We are excited to announce Reach Score expansion onto four more cities in the US. More locations to come as our database grows.

The Reach Score algorithm remains almost the same, as described in our launch post – we look at social metrics, Domain Authority, event attendance, and newsletter subscriptions to calculate an organization’s “Reach.”

“Reach” is a measure of an organization’s connections within its local community, and thus a measure of a sponsorship’s potential impact in that community. The Reach Score is relative to other organizations in the metro area, so you can’t compare Chicago to Dallas.

In addition to the launch statistics for our four new cities (below), we also looked at the evolution of Reach Score in our original cities – this is the subject of a new article coming up soon, stay-tuned.

Reach Score, as a defined metric, has helped both ZipSprout and non-profit organizations. ZipSprout has revised its approach to enrolling organizations by focusing on the Reach Score components, and has added a new tool for matching organizations with sponsorship opportunities. (Remember, Reach Score is only one metric, and the highest Reach Score often is not the best match for a sponsor.) Organizations now have a metric to help them in their marketing, and can see concrete improvements when adding Facebook friends, Twitter followers, or holding in-person events.

Select Results from Our Four New Cities

As before, we looked at Reach Score trends across organization types, with a focus on the interaction between Reach Score and sponsorship cost. All figures based on a data extract taken on May 12, 2018.

In Seattle, while you generally pay for a high Reach Score, there is one type of organization with a very high Reach Score and an average minimum sponsorship cost less than $500. Organizations for the Arts appear to be very connected to the Seattle community, with effective outreach and events such as monthly neighborhood art walks. Note that these are smaller arts-focused organizations such as galleries and community theater groups, not major museums or civic performing arts groups. These organizations represent a great opportunity to reach Seattle’s artistic community at a low cost.

San Francisco’s Reach Score profile matches its status as an expensive city with a thriving tech scene. The average minimum sponsorship cost overall is $2,371, and, as seen above, three of the most common org types exceed that average. These most common org types also have relatively high Reach Scores, which fits with a tech-focused city (Reach Score is biased towards tech, with social media and Domain Authority as its main components). Like Seattle, Organizations for the Arts have high Reach Scores, but those in San Francisco have a higher sponsorship cost. San Francisco organizations with low sponsorship costs generally have low Reach Scores, in the 20s and 30s (not pictured). It will be interesting to see how those organizations adapt now that we have launched Reach Score for San Francisco.

Like Boston back in January, Miami may be launching slightly prematurely. Miami’s organizations with Reach Scores are spread out across all org types; only a handful of types have a large number of orgs. We do see a great diversity across those org types, with Reach Scores from the 20s to the high 50s, and sponsorship costs from $500 to almost $2,500. Like Boston before it, we expect launching Reach Score in Miami to stimulate growth in our Miami database, attract sponsors to Miami, and encourage Miami organizations to improve their underlying numbers (social media, Domain Authority, events, and newsletter subscribers).

Finally, in Dallas Reach Score is bucking some Texas stereotypes. The two org types with the highest average Reach Score are Local Government and Parks & Recreation Departments (a specific type of local government organization). But small government does exist, at least in the cost of related sponsorships, as both government org types have average minimum sponsorship costs under $1,000.

Start measuring the Reach Score of any organization today at https://zipsprout.com/reach-score/

written by Garrett French & Claudia Cruz

How to Build Links Via Existing Relationships

• • Identify who you know who can potentially link to your website
• • Determine what kind of online asset will appeal to each individual
• • Reach out to every individual about the asset you can provide
• • Create the online asset
• • Send a compelling email with a clear call-to-action
• • Follow up and ensure quality with kind persistence,
• • Handwritten thank you card

One of the most commonly cited—but rarely explained—pieces of link building advice is to “take advantage of existing relationships” or “reach out to your contacts.” This is not a sensational claim: we have confirmed, after auditing and analyzing the most commonly cited link building advice, that this oft-cited suggestion has never received the deep dive it deserves.

