14 Backlink Request Email Templates That Don’t Suck

Most link building outreach emails aren’t compelling enough.

• They’re either generic with zero personalization.
• They don’t give blog owners and content marketing managers a reason to link back to your sites.
• They are poorly written and often end up in the spam folder.

At Nerdy Joe, we’ve had our fair share of link building outreach campaign. We’ve figured out the best way to secure links and it has earned us links from brands like Sumo, ButterCMS, VideoForm, Hyperise, etc.

But how do you craft those emails that effectively? 

We’re so glad you asked.

In this blog post, we’ll teach you how to create backlink requests outreach campaigns. We’ll also discuss the different types of backlink request emails, the elements of a successful backlink request email, share the best backlink request email templates, and tips for crafting a successful backlink request email.

What makes a successful backlink request email?

Here are the elements you need to put together to come up with the best emails for your backlink request campaigns. 

Mind you; these elements can also help you appreciate the link building email outreach templates we’ll share with you later on.

So, let’s discuss them. 

A great icebreaker

Most of the people you’ll be reaching out to don’t know who you are. There is also a good chance they’ve never come across your website before.

So, you are coming into the unknown, and you need a good first impression to catch their attention and hook them to read your email. 

So, to do this, you need an icebreaker. As the name implies, icebreakers are email opening lines designed to help you break the ice between you and your recipients. 

Here are the different things having an icebreaker means for your outreach:

1. an opening line that doesn’t strike the audience, like “I’m here for a backlink, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.”
2. an opening line that rapidly differentiates you from other link building emails and hooks your target webmaster to read your email. 
3. a beginning sentence that makes your recipients feel valued and makes the statement that you did your research before reaching out to them. 
4. a phrase that indicates you know them personally and conditions them to be more receptive of your email and offer. 

So, instead of simple greeting opening lines, you take it to the next level and bring interesting facts about the recipient to personalize the opening line and make it more impactful. 

And that’s how you can go from an email opening line that reads like:

To an icebreaker that reads like:

Interesting, yeah? But how do you do it? 

Well, glad you asked.

• Watch interviews and podcasts your target audience has participated in.
• Read blog posts and thought leadership articles they wrote or contributed to.
• Read their comments and posts on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Mastodon.
• Read their company’s new mentions.
• Etcetera 

You then combine all of the information you collected to find unique angles and craft personalized first lines or icebreakers.

Here is an example of how we keep it all in a spreadsheet before the campaign.

Personalized offer introduction

This is where you start talking business. First thing, you can just reach out to someone and ask for them to link back to your site. That’s not the way it works. 

From our experience, a link building outreach should always go about building a relationship with your fellow marketer. Remember that the recipient is not obligated to provide a link to your website. 

Because of this, you need to make a good impression and show that you value your recipient’s time and expertise.

Personalizing your introduction can help establish that connection and make the recipient more likely to consider your request.

For example, instead of a generic line like: 

a personalized offer introduction could be something like: 

This approach shows that you have taken the time to research their website and that you understand their interests and expertise.

Clear and specific request

The goal of your email is to get a backlink, so you need to be clear and specific about what you are asking for. Instead of making a general request for a link, ask for a link to a specific page on your website. 

Specifically, you need to mention a specific post or page on their website that you found interesting or relevant to your own content. It shows that you have put thought into the request and that the link will be relevant to their audience.

Value proposition

In order for the recipient to be motivated to add a link to your website, you need to show them how it will benefit them. That’s just how it works. Ask yourself, why would they be interested in putting your link to their website? 

So, you need to explain the value of your link to motivate them to put it on their website. 

For example, you can explain how the link will help increase their referral traffic or improve their search engine rankings. 

You can also mention that linking to your website will help their audience by providing them with valuable information or resources.

Sense of urgency

Giving a sense of urgency to your request can help motivate the recipient to take action.

For example, if you have recently updated a page on your website that would be relevant to your audience, let them know that the link would be especially valuable at this time.

Clear call to action

You need to be clear about what you would like the recipient to do next, whether it be to add a link to your website or to schedule a call to discuss further. 

