Outreach is the targeted contacting of website operators, editors, and creators with an offer of content, cooperation, or a heads-up about something useful. The response rate for mass templates is negligible and damages the sender's reputation, so quality decides, not quantity. A message that works is short, addressed to a specific person, refers to something the website in question has actually published, and clearly states what the recipient gets out of it, not what the sender needs. The best responses come from offering value – original data, filling a gap in incomplete information, flagging a broken link, or offering an expert comment. One polite follow-up after a week is acceptable; another one is not. Results are measured by the number of mentions obtained, not by the number of messages sent.
See also: Media relations, Broken link building, Guest post.
