Guest blogging is the perfect way to get your high-value content seen by more people. If you can work it into your marketing mix, you’ll see your audience grow. Guest blogging can also help you reach specific goals that you have set for your business.
So, what is guest blogging, and how does it help businesses like yours?
What Is Guest Blogging?
Guest blogging refers to writing posts that are published on someone else’s blog. First, you’ll need to research and narrow down compatible blogs in your niche that share a target audience with you. Then, you’ll pitch them for an opportunity to write.
Guest blogging is a win-win strategy. You get exposure to the blogger’s audience, and they get a free piece of high-value content for their blog.
Many big blogs accept guest submissions regularly. For them, it’s a great way to offer variety to their audience. Plus, there might be topics outside their area of expertise that are better handled by guests. Your job is to find these blogs and offer content ideas that are the perfect fit for them.
It’s an extremely effective marketing strategy if done right. Here are the reasons why.
You'll Expand Your Audience With Little Effort
The main benefit of guest blogging is that you will get your work, and your name, in front of a new audience. Regular readers of the blog will consume your content and learn more about you. Then, if all goes according to plan, they’ll click on your link to see what else you have to offer. If done right, they’ll become engaged members of your audience.
The key is to identify blogs that have a similar target audience to you. It’s essential that you write posts for people who are interested in your niche and receptive to your content. Uncover problems they might have and provide a solution in your blog post. If you produce content that appeals to them and helps them in some tangible way, they are more likely to start following you.
You'll Increase Your Visibility & Grow Your Authority
A guest blogging strategy allows you to become a published author on multiple websites. This increases your visibility and helps to grow your reputation as an expert in your niche. People will see you on various platforms, specializing in a specific topic area, and they’ll naturally think of you when they need help with related issues.
You'll Get A Healthy SEO Boost
Any business with an online presence thrives on web traffic. Guest blogging is a great way to boost your search engine optimization and systematically build more traffic.
There are several ways guest blogging produces SEO benefits. First, you’ll start to see organic traffic coming directly from the post.
You’ll also notice traffic coming from Google when people search for keywords that the blog, and your post, are targeting. This causes your post to appear higher in Google search results. The blog and your business both benefit.
Another way you’ll receive SEO benefits from guest blogging is through high-quality backlinks to your site. When your website has links from, what Google deems to be, a high-quality website, this tells the search engine to send more searches your way.
You'll Establish Yourself As A Niche, Subject, Or Thought Leader
Trust is very important for businesses on the internet. People want to consume content and buy products from businesses they know are legitimate and experts in their niche. Publishing your work on other people’s blogs helps you establish your reputation.
If you can manage to publish on an influencer’s site, it’s like you’re getting their stamp of approval. They are vouching for your work, which will quickly establish you as a trusted expert.
You can also promote these posts on your own site and social media accounts. With the blog owner’s permission, include an “as seen on” banner on your site which features their logo. This helps to establish social proof. People are more likely to listen to what you have to say when you’re associated with these high-profile individuals and organizations.
You'll Build Your Network
How To Do Guest Blogging The Right Way
Guest blogging takes some time and energy, but if done right, the results will totally justify the effort. Here are some of the guest blogging best practices that will help you get the most out of this strategy.
Clarify Your Goal
Start by defining your guest blogging goals, as this will influence all the decisions that come later.
If your goal is to grow your audience, get specific about how and where you’d like to see it grow. For example, you might want to expand your own blog readership, your email list, or social media following. Or, you may want to boost sales of certain products and services. The goal may also be to grow into a new market segment or get feedback from your target market.
Identify Your Target Audience
Before you can choose the ideal blogs to pitch, you need to identify your target audience.
Who are you writing for and what blogs do they read? Create a profile based on whatever data you can gather. Then pinpoint their concerns and where they get their information. This will tell you which blogs to pitch to and what to write.
Get Specific About Your Niche
You already know your business’s overall niche, but get specific about your guest blogging niche.
If you can choose something unique and highly specific to write about, this will help you create content that stands out. A niche also allows you to laser-target so that you eventually bring the right people into your sales funnel.
Thoroughly Research Potential Blogs
Dedicate time to researching blogs, so you choose the right ones to pitch.
Focus on blogs relevant to your niche, popular with your target audience, and that accept submissions. You may also want to consider the keywords they target. Start with a large list of potential blogs and narrow it down based on what you learn.
Do the Groundwork
Spend time reading the blog and interacting with its readers so that you can get on the blog owner’s radar.
If you do this, they’ll already be familiar with you when you make your pitch. They get many requests each day, so this will ensure that your email stands out.
Write a Great Pitch
Write a pitch that explains who you are and the value you bring.
Give them 2-3 succinct, relevant pitch ideas, so they can choose one. Make sure they aren’t topics that the blog has already covered.
Don’t Skimp on Quality
Make sure you write a high-quality post that offers true value to readers.
Remember that this will be the first time that readers are exposed to your content, so it needs to be good.
Follow Up!
Your work isn’t done once your post is published.
Come back to the blog, and its social media pages, and reply to comments. Thank people for sharing on social media and engage with them there. Track the performance of your posts and follow up with the blog owner to keep the relationship going.
Get Started Guest Blogging Right Now
Are you ready to make guest blogging work for you?
The first step is to decide what you’d like to achieve using this strategy. Once you determine your goals, it’s time to research, pitch, and get your first post off the ground. Eventually, you can add guest blogging to your regular marketing mix and see tangible (and awesome) results.
