PR, SEO, Backlinks Experiment Continues

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to contribute expert insight to Forbes, Southern Living, The U.S. Sun, Reuters, TravelPulse, MoneyLion, TravelAge West, NTD and several other publications.

And I’m seeing firsthand why earned media can be so powerful.

These aren’t ads.

I didn’t pay for the coverage. I didn’t buy a sponsored placement. A journalist needed a source with real-world experience, I had something useful to contribute, and an editorial relationship was created.

One opportunity often leads to another.

A quote becomes a relationship with a journalist. A relationship can lead to another story. A collection of stories starts building something much bigger: authority, credibility and a public record demonstrating that you actually know your field.

That has been particularly valuable as I continue building GetCruiseInfo.com and Chapter7Reset.com.

SEO matters. Social media matters. Content matters.

But there is something uniquely powerful about an independent publication deciding that your experience or perspective is worth including in its reporting.

My biggest takeaway from this experiment:

Don’t chase backlinks. Build relationships and become a genuinely useful source.

The links, mentions, citations and visibility are the byproducts.

The real asset is becoming someone journalists know they can call when they need expertise.

That’s the power of editorial partnerships.

#EarnedMedia #PublicRelations #DigitalPR #MediaRelations #SEO #ContentMarketing #Entrepreneurship