Sunday, June 16th, 2013
Guest blogging can get visitors to your site.
Is it Easy?
No.
In fact it’s a lot of hard work.
Still interested?
Anything worthwhile takes effort and guest blogging is just the same.
Guest Blogging Success – Source
Becoming accepted is the area that most writers new to guest blogging fail to work at.
Guest blogging has grown in popularity in the online community in recent times. The main reason has been the traffic it brings to both the guest blogger and the host. This extra traffic usually leads to a higher conversion rate and more revenue for both sides. This article offers a step by step guide of how you can use guest blogging to your own advantage.
The first group of tasks will help to make you someone that people actually want to link to.
1. Build Up Your Own Site Content
You must have a decent amount of content on your site and it must be of high quality and written by you with a unique point of view before you even ask someone to link to your site. Anyone who links to you puts their own reputation on the line every time they link, so you have to prove that their risk is minimal.
2. Build a Unique Theme and Header for Your Site
A unique theme and header image demonstrate your commitment to your site. You need to prove to people that you are in it for the long haul. Your website is more convincing than a begging email.
3. Set Up Social Media Profiles
Part of the attraction of hosting posts by guest bloggers is the extra traffic from your social networks that will follow you on to the site where your post is. It takes time to build a following, so start straight away.
4. Install Alexa on Your Site
One of the signs that you have some idea what you are doing is that your own site has a low Alexa rank, certainly less than 1 million. Once you install the Alexa toolbar every visit you make will improve your Alexa rank. It doesn’t mean much, but an Alexa rank of 8 million tells people that you have nobody visiting your site who has Alexa installed in their web browser.
5. Grow Your Knowledge
Guest blogging is only for experienced blogger because you have to have something to say. This means that you have to do a lot of learning, of absorbing others’ knowledge so you can form your own views. It takes time and patience along with discussions to form a valid point of view.
6. Build Up Your Reputation
Your reputation is something that will take time to grow. When you start blogging or writing you are a nobody who has to demonstrate that you are a nice guy (or gal). You do this by helping people, by offering information without the expectation of any reward.
Make sure your website only links to top quality sites. Gambling, violence or sex site links can harm your site and your own reputation.
7. Build Your Relationships
Relationships make the World go round; this is true online and in the real world. People only help people they know and trust. You have to establish that trust by demonstrating a kind and helpful attitude both publicly and privately.
8. Install the MOZ Toolbar
SEOMoz has recently renamed itself and their toolbar will help you to track the progress of your own Domain Authority and the Page Authority of your own web pages. This is crucial now that Google Page Rank updates are less frequent and carry less weight.
9. Talk to Other Bloggers
Building relationships online takes time. You need to be using every tool at your disposal, from chat services to Google Hangouts and forums. Start by asking if there is anything that you can do for them today. This is so different from the usual “Do you want guest post?” approach that it will bring you a much better response.
The second group of tasks are about continued relationship and reputation building.
10. Accept Guest Posts on Your Own Site
Relationships work both ways. People want to see that you are willing to host guest bloggers’ work on your own site. This will also give you an insight what bloggers need for when you are looking to be a guest on their sites
11. Comment on Friends Blog Posts
Do this to be helpful rather than for links back. You are setting yourself up as a useful person to know.
This is the bit you were expecting, but it only works if you have laid the groundwork first.
12. Look for Gaps
You might also have noticed gaps that you could fill in with a guest post. These would be areas in which your own knowledge was greater than the blogger’s own, areas in which you could be considered an expert
13. Finding a Blog to Post On
By now you should be on first-name terms with 5 – 10 bloggers, be reading their blogs regularly and commenting on other posts. Broach the subject of guest posting in one of your conversations in a natural way.
14. Check Guest Post Guidelines
Check the format required once your blogger friend has given you the go-ahead to send him an outline. Make sure you stick to the blog’s formatting requirements
15. Write Your Post Title
Make it catchy, 6 – 10 words and designed to catch the reader’s attention
16. Write Your Post Intro
Make the intro to your post using short sentences, multiple paragraphs and hooks to get your reader to carry on reading
17. List all the Points Your Post will Make
This is your pitch, so list all the subheadings you are planning to use. These will give the blogger a good idea of whether the post will suit him or not.
