Online Marketing

Research

It's also about identifying those who link, what kind of content do they link to. It's the market that makes the content. Even though you think you have a great idea, the truth is that your readers will choose what you will get published and your ideas will come from carrying out research. Research is the key and if you don't spend enough time researching your market, then you will probably fail.

Distribution

You then need to show the content to as many potential linkers as possible, the viral nature of social media can help out and a powerful online network is essential. To those who have no access this is like hitting a brick wall. But it can be solved by taking the time to build a network, or buy the people who have built that network.
It's important that when planning your linkbaiting strategy, you realise that there are specific skills involved when creating something worthwhile. It would seem that for successful linkbait to work, there is always an element of simplicity that makes the whole creation look simple. In reality, to create something which appears so very simple can be quite a difficult process.

When creating linkbait, this 3 step process should be adhered to

1. Find who links
2. Discover what they link to
3. Show the linkers the content

Successful linkbait must contain the following elements:

1. Attention grabbing
2.It's important to entice the reader to consume the content
3. Instil a reason for the reader to share content

Linkbait is not a sales message whose intention is to get you to buy a particular product. The whole purpose of linkbaiting is simply to get you to link by using emotional triggers. Many times it has been said that we do not buy rationally, but that we buy emotionally. Linking is no different, it must reach the linker and trigger the correct emotional triggers.

If you have defined your online marketing problem as too few links then employing linkbait as an element of your whole strategy may be the solution to your problem. It has to mesh with your other online marketing elements such as PPC, Search Engine Optimisation, link buying, blogging, article writing, social media, etc. Of course having a brilliant website in the first place will help and if you get your web design just right, it's a good beginning.

It is imperative that it should never harm your overall branding strategy. The accent of the linkbait should not harm in any way the way you want your brand to be perceived. So if you are a bank and you want to create a piece like, "Great Gadgets Bankers Buy with their Bonus". Probably not a good idea right now. Even though I am confident that this will get the banks links, linkbait should never really be about gaining links at any cost.