The idea behind this advice makes sense, until it comes time to put it into action. Reach out to your existing contacts and say what, exactly? “Hey, do you want to help my business by linking to me please?”

Such an approach will not work. Let’s consider what will work. The solution is not to blindly send emails to your friends and business contacts that make you look foolish or unprepared.

Fear not. We have detailed a seven-step process, easy enough to follow, along with a straightforward spreadsheet that will keep you focused and on track.

Step One: Identify who you know who can link to your website

It’s important that use both your time and the time of your contacts in a valuable manner. You don’t want your time wasted and neither do they. As you ask the questions below, remember to fill out the spreadsheet to keep track of this information. Consider some of the following factors when launching your outreach:

• Who do you know who could potentially link to your website? This does not necessarily need to be a business contact. It can be your dentist, your lawyer, your cousin or your former boss. It could even be your childhood friend who now runs a Mommy Blog. What matters is that you consider everyone you know who is in a position where they might be able to help with this effort.
• Do they have a website? The reality is that many of your existing relationships don’t have their own websites. At the same time, there are plenty of people you know who do have their own websites and who, if properly motivated, would happily send a link toward your website from their own.
• If they don’t have a website, what do they have? What is their social media presence? Are they active enough on Facebook to warrant an effort, despite no website? Do they have significant social media followings? Remember that social media can be an impactful channel for short term promotions or announcing new services or products; if you cannot get a link from their website, their might still be social media opportunity, including traceable promotional codes or word-of-mouth.
• Who makes the decisions regarding the website? This won’t necessarily disqualify many contacts, but it is crucial to consider whether you are being realistic. Even if you know someone on Wal-Mart’s e-commerce team, it’s unlikely they’re going to be able to kick a link your way.
• How strong is the relationship? How well do you know this person? Are they a friend? A business contact? Rate each contact on a scale, with 1 being the most distant and 5 being the strongest.
• Ask your employees and colleagues what opportunities you might be missing? Are you sponsoring things? Are you involved in the community? Consider both your business relationships and your social relationships. Reach out to you accountant and ask if there are any other business relationships you may not be considering.

This is a lot to keep track of. Remember to use the spreadsheet to keep it all in order.

Begin with an ambitious list of at least 20—as you go, you’ll find the number both grows and shrinks, as you determine that some contacts are poor fits while discovering new opportunities who you did not originally consider.

Step Two: Determine what kind of online asset will appeal to each individual

Now that you’ve determined who you are going to reach out to, you must determine what you will offer them. Ask yourself: what can I create that my contacts will genuinely want to publish?

• A testimonial: The art of testimonial link building has literally been around for decades. It can be extraordinarily simple: you provide a testimonial, i.e. a simple review, to someone you have worked with before. This can be an ideal option for someone with whom you have worked or you want to build a stronger relationship with. You may opt to make this testimonial as simple as a one sentence quip or as involved as an impressive infographic. What matters is that you share something that genuinely compliments and thanks your local contacts in a way that they cannot resist but to share it on their website.
• Images you have related to their location or product: Consider how many photographs you have of the places you go, food you eat, services you’ve paid for, and products you’ve purchased. If you have some that are high quality, consider providing those directly
• A preferred vendor badge: See the images below for examples. This is a simple thing you can provide to anyone you work with that immediately gets you more publicity, a stronger relationship, and a new link.

 

 

• Sponsorships: Similar to the preferred vendor badge but used specifically for local non-profits or other organizations that you are sponsoring.
• An interview or dialogue with your contact: This is a concept we could explore much deeper, but as its simplest it’s a conversation between you and your contact, one that you will ultimately host on your website or will provide to them to host on theirs.
• Unlinked mentions: A classic move for earning links—and one made even easier when reaching out to an individual you already know. This can be as simple as vetting the websites in the spreadsheet to see if they already mention you.
• Unmentioned collaborations: In some cases, you might have an ongoing business relationship or endeavor that does not have any mention online yet. In these scenarios, work with these individuals identified to create some kind of content that mentions your business on their website.
• Content marketing with a local focus: This typically takes more work, with potential for major gains. It can be daunting, although it does not have to be. Quality content marketing can be as simple as a blog post that speaks to a niche audience with information they aren’t used to hearing.
• A press release: Like content marketing, this can require a more advanced and structured approach. If you have several contacts in the world of local news or blogging, a press release is ideal. Remember that you are doing them a favor by giving them something they can easily turn into quality content on their website.