18. Write Your Post Conclusion
It is essential that your post has a conclusion as well as an introduction. Try to avoid using the word “Conclusion” though
19. Pitching your post idea
This is where you make your pitch to the blogger. If you have built up a good relationship and done your research you are unlikely to be refused.
20. Write Your Post
Your post needs to be the best writing you are capable of. It should be a one-off, unique post that is crafted to suit the blog you are submitting it to. It should be something you are proud of.
21. Include Images
It is essential to include 2 or 3 images with your post. These should be properly licensed and full size 800px wide where possible.
22. Link to other posts on the blog
Do the blogger’s work for him and link to other elated posts that he has previously written.
23. Link to authority sources
You may know a lot about your subject, but you do not know everything, so link to authority sources to back up your ideas.
24. Include tags in your post
Ask the blogger if it would be helpful if you included tags for your post. He might prefer to do it himself, so ask before submitting tags.
25. Authorship and writer bio
Your writer bio should include a link back to your Google G+ profile and a link to your own site.
26. Respond to comments
Check back each day and every time you are notified of a comment. The commenter has taken the trouble to read and comment on your work so respond and make them feel their effort is appreciated.
27. Promote the Post to Your Social Networks
Remember to publish the link to all your social networks, to boost your own reputation and to help the post to get traffic.
28. Continue to Build Your Relationship with the Blogger
The guest posting experience benefits both parties and will continue to do so for years after the guest post, but you need to keep up the social relationship, even when you are not trying to sweet talk the other party into letting you write a guest post.
29. Offer to Write a Follow-Up Post
You have done a great job, so the blogger will usually welcome you back to write follow up or related posts, each of which will drive fresh traffic to your own site.
You need to put in a lot of work to become a guest blogger who people welcome:
In short you need to make yourself stand out from the crowd. You have to let people get to know you, to like you and to trust you before they will let you post on their blogs.
Hey, am Uttoran Sen - the CEO and Founder of the Guest Crew Influencer Marketing Community and a full time Blogger. Follow me on Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook.
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I’ve never understood these guest blog marketers LOL. If they want to be seen and to get traffic they have to start building their social profile. It’s so important to build your brand when guest blogging! Great post my friend tons of real awesome tips.
thanks brian,
really appreciate you coming here and making the first comment.
yeah, it is all about making a solid brand, and everything starts with a good profile.
cheers!
I definitely think guest blogging isn’t the safe link building tactic it once was and rightly so if used in excess. I agree with Tim: in moderation these sorts of techniques are generally acceptable but if you’re building links by the dozen with spammy guest blog posts then you should expect to be penalized. I think if Penguin 4 doesn’t deal with this I’m quite sure it will be dealt with soon after.
Hi Martin,
welcome to Guest Crew and thanks for your comments,
I think the basic idea that works throughout the net and everything in general is, – if you give quality you get quality.
Matt Cutts was very clear when answering questions on guest blogging, quality content + quality site will always work.
Guest blog brings exposure to author but at the same time guest blogging should not be seen at the realm of it advantage also the disadvantage and that is why the post reiteriate on content and reputation else one might end up loosing it bogging carer as a result of bad guest post
hi adesanmi adedotun,
welcome to Guest Crew and thanks for your comments,
surely, it is all about quality content, that is what makes guest blogging a success for everyone.
[…] its heart, guest posting should be simple. A well-written blog post is posted on a blogger’s website. Of course nothing in life is really […]
guest blogging is such a great way to attract visitor to your blog. nice one, thank for this post.
Hey Suraj,
welcome to Guest Crew and thanks for your comments,
Yes, guest blogging is a great way to get more visitors, readers, social votes, Subscribers and much more… glad you liked the post,
thanks,
Uttoran Sen,
Hello Uttoran,
Well this is some really great and useful post or a new blogger like me, i hope i will too get some good reputation in blogging for my blog after trying some of your tips for my blog. Thanks for the wonderful post.
Siddhant
Hey Siddhant,
welcome to Guest Crew and thanks for your comments,
glad you liked the post and wish you all the best on your blogging journey – hope you achieve success.
thanks,
Uttoran Sen,