And while you’re at it, be sure to provide them with any necessary information or resources, such as a link to your website or a specific page. It will make it easier for them to take action.

Professional and courteous tone

Last but not least, take the time to make sure your email is well-written, free of errors, and shows appreciation for your recipient’s time and consideration. 

Maintaining a professional and courteous tone throughout the email will help you build trust and show that you value the recipient’s work and resources.

14 backlink request email templates (+ types of backlink request emails)

There are different types of emails you can create for your link building outreach campaign, depending on your goal and what resource you want linked to. 

Here are the main backlink request email templates you can use based on your needs. 

The introduction email

The introduction email is used when you want to introduce yourself or your company to the website owner and explain why a backlink would be beneficial for both parties. 

 The guest blogging/guest post email

We all know about guest blogging, and it is one of the most effective ways to reach out for a backlink.

So, here you offer to write a guest post for your target website owner’s site and request a backlink in return. That’s it. Here are your link outreach email templates for that.

The broken link email (aka broken link building)

Here, you inform the website owner of a broken link on their site, detail how it is hurting their SEO strategy and ranking on search engines, and offer a replacement link.

The best scenario for this is that you used an SEO tool to check their website, and you picked up on a broken link scheme that might be hurting their site’s performance on the SERP and suggested a broken link strategy. 

The valuable resource email

This type of backlink request email is used to offer a valuable landing page resource or piece of content that the website owner can link to.

Basically, you just created this beautiful and excellent piece of content that’s so excellent or paradigm-shifting, and you want them to link to it. 

The testimonial email

The goal here is to offer a testimonial and request a backlink from a company whose services you used and were happy with.

The resource/product list email

This type of backlink request email is used to offer your website/product as a valuable resource/solution to be included in a resource/product list on another website.

This is also a great way to market your product by pitching for industry lists and getting a backlink in return.

The skyscraper technique email

If you’ve been poking around link building outreach materials, you’ve probably seen this one. 

This strategy is used to reach out to a website owner or editor to request that they link to a piece of content that you believe is more informative or useful than the content they currently have linked to on their website. 

The premise is that they will always prefer the best material for their audience, and if your content is truly better, it’s a sure win. 

The influencer email

Here, you reach out to a well-known or respected individual in your industry to request that they share or link to your content.  

The partnership email

You can use this backlink request email strategy to reach out to another website or business to request a partnership or collaboration.

The idea is that both you and your partner can benefit from the link swap. It also establishes a good relationship between you two for the future. 

The interview email

The interview-style backlink request email allows you to reach out to an expert in your industry to request an interview for your website.

You then host the interview on your website, and they can promote it on their website using your link:

The leverage email

Finding new webmasters or marketers to reach out to all the time can quickly become hard.

You can request a backlink by leveraging an existing relationship or connection with the website owner. Here is an excellent template for that. 

The link round-up email

The idea here is to request a backlink by offering to include a website or blog post in a link round-up or list of resources. Here is the email template for this. 

The event email

This type of backlink request email helps you land a backlink by offering to promote someone else’s event or webinar on your website. You promote it there, link back to your site, and that’s it. 

You can even wait till the event is done. Then you can offer to repurpose the content for the audience that couldn’t make it or simply create a digest of the event for the audiences. 

The networking email

The idea here is to land yourself a backlink by offering to network with another website or business. 

5 tips for crafting a successful backlink request email

Let’s discuss a few tips to help you craft your backlink request emails to perfection. 

Doing your research

The idea about doing your research to make sure you understand the target website and its audience before reaching out. You want to make sure you’re not throwing random links at random sites. 

If you do it well, it ensures that your request is well-received and has the best chance of being accepted. Researching before backlink outreach should include the following:

• Identifying websites that are relevant to your industry or niche and that have a similar target audience to yours.
• Looking at the content on the website and identifying natural opportunities for a mutually beneficial link, such as content that is related to yours or that could complement yours.
• Reviewing the website’s link profile to ensure that it is reputable and has a good reputation within the industry.
• Looking at the website’s contact information and making a note of who the best person would be to contact regarding a backlink request.
• Looking at the website’s social media presence, as well as any other online presence, they have to understand more about their audience and what type of content they prefer.

