Article

Promote your guide for lasting organic reach

Step-by-step plan to launch your repurposed assets: timing email blasts, social drops, community posts and forum replies. Engage for 60 minutes, log results, recycle winners and grow authority.

Introduction

Your guide is written, repurposed and optimised. The only task left is promotion. Links and mentions from other places on the web tell Google and language models that your content is worth showing.

This chapter gives you a four-step plan. First, post the guide on channels you already control. Second, earn helpful links in open communities. Third, swap value with partners to borrow their authority. Fourth, place your guide on evergreen resource pages.

Follow these steps and the hours you invested in research and writing will turn into steady impressions, clicks and leads.

Part 1

Promote on your own channels

Send the newsletter

Start with ten friends or colleagues. Paste the teaser into an email, ask for blunt feedback, edit, then send the newsletter you wrote in the repurposing chapter to your full list at the usual time. When your list has grown, schedule the same newsletter (rewritten) in three months. People who missed or ignored the first send get a fresh chance to click.

I like this simple email to explain why you should watch his video.

Post on LinkedIn

Publish the post or carousel you drafted earlier. Stay online for the first half hour so you can like and reply to comments; early interaction lifts reach. As your follower count grows, paste the old post into ChatGPT, ask it to reshape the hook and examples, then share the refreshed version. Most of your audience will see it for the first time.

Pin the guide in your profile

Add the article link to your LinkedIn Featured section or the website field in your headline. Readers can click straight to the article, and you avoid placing an external link inside the post itself.

Part 2

Earn contextual links in communities

Your guide will travel further when people discover it inside the forums, sub-reddits and chat groups they already trust. The goal is to add genuine value first and let the link act as an optional deep dive, not a sales pitch.

Reddit

Find fresh threads

Search your main sub-reddit by “new” and filter for questions posted in the last 24 hours. Fresh posts have less competition and the moderators have not closed discussion.

Write a full answer before linking

Explain the solution in 150–200 words. If the guide expands on a step, add the link at the end in parenthesis: (Full walkthrough here). Links placed sooner often get removed.

Frequency

Aim for two high-quality answers a week. Up-votes matter more than volume.

Quora

Track high-traffic questions

Type your keyword, sort by “Answer requests.” Bookmark three questions with at least 1,000 followers.

Give the complete method

Offer a 300-word answer covering the what, why and first action. Then add “I wrote a detailed guide if you need screenshots” and place the link.

Collect three to five of these community backlinks. They send referral traffic, build authority and give Google another signal that real people find your guide useful. Next we will look at collaborations that place your link on high-authority sites.

Public tool forums (HubSpot, Webflow, Indie Hackers)

Many niche tools run open forums that are indexed by Google. Helpful answers here earn qualified clicks and do-follow links.

Find unanswered questions

Use the forum search bar and filter for posts with zero replies in the past seven days. Fresh topics let your answer rise to the top without competing against a thread of experts.

Give a complete, tool-specific solution

Write a short step-by-step fix that uses the platform’s own features. Screenshots or code snippets stand out. Once the reader can solve the immediate problem, add a single line such as “Full guide to the entire process here” and place your link.

Link etiquette

Keep the anchor text simple, for example “full guide” or “detailed walkthrough”. Avoid keyword stuffing and let the quality of the answer do the selling.

Aim for consistency

Post one high-value answer a week in each forum. Over a quarter you will build a visible history of helpful posts and a handful of authority backlinks that reinforce your guide in search results.

Part 3

Collaborations for authority backlinks

Links from reputable sites in your niche carry more weight than any amount of self-posting. The fastest way to earn them is by sharing value with partners who already serve the same audience.

Guest articles

Look at blogs run by vendors, tools you use or peers in the same space and spot content gaps your guide fills. Pitch a post that covers one slice of the problem and link back to the full walkthrough as the next step. Editors get fresh material, you gain a do-follow backlink.

Podcast swaps

Hosts need guest experts with practical stories. Offer a concise fifteen-minute segment that explains one key takeaway from the guide and ends with an invite to read more. Show-notes almost always include a live link and listeners who enjoyed the episode tend to click.

Newsletter trades

Pair up with a peer mailing list. Provide a short blurb about your guide and promise to feature their content in your next send. Both audiences receive new insight and both writers earn a quality backlink.

Justin Welsh’s newsletter shows the simplest form of a trade: he plugs SEMrush and swaps audiences with Ray Green, they return the favour in their own lists, and each mention carries a live link. Both sides gain new subscribers who already trust the recommender’s voice, and the guide earns an authoritative backlink without any money changing hands.

Aim for one collaboration each month. Twelve solid authority links over a year will lift every guide you publish.

Part 4

Ask for backlinks

A well-placed link from an existing article or resource page does more than pass authority. It sends qualified visitors who are already reading about your topic. The key is to offer genuine value, not a copy-paste pitch.

Find pages that welcome additions

Search Google for your keyword with operators such as intitle:resources, intitle:recommended, best [topic] guide or top [topic] tools. Open pages that rank on the first three result pages and are updated within the past year. Add any blog posts that cover your topic but miss a point your guide explains.

Check for gaps or broken links

Scroll each page and ask:

  • Does my guide cover a subtopic they skipped?
  • Is there a link returning 404 that I could replace?
  • Use a browser extension like Check My Links to highlight dead URLs in seconds.

Craft a personal email

First, look at what not to do.

The screenshot shows a spray-and-pray template that promises “10,000+ High-Quality Blogs” and “Quick Turnaround.” It is impersonal, doesn't tell me why I should care. It's spray and pray (and it doesn't work!)

Write a concise, helpful note instead. Keep it under 120 words.

