Justilien Gaspard, April 5, 2012 4 Comments

It can be a challenge at times to come up with new ideas for link marketing campaigns. Whether you're at a loss of where to start, or simply have writer's block, here are some strategies to get you started.

Step Away From the Computer

Some people find their best ideas by stepping away from the computer. Go for a walk, to the mall, or drive around with link marketing on your mind.
Look for strategies that could be modified, and converted into a link development campaign. The inspiration is all around you.
Here's an example. In malls some pretzel chains frequently gives out free samples to customers walking by. You can do something similar to grow your back links and social media presence.
While your specific product may not be well suited to small samples, you can give away other things such as funny bumper stickers. If they're funny enough some customers will even pay the shipping.
You'll need to promote it. Here's a trick to test things out, and increase your social media presence at the same time: offer free shipping on the bumper stickers to the first “x” number of people who promote it in social media.

Modernize Old Techniques

For those tied to the computer, look to what has worked in the past. There is no need to reinvent the wheel – although you can modernize and improve it! Examine what other commercial and non-commercial sites have done in the past.
Also, expand your search outside of direct competition. Explore what sites in related industries have done. Non-commercial sites are often overlooked – yet many great ideas can be borrowed from them.
When researching these sites make notes of any patterns you see. There is normally certain types of things people tend to link to in each industry.
Next take the old strategy, and modernize it for it to work today. An example would be if you found an online tool from the late '90s that was successful. Ask yourself if it would be useful, and popular, as a mobile app?
Maybe it's not something that will work well in mobile. Then you could offer to buy the tool from the site, update it, and relaunch it on your site.

Mix & Match

Another option is to take two good ideas and combine them. The only limit is your imagination.
A simple example of this is integrating public data into a mapping service like Google Maps. The trick is finding data that people will find very useful, funny, or something they will naturally share with others.
This is also a good way to adapt a successful idea from an unrelated industry. Simply combine it with a great idea from your niche.

Conclusion

Whichever strategy you choose, keep in mind the importance of promoting it. Try to find a way to get through the online noise and clutter.
These are just three starting points to develop a new link marketing campaign. It's important to keep an open mind, and always be on the lookout for new ideas.