WPMU Dev threw a lot of resources as implementing the "skyscraper" technique.
1. find the best article on the web
2. write a better one
3. send out link requests
Obviously Brian Dean did not invent that playbook, but he got a lot of mileage out of naming it and effectively branding it (though clearly not enough, because WPMU refers to it as the AHREFS skyscraper technique). The results are interesting.
The main thing I find interesting is the amount of resources it took them. I have had clients/bosses who think they are going to take a full-time employee (sometimes me) and just add spinning out a "skyscraper" article per week to the duties. WPMU Dev devoted significant time to choosing topics, then writers worked full-time for 2-3 weeks on each article, then 8-10 hours put into sending out link requests. In other words, over 100 hours per article.
And the person doing the writeup likened step 2 to asking how Jesus would write a better bible.
https://wpmudev.com/blog/skyscraper-seo-link-building-strategy/
The AHREFs take on it
https://ahrefs.com/blog/skyscraper-technique/