This week’s posts here at WritebytheSea have been all about guest blogging.
And I invite you to take part in our May Writing Challenge, which involves guest blogging.
If you’ve been reading my posts each day this week, by now you know that guest blogging allows you to reach new audiences and establish your expertise further.
It also allows you to forge new personal relationships with fellow bloggers, and that is always a good thing.
Here are a few things you will need to keep in mind when participating in guest blogger opportunities.
High traffic is good, but not always necessary
Obviously, guest blogging on a high traffic blog is likely to give you the most exposure, but there is often competition to get posted.
In addition, there are plenty of highly targeted smaller traffic blogs that can provide good exposure.
Learn about the blog’s audience and write specifically for them
While you may write about the same topics, no two blogs are exactly the same.
Learn what makes the blog you’re writing for unique and keep in mind what their audience wants to hear.
Always read the submission guidelines carefully
Look forward what types of topics they want, what formatting you should use or any other specifics they are looking for.
Don’t get rejected just because you make a silly little mistake.
Promote an opt-in, not a link to your home page or a product
You’ll get the best results for with your guest post if you make a free offer to their readers.
Linking to your home page may bring in plenty of traffic, but what happens when they click away, never to return?
You want them to opt-in to your list, so that you can bring them back to your blog later, make product recommendations and keep in touch with them for months and years to come.
Engage the audience and respond
Just like with your own blog, readily ask your readers questions and respond to their comments.
Consider this your opportunity to forge new relationships with those interested in your topic area.
Write for the same blog again
Let the audience really get to know you and look forward to your posts.
While you can see benefit from just one guest blog post, the benefits multiple as you come back and become a more familiar face to the readers.
Make guest blogging a regular part of your promotion plan and you’ll start to see which opportunities are worthwhile and which are not.
You can also use your contributions to certain blogs as leverage to get the opportunity to write for even bigger audiences.
Try it!
Suzanne Lieurance
writebythesea.com
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