If you own a content website, you’re no stranger to receiving emails from strangers.

I get asked for a guest post every day!

These are basically people hoping to get backlinks from your website. Here’s how it works:

1. They ask to submit a free guest post.
2. Gives you content that contains links to their website.
3. You post the content.
4. They get free backlinks from your site. Yay to their SEO!

As my music site, www.audiomentor.com received more and more traffic, I began receiving more and more guest post request emails.

And then, I had enough.

I’m sick of all these emails. I asked myself – what if I charged them?

I decided to counter-propose the next email I received.

Take a look at the email I received below:

So this guy wants a backlink. Why? Obviously, the end goal is sales for his company, right?

I realized that I could probably help drive sales for him by writing a review article and creating a video review. I did some math, then decided to charge USD800 for the work.

See my counter-proposal email below:

The next 3 days there were crickets… No reply from Alex.

I decided to send a follow-up email. He then replied, I negotiated the deal and within the next few days, received the first 50% payment to start working.

By the end, I made USD800 from a cold email initially requesting for a guest post.

USD800 to create a YouTube video and article, might not seem like much to some people. But the amazing thing is that this deal came from a cold guest post request email. And it wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t ask for it.

Key Takeaways

Three things I’ve learned.

1 – Ask and it’s given.

If you want something, ask for it.

Have you ever missed out on a potential business deal, just because you were afraid to ask? Maybe you were afraid of asking for money. Or afraid of asking if it’s a paid deal.

Many entrepreneurs miss out on opportunities just because they are afraid of getting rejected. But rejection won’t kill you. The lack of money in your business will.

Just ask.

2 – Help the client see value.

You should be paid a fair compensation for the product or service you provide.

But when you sell, you need to help your client see the value. What does your service mean for him? How much is his potential gain?

Remember that value does not always have to be monetary-driven. You could be saving time for your client or giving him a peace of mind.

But it’s important to help your client see the value. If you observe my email, you’ll see me stating the monetary value my client would potentially receive. That did the trick of sealing the deal.

3 – Follow up, follow up, follow up.

Most salespeople try selling once, and when their prospects don’t respond – they give up! Many deals are lost, just because the salesperson did not follow up one more time.

When I first made the proposal, I did not receive a response. It was only when I sent a follow-up email that I got a response.

Don’t make the mistake of not following up. Build a system in your business to follow up.

Check out.

If you enjoyed this post, drop me your thoughts below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Better yet, subscribe to my newsletter for more juicy lessons like this.