It appears that the sphere has been talking a lot about guest posting these days. Why not? It is the best of both worlds, for the guest blogger and the host, as there are many advantages by doing so. Problem is that there are people who would rather be silent and not make use of this advantage simply because they are afraid. I will not elaborate on this further as I believe it is self explanatory. Since everybody is talking about it, here’s my two cents about the subject matter.
First and Foremost
Do not be afraid to guest post. I know that it can be intimidating due to a lot of “excuses” but there is really nothing to be concerned about. The only thing you have to ensure is that you are doing it right and for that, here are some few tips on how to successfully use this to your benefit. Yes, there are benefits and a lot! Read on.
Advantages of guest posting.
While there can be many, it is my opinion that the most important are:
- Guest posting has advantages that in my opinion is more important than traffic. There are people who guest post with the sake of obtaining traffic, and if you are thinking this way, stop. The most important part of guest posting is exposure and credibility.
- You can show the world that you are an expert in your field.
- Free publicity? Lets face it, many would not like me saying this but it is true. Why would you pay for an ad when you can get maybe more exposure from a nicely and well promoted guest post? A guest post is far more valuable than anything else if you ask me, provided that it is done right.
- You get valuable backlinks.
- It is an effective form of article marketing.
Tips On Writing A Guest Post.
- Choose to guest post for a website that has preferably the same topic as yours and make sure that what you are writing is relevant to their topic. Do not write about “weight loss” on a “video game” related website. Remember that you are interested in exposing yourself as a specialist and the readers base of that website will not be interested in anything else. If they like what you have to say, the more likely it will compel them to visit your website.
- Write a unique and original article. Never send a guest post that has already been published somewhere else.
- Avoid sales pitches
- Write as if you were writing on your own blog, only better.
- Provide a good bio, make it compelling.
- Do not include affiliate links under any circumstances, unless the blog owner tells you to.
How to get your guest post published?
Most of the time a website owner will clearly state “somewhere” that anyone can write a guest post. They can be “write for us”, or anything else related. It is also normal to find the guidelines of that websites for guest posting. Read it and get familiarized with their rules of engagement
Once you have seen that a website accepts guest post, avoid sending an email asking them if it is OK for you to guest post on their website. That seems obvious. Instead, write an article and send it right away with a small introduction of yourself, if the website owner is not of your acquaintance.
Send the article as complete as possible, including images, videos, links, etc. Remember that this should be in accordance with their guidelines.
Is there a best time to send guest posts?
It really depends on the websites owner, as most of the time they will accept a guest post anytime. Nevertheless, if you are having a hard time to get your guest post accepted, I found the following to be quite interesting and effective as far as timing is concerned.
Analyze the websites posting frequency. Often times when a blogger has other projects, has personal matters to tend to, etc., you may notice that the posting frequency is dropping. This is a good time to give them a helping hand.
Vacation time. Yeah! Everyone has to give it a break. In many occasions the website owner will actually say that either in a blog post or through a social medium. When this happens, it is also a perfect timing to send them a guest post.
Your guest post has been published, now what?
Here is something for you. The article that you have written is yours (obvious). So treat the article as if it where published in your website. Promote your article like crazy, respond to comments, interact with users who left their views and opinions and finally, promote it some more. This is what the websites owner expects from you.
There you have it. These are just some pointers on the guest bloggers perspective and not as a “host”. That is subject to be discussed another day.
How about you? Have you written a guest post before? How was your experience? Will you do it again?