Personalizing your approach

Personalize everything and tailor your message to the specific website you’re reaching out to. By personalizing your approach, you demonstrate that you have a genuine interest in working with the recipient and that you are not just sending out mass emails. 

This will also help establish a positive working relationship with the recipient. Here are a few tips on personalization. 

• Use an icebreaker to open the email, rather than using a generic greeting.
• Reference the specific content on the recipient’s website that you think would be a good fit for a link to your content instead of simply mentioning their whole site.
• Explain why you think a link between your website and the recipient’s would be beneficial, both for your website and for the recipient’s website.
• Use language and tone that is appropriate for the recipient’s industry and audience.
• Show that you have done your research and understand the recipient’s website and what they are trying to achieve.
• Show your respect and appreciation for the recipient’s work, and give credit where credit is due.

Being patient and follow up

Don’t expect immediate responses, being patient and following up should be integral aspects of your backlink request strategy.

In most cases, people will go silent on you, especially if it’s not anything urgent. So, you need to be patient and follow up with them strategically. 

It can help you demonstrate that you are easy to work with and can also help with a good relationship between you and your target. Here are a few tips for this.

• Give the recipient time to respond to your initial request. They may be busy or have other priorities that need to be addressed first.
• When you do follow up, be polite and professional. Avoid being pushy or aggressive.
• In your follow-up email, remind the recipient of your initial request and explain why a link between your websites would be beneficial.
• Provide any additional information or resources that the recipient may need in order to make a decision.
• Give the recipient the option to opt-out or decline your request gracefully, without pressure.
• Show your understanding that the recipient is busy and that you are willing to work with them on a schedule that is convenient for them.
• Keep track of your follow-ups and be mindful of not over following up, as this might come across as pushy or annoying.

Being polite

Always be polite and professional in your communication. Remember that people have no reason and are not obliged to take up on your offer. So, being respectful and mindful of their time and communicating politely need to be part of your quiver. 

Keep in mind that a polite and professional approach can lead to further opportunities for collaboration in the future. Here are a few things you can do regarding this: 

• Use a professional and respectful tone throughout the email. Avoid using language that could be considered aggressive or pushy.
• Show appreciation for the recipient’s work and the content on their website.
• Acknowledge that they are busy and may not be able to respond to your request immediately.
• Thank them for their time and consideration, even if they are not able to accept your request.
• Show that you understand their needs and that you are willing to work with them to find a mutually beneficial solution.
• Be polite and courteous in your follow-up emails as well.
• Show your willingness to help and support their website in any way you can.

Go for a relationship

Your backlink building strategy should always be a long-term strategy. Going for a relationship-based approach indicates that you are interested in working with the recipient in a mutually beneficial way and that you are not just looking for a one-time link. 

This can help establish a positive vibe between you two as well as build trust and credibility with them.

This can result into further opportunities for collaboration in the future. Here are a few tips for going for a relationship-based approach:

• Don’t make it sound like you are just there asking for a one-time link. 
• Don’t become too pushy in asking for a backlink.
• Show that you are interested in their website and the content they produce, and that you want to support them in any way you can.
• Offer to help with their website in any way you can, such as by providing useful resources, sharing their content on social media, or promoting their website to your audience.
• Show that you are willing to collaborate and work together on projects that can benefit both your websites.
• Show your understanding that they are busy and that you are willing to work with them on a schedule that is convenient for them.

Key takeaways

• Regardless of the type of email you send, always make sure that it is personalized, well-written, and clearly explain the value of the backlink to the website owner in order to generate quality backlinks. Also, these are only outreach templates, you should only use them as inspiration to craft your own emails. 
• You need to experiment with different types of backlink request emails and approaches, and to personalize your approach to maximize the chances of success.
• When it comes to outreach, keep in mind that relationships always win. So, never reach out for a one-time link swap. Always play the long-term game.