If you plan to promote your blog seriously, then guest blogging is an option you can ill afford to lose. Wondering what it is?
Guest blogging means occasionally writing for other blogs to expand your presence and gain a new audience. Relatively successful bloggers are always interested in publishing blog posts from guest bloggers primarily because
- It brings in a totally new perspective
- It brings quality content without much effort
- They can focus on their blog marketing instead of having to worry about continuously generating new content
But what benefit do you get from guest blogging? Shouldn’t you instead focus on your blog and generate content for it as much as possible? Of course, you should generate content for your blog before you start guest blogging (there is a bleak chance of getting to guest blog if there is no quality content on your blog).
Still, the benefit of guest blogging is so overwhelming that people are practically building careers out of it.
Whenever you publish a guest blog post on another blog, your resource box also appears along with the post. This resource box contains valuable information regarding what you do, what is your website link and how to subscribe to your RSS feed.
It can be a complete paragraph or a couple of sentences, but it is enough information to give an idea of what your website or blog is all about to the readers of that blog. Sometimes they also publish your photograph.
Guest blogging also generates high-quality backlinks to your blog, great for affiliate SEO. Most blog publishers go for guest blogging merely for this reason.
So as a blogger or a website publisher, you get the following benefits out of guest blogging:
Contents
Quality Backlinks
Google and other search engines give lots of prominence to page rank, and you can improve your page rank by gathering lots of backlinks.
As mentioned above whenever your blog post is published on another blog, it is accompanied by your resource box containing a brief profile, a link to your website or blog, and the link to your RSS feed. If done routinely, guest blogging can get you scores of quality backlinks, consequently increasing your search engine rankings.
Branding
It is all about your presence and brand recognition on the Internet. By guest blogging, you make more and more people aware of your presence as an individual and entrepreneur. Guest blogging also gives you a chance to establish yourself as an expert and an authority, which further strengthens your brand.
Increased Traffic
Of course, your guest blog posts can generate a ton of extra traffic because the blogs publishing your blog posts themselves enjoy lots of traffic. Even a single guest blog post on an A-list blog can send thousands of visitors your way.
New Subscribers
Again, as mentioned above, your resource box can also carry a link to your RSS feed, increasing your subscriber numbers.
How to Find Blogs for Guest Blogging
In most cases, you must already be aware of blogs that would like to publish your guest blog posts. In case you have no clue, you can use the following methods to find good candidates:
- Search engines: Suppose you write on technology and you would like to write guest blog posts on the same topic. You can search on Google (or any of your favorite search engines) something like “top technology blogs” and visit them one by one to know more about them.
- Social networking with writers and blog publishers: It is advised that you continuously network with other blog publishers in your niche. This is because most guest blog posting opportunities are exchanged between people who already know each other. If you don’t know many people in your field, it is perhaps the right time to start networking and interacting with people. If you suddenly pop out and start approaching people for guest blogging assignments one day, they might, politely or bluntly, turn your request down. Make as many friends as possible.
How to Make Sure Your Guest Blog Posts Are Published?
It is very simple. Every blog publisher looking for guest blog posts wants quality stuff to publish. Be genuine and unique and don’t try to do a “quick job”.
Remember that if you are writing for a highly-traffic blog, it will get you traffic for a long time, so sometimes writing one blog post properly is worth writing 10 proper blog posts for your blog. While preparing your guest blog posts make sure:
You create a compelling title: A compelling title is very important because it can draw lots of traffic from social networking and social bookmarking websites. Your title also encourages the blog publisher you are approaching to give due attention to your proposal. Make it catchy and relevant. Provide a solution in a highly interesting manner.
Do proper research: Your claims in your guest blog posts must be backed with thorough research.
Keep in mind the audience: Pay close attention to the sort of audience that visits a blog you are publishing your guest blog posts on. It shouldn’t seem that you are going on a tangent. Even if you’re introducing a new idea some way or the other it should be relevant to the inherent theme of the blog.
Keep It Relevant
Is what you are writing really useful? Is it going to add value to the blog where it is published? Does it solve people’s problems? If you keep it relevant, it will be extremely hard for the blog publisher to reject your guest blog posting proposal.
Make a Genuine and Original
This goes without saying that your guest blog posts must be completely original and genuine, and no idea must be taken from other “sources.” Even if you’re referring to some data the source must always be mentioned. Use your intrinsic style because that is what that blogger is looking for — a fresh voice and a fresh perspective.
Respond to Comments
Responding to comments shows the bloggers who would be interested in publishing your guest blog posts that you are really interested in the topic and like to communicate with the community. It also gives you a chance to express yourself and discuss ideas that were perhaps left untouched in the actual blog post.
The Process of Approaching Other Bloggers for Guest Blog Posts
Some sense of familiarity is a must. Start interacting with the blog publishers on whose blogs you would like to publish your guest blog posts. Even if you are not familiar with them, you can contact them by e-mail and send a proposal. It may include the title of your guest blog post with a small synopsis.
Don’t forget that not everyone likes affiliates, but if you can show you are building a brand opposed to a thin affiliate website, your chances will be much better.
Don’t worry if the blogger doesn’t get back immediately. Because they run a successful blog, they are constantly bombarded with messages and guest blog posting requests. It may happen that they never reply. Don’t give up.
You can write to them again or contact them using Twitter on Facebook; just make sure you don’t spam them or harass them with a litany of messages.
This is your ultimate guide to guest blogging success. Stick to it and see your traffic and your business skyrocketing.