Brief blogger outreach with follow-up and low-hit-rate expectations
Seed the first search-facing proof with short personal emails to relevant bloggers, then follow up without pretending the hit rate will be high.
Why this can grow a startup
A young product rarely earns links by waiting. Manual outreach works because it puts the product in front of people already writing about the exact job or query you want to rank for. The trick is to keep the note short, show why the product improves their page, and accept that most people will ignore it. The links that do land matter more than the silence around them.
Company example
Kapwing wrote that early links from Try Modern and FStoppers were important for SEO, and Julia Enthoven's takeaway was to send brief emails with clear calls to action, follow up, expect a low hit rate, and keep doing the manual work anyway.
Source and metric
Source: Kapwing Company Blog · Browse Kapwing Company Blog tactics
Kapwing was still sending about 10 cold outreach emails per week seven months after launch because the few early links were so valuable
Source discovered: May 27, 2026
When to use it
Use this when SEO, Email, PR is relevant to 0-100, seo, launch and you can run a bounded test with a free budget.
When not to use it
Do not use it as a substitute for customer evidence, a clear owner, or a measurable stop condition. Local platform rules and market behavior still need checking.
Founder checklist
- Read Kapwing Company Blog and identify what is directly supported.
- Choose one channel context: SEO, Email, PR.
- Define the test around Kapwing was still sending about 10 cold outreach emails per week seven months after launch because the few early links were so valuable.
- Set an owner, evidence window, and stop condition before launch.
Explore the context
Apply this with an operator
Turn isolated search tactics into a crawlable visibility system tied to demand and proof.