Before you start going down the wrong path, let’s pump the brakes on something right away: no, we aren’t recommending you incentivize them with anything other than quality content. This is not a guide to sponsored content, native content, or, worst of all, paid links.

Return to the spreadsheet and keep track of what kind of content fits your situation the best, under the column marked “Strategy”.

Step Three: Reach out to every individual about the asset you can provide

At this point, it can be easy to become overwhelmed. Start with your strongest opportunities first. Note that the spreadsheet gives you two different ways to rank every individual:

• Relationship Strength: how well do you know this individual? Are they a friend of a friend? Do they owe you for a recent professional favor or positive business interaction?
• Ease Level: This refers to how hard the ask is to complete. If you are asking for them to turn an unlinked mention into a link, it’s a straightforward ask with a straightforward solution. If you’re providing them with a press release, that’s going to take more on their end. Consider this: which of these are the easiest to get out the door?

Now, the reaching out can seem daunting. But it does not have to be.

Here is an email template that works well for reaching out about a testimonial:

Dear ______,
I’m reaching out because I have been writing testimonials for individuals and business I really enjoy working with. It’s something that I think benefits both of us greatly, and your quality of work really deserves it. If you are interested, I would love to provide such a testimonial to you, for your website.
Feel free to reach out to me with any questions you might have about it. Let me know when you receive this and if you have any other ideas!
Sincerely,
________

Step Four: Create the appropriate asset

In a vacuum, this would be the most difficult task in this list.

However, if you have followed the three steps—with attention to detail and the spreadsheet—then this should become your easiest, most straightforward task. Create the best asset you can for each interested contact.

Step Five: Send the asset, tailored to each contact

This is the big moment: time to provide your contact with the asset you promised. We recommend using a professional email that includes a link to the content.

Here is a template that works well for providing a testimonial:

Dear ______,
As I mentioned before, I’ve been writing testimonials for people I really enjoy working with. I’ve attached the testimonial I put together to this email.
My only request is that you link to my website at _____ when you post it on your website. Like before, please reach out to me with any questions or ideas related to this.
Sincerely,
________
Of course, feel free to tweak this to your own uses and to match your style of writing, as appropriate.

Step Six: Follow up and ensure they have what they need.

You’ve made it through the hard part!

At this point, you have to keep communicating. Remember that, if you approached this correctly and used the spreadsheet throughout, these aren’t strangers you’ve been cold calling. They’re people you know. You should ensure they have what they need to link to your site while improving their own site in the process.

A few aspects of QA to consider:

• Did they understand the ask?
• Did they implement the link correctly?
• Is the link nofollow? (Unfortunately, this might not be something you have any control over—but it’s still worth checking)

It’s important to be professional throughout this process. You want to maintain and build relationships throughout this process, not burn any bridges.

Step Seven: Formal Thank You

Once it’s live, it’s time for a Thank You. Don’t overdo it, of course. We aren’t talking cheese plate and bottle of Scotch.

A handwritten note goes a long way. Another simple option is to buy them a cup of coffee. Just make sure you do something simple and thoughtful to show your appreciation.

ZipSprout has helped enterprises and agencies building local relationships for the last two years. In our experience, local relationships are cost effective, adding extra value to any marketing strategy.

Another viable channel to build B2C relationships locally, are sponsorships. Our strategies and tips to start your own local sponsorship campaign today can be found in our Local Sponsorship Playbook and if you still have doubts on how to implement your campaign after reading our playbook, you get a 30-minute chat with Claudia Cruz, ZipSprout COO; to go over all of your questions.

