts. Without it, you may regularly struggle to find success in your campaigns.