Getting Links is like Getting Your Flatmates to go Down the Shops for a Packet of Hobnobs
Have you ever shared a house or a flat with someone? You are all sitting around the telly watching repeats of Coast and you ask one of your flat mates to nip down the shops and buy a packet of Hobnobs.
There is as much chance of your slovenly flat mate putting on his shoes and coat and heading off to Lidl than there is as getting someone to link to you.
The point I am making is that useful links are extremely difficult to get, if you give it no thought.
If on the other hand you said, “I have a couple of friends coming over, one of them is that girl you really fancy and by the way did I mention that she loves Hobnobs, do we have any in the cupboard?”
The chance of the slobby flatmate heading off to Lidl increases exponentially.
Rather than ask for a link, make it serve the linkers self interest to link.
Make it your goal to know what the linker is interested in, what gets their juices flowing. What makes their linking finger itch?
August 28th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Simply genious! I just ran into your blog. I don’t think I’ll stop reading it anytime soon. :)
August 29th, 2008 at 12:24 am
I LOVE Hobnobs!
August 29th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Possibly the best way to explain how to do this I’ve ever read. And, I could even read the headline from across the street. :)
Cheers
September 10th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
I highly recommend “Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion” for ideas of how to influence users behaviour (ie, get them to link).
September 20th, 2008 at 9:40 am
haha wow that’s a pretty cool way of looking at it! Now, I don’t know what exactly ‘hobnobs’ are, cos we don’t have them down here in New Zealand, but I would assume that they are a biscuit of some kind…! lol
September 25th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
this is a very interesting start, i just wish it was expanded on a little bit.
November 8th, 2008 at 12:00 am
So when taking a horse to water to drink, the trick is simply to make the horse believe he is thirsty.