In the SEO world, there’s a rule of thumb that as soon as one tactic works, everyone finds out about it and overuses it until it no longer works.

This might be a cynical way to look at marketing. But I think that’s how outsiders see this industry. Those people ruining their online experience with pop up ads, and hollow content marketing. But.

But.

Maybe the people responsible for crappy marketing aren’t real marketers. After all, if they’re not stirring up positive conversation about a brand, then are their tactics really working? Are they real marketers?

And I say real marketer like it’s a thing, because I think after hearing today’s guest, you’ll understand what I mean by this distinction. Rev Ciancio is a REAL. MARKETER. From his personal brand that’s focused on food culture, to his career helping local marketing agencies at Yext, Rev doesn’t follow processes. Rather, he works in ways that come naturally to him, which just so happen to also be great marketing tactics.

And I think the difference here, is something that Rev talks about here – it’s about being human. To be honest, Rev is one of the most human marketers I’ve met. His brand is just… him, a guy who’s just really good at talking to people about what he loves.

In today’s episode, Rev and I will talk about how he built a following of small businesspeople on Instagram of all places, and how that journey, which started with hamburger photos, took him to Yext. We’ll also hear about his local nonprofit, and why he likes being a small fish in the big pond that is New York City.

Welcome to the Zip.

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Note in advance: you can learn more about Tashia and her work at her website, luvisagift.com, and you can donate to her GoFundMe here (even $5 helps!).

One of the things I’ve liked best about interviewing so many nonprofit organizers and leaders has been seeing the great amount of love so many people bring to their work. When your job is to serve others, I think you develop a sense of care, and a greater sense of love, for the people you’re working to help. This isn’t storybook love; this is the real stuff, the stuff that keeps you going on a rainy Monday full of meetings.

And today’s guest is going to talk a lot about love, both directly and indirectly. Tashia Scott, a two-time domestic abuse survivor, is now building an app, and a community, for other women and men in similar situations. Before I met Tashia, there was a lot I didn’t know about the difficulty involved with prosecuting domestic violence. But because there’s a lot of paperwork involved, a lot of documentation needed, and a lot of incentive for victims to remain quiet (including not wanting to endanger themselves, or their loved ones), many abusers go free.

And it’s one of those situations where you’re like – how is there not an app for that?

I mean, seriously. We have apps for, you know, picking out our clothes in the morning and counting calories in our lunch. How are there so many true areas of need that lack technological aid? And that’s why Tashia’s story is so awesome. Out of her love for domestic abuse survivors, and from the love others extended to Tashia, she’s been able to work with a team to build the app domestic violence victims need to break their cycle.

This love is not the Disney kind, but it is the ‘happily ever after’ kind, in its own way.

Warning: there is content concerning domestic violence in this episode that could be triggering for some people.

Welcome to The Zip.

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Giving isn’t simple. Think about the last time you tried to pick up the check for a friend or family member after dinner. There’s always that moment where someone puts the card down, and then the other person protests – there’s some back and forth. “No, you don’t have to,” etc etc. In my experience, this moment can even turn a little awkward, or become a battle between family members – who can convince the waiter to take their credit card??

The point is – just because a gift is offered doesn’t mean it will be received, or received well.

And this is true in the nonprofit world as well. Sometimes giving has to be strategic to have the best effect.

Today’s guest is Paul Ramsey, executive director of a Denver-based nonprofit, “A Little Help.” This organization brings together inter-generational groups of volunteers, from kids to older adults, to do some “little help” tasks for seniors in their communities. Picking up groceries, dusting the bookshelves, changing light bulbs, or air filters.

But what I found most interesting about our conversation was Paul and his team’s calculated approach to helping their neighbors. As he says in the podcast “You can’t just throw help on people!” We’ll talk about the differences between the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers, how these two groups receive help in drastically different ways, and how communities will continue to change, as each generation reaches the age of needing… Just a little help.

I’m your host, Megan Hannay of ZipSprout. Welcome to The Zip.

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