What is guest blogging?
Guest blogging is a kind of content marketing strategy that includes writing articles for other websites. To give a better understanding of it we will explain to you through an example which is as follows:
There are XYZ websites and you want to post your blog on their website. Some will charge you to post your work and some will not. However, you will contact them and discuss the pricing for posting your blog.
So you have started a blog and want to increase its traffic. You tried various SEO ranking factors but things are taking time and you want to get noticed. Now you want a guide to guest blogging (Geez you did a lot of hard work but this one is worth it!).
Then let’s dive in!
Guest blogging enables you to write blog posts for a high authority website similar to your niche.
Why would you write a guest blog for another website?
It’s more powerful than marketers think. B2B marketers and salespeople significantly underestimate the impact of thought generation leadership on demand generation and sales effort compared to actual feedback from B2B buyers-Edelman
Here is why:
- Want to boost your website exposure by attracting more traffic.
- Increase your domain authority by linking with high authority domains.
- Who doesn’t want a name in the industry? You want a high authority name in the industry.
- Create brand awareness and increase your credibility among the organic