Hello,

This week, I’ve been thinking about creative ways I can build more backlinks, so I can get my DA up. Of course, as food bloggers, we can submit our links to round up groups and submit queries to HARO. Maybe we can work on guest blogs, and try to go on podcasts.

But are there other backlink strategies we can use? I’m really interested in people’s advice around getting media spots, whether that’s local or national. Local and Digital PR is a great way to build backlinks, but as a food blogger, I don’t know the best approach to this. I remember Bjork talking about getting into his local media newspaper when Pinch of Yum was young, and he used that to leverage into bigger PR opportunities. However, as someone trying to get out there more, how would you go about pitching outlets? If you find that most of your visitors concentrate in one general location in the US, should you be targeting outlets in those areas, or does it matter?

It’s funny, because we spend a lot of time learning how to pitch brands we want to work with, but I think pitching media outlets could be a fruitful backlink strategy? Does anyone have any advice or resources on how to leverage this strategy?

Also, another question when it comes to backlinks. If I am joining affiliate programs or getting brands reaching out to me to join their affiliate program, do you think it’s reasonable to negotiate a do follow backlink for participation in their program?

Thanks again in advance for all the advice!

Hi Audrey!

What a great, thoughtful question. I love that you’re approaching this from a fresh perspective. I think that local media outlets (TV of course, but don’t forget radio and print/online outlets) are a great place to start. I would also suggest pitching yourself for podcast interviews!

Here are some resources for you:

• 368: Becoming a TV Personality and Growing a Food and Lifestyle Brand with Rosalynn Daniels
• Eat Blog Talk Episode 159: How to Land a Cooking Segment on TV with Marie Fiebach

In general, I’d recommend preparing a Media Kit and starting off with some research. Watch your local news, and observe the segments — do they have cooking segments? Do they look like they’re filmed locally? What kinds of topics do they like? You can tailor your pitch accordingly — i.e. if you know it’s almost apple season, pitch a segment with some of your apple recipes.

You could even try contacting guests who have done cooking segments on your local television outlets to see how they made the initial connection with the network.

Does that help to answer your question?