  1. Open with a genuine line about a specific part of their page.
  2. Point out the missing angle or the dead link.
  3. Offer your guide as a replacement or addition in one sentence: tell them exactly how it fills the gap.
  4. Close politely: “Feel free to decide either way. Thanks for collecting these resources.”

A personal email shows you read the page and care about its quality; that alone sets you apart from mass outreach.

Follow up once, then move on

Wait seven days. Send one short reminder. After that, drop the request and look for another opportunity. Editors value relevance and respect for their time. A handful of considerate, well-researched emails can earn high-value backlinks that lift your guide higher than dozens of low-quality directory submissions.

Conclusion

Conclusion

You have walked a long-form piece from initial idea to backlinks that keep it climbing. Share it on channels you control. Offer real help in open communities. Team up with peers for guest posts and podcast swaps. Request a spot on resource pages or fix a broken link with your updated guide.

This is the exact process I run for every article. If you spot a smarter step or tool, let me know and I will add it to the loop. The organic search playbook ends here, but the cycle never stops. Create, optimise, repurpose, promote, learn and repeat. Organic growth is a long-term play, yet every pass through the loop pushes your content, and your business, a little further. Good luck.

Next chapter

Work with your own tools or use these

Use what you already have. But if you're starting from scratch or want recommendations, these are the tools I use with clients and personally rely on. Consider this a bonus: helpful if you need it, completely optional if you don't.

Read all my articles
Eyebrow title

use case icon

Topic

Who is it for icon

Playbook

Playbook

Organic search

Rank in Google and LLMs by publishing content that answers real buyer questions and attracts high intent traffic. Build content pillars that compound results with steady effort.

See playbook
Organic search
Tools

Work with your own tools or use these

Use what you already have. But if you're starting from scratch or want recommendations, these are the tools I use with clients and personally rely on. Consider this a bonus: helpful if you need it, completely optional if you don't.

See all tools
Google Sheets
Tool

Google Sheets

Google Sheets is a cloud-based spreadsheet tool for data analysis, collaboration, and automation. It's free, works in your browser, and integrates with the entire Google Workspace ecosystem.

Surfe
Tool

Surfe

Turns LinkedIn into your CRM interface, find and enrich contacts, then push leads and messages to HubSpot, Salesforce or Pipedrive without copy pasting.

Playbooks

Step-by-step guides for B2B marketers

Tactical playbooks for every stage of this engine. The playbooks are practical guides for tactical stuff. They complement the (paid) growth framework and help you with the tactics.

See all playbooks
Playbook

Outreach automation

Pick a prospecting method and tidy data. Warm domains, protect deliverability, build short email and LinkedIn sequences, and route positive replies to the right owner with tasks in the CRM.

See playbook
Outreach automation
Playbook

LinkedIn thought leadership

Post consistently on LinkedIn with a routine that grows authority, attracts buyers and turns visibility into pipeline. Turn posts into warm leads without spam or gimmicks.

See playbook
LinkedIn thought leadership
Playbooks

Book summaries for marketers

The books that shaped how I think about growth. Read summaries here, then buy what resonates. Learn from the best thinkers in B2B.

See all book summaries
Founder brand
Book summary & review

Founder brand

Dave Gerhardt

A guide to purposeful visibility. Choose topics, set a cadence and turn posts, talks and interviews into warm conversations.

The Ultimate Blueprint
Book summary & review

The Ultimate Blueprint

Keith J. Cunningham

A practical summary of how businesses really grow. Clear levers, simple maths and actions you can take this quarter.

Growth wiki

Growth concepts explained in simple language

Key concepts and frameworks explained clearly. Quick reference when you need to understand a term, refresh your knowledge, or share with your team.

See entire growth wiki
Eyebrow title

AIDA

use case icon

Topic

Who is it for icon

Playbook

Map the buyer journey from attention to action, crafting messages that guide prospects through each stage to conversion.

Eyebrow title

BANT

use case icon

Topic

Who is it for icon

Playbook

Qualify leads systematically by assessing budget, authority, need, and timing to focus sales effort on high-potential opportunities.

Course

Why most B2B marketers don't get the results they want

Most B2B marketers are either Random Ricks (trying everything) or Specialist Steves (obsessed with one channel). Generalists run tactics without strategy. Specialists hit channel ceilings. But there's a better way.

See entire course
Random Rick
Always-busy marketer

Tries everything at once. Posts on LinkedIn, runs ads, tweaks the website, chases referrals. Nothing compounds because nothing's consistent. Growth feels chaotic.

Specialist Steve
Single channel specialist

Obsessed with one tactic. 'We just need better ads' or 'SEO will fix everything.' Ignores the rest of the system. One strong engine can't carry a broken machine.

Solid Sarah
Full-funnel marketer

Finds the bottleneck. Fixes that first. Then moves to the next weakest link. Builds a system that's predictable, measurable and doesn't need 80-hour weeks.

Start for free

Sarah grows faster than Rick and Steve. Want to know how Solid Sarah does it?

Learn how she diagnoses bottlenecks, orchestrates the four engines, and drives predictable growth. Choose if you want to read or watch:

See full course
7-day mini-course in your inbox

Learn the system by email

Get practical frameworks delivered daily. Seven short emails explain how Sarah diagnoses bottlenecks, orchestrates the four engines, and builds systems that compound.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Watch module 1 for free

See the course in action

Free 45-minute video module from the full course. Watch how to diagnose your growth bottleneck and see exactly what the course platform looks like.

Article

Promote your guide for lasting organic reach

Step-by-step plan to launch your repurposed assets: timing email blasts, social drops, community posts and forum replies. Engage for 60 minutes, log results, recycle winners and grow authority.

Organic search