Though guest blogging can have many benefits for your business, not everyone is successful at getting their guest blog posts published. Even when they are published, some guest blogs end up having little to no positive impact for the author.
For guest blogging to be effective, you have to know:
- What to write
- Which blogs to approach
- How to approach them
- How to incorporate SEO
- How to follow up after it is published
Determining What to Write
Though you generally shouldn't write the post until you know which site it is going to be on, you do need some ideas to pitch. In fact, what you want to write about will play a role in determining which blogs to approach.
You want to write about what you know and what is relevant to your own industry. Google AuthorRank makes this even more important, as your authority is measured on specific subjects; going off-topic might not hurt your ranking, but it also won't help.
You can identify your best subjects by looking at which of your existing posts receive the most views and which keywords drive the most traffic to your site. You can then brainstorm ideasto submit as guest posts.
Identifying Blogs to Approach
Once you have ideas of what to write about, you can find sites that may be a good fit for your topics.
You can find potential guest blog opportunities by searching for the keywords you are targeting, looking at which sites already refer traffic to you or through networking with other bloggers in your industry. More popular or respected sites are preferable, even though they may be harder to get content published on.
It is important to consider the overall tone or theme of a blog under consideration. If it is focused on comedy and you have something serious to say, for example, it will not be a good fit.
Approaching Blog Owners
Some blogs will have guest posting guidelines and spell out the process for you. If not, you'll just have to contact the blog owner and ask.
You want to have something specific to pitch to them, and it needs to be specific to their blog. In other words, you want to show that you understand what their site is about and are savvy enough to write something they would want to post—with little effort or guidance required from them.
Incorporating SEO
You want your guest blogging efforts to improve your own site's search rankings. To do so, you'll need to incorporate SEO, using the right keywords and links back to your own blog.
There may be limits to the number of back links you can include; the blog owner will not be interested in a guest post that is too obviously self-promoting. But some linking is to be expected. If there is an author bio section, you can include your home blog site and one or two social media profiles as ways to contact and connect with you.
Following Up
A big benefit of guest blogging is the ability to network and connect with people. These personal connections are more powerful than impersonal links or search results, and can expand your reach through their social networks.
After the blog is published, be sure to check back and personally respond to comments. You should also promote the post through social media and monitor the social network channels for mentions or comments by others. These provide further opportunities to connect with new readers.
By following these steps, you can get more guest blogging opportunities—and make each of your guest blogs more successful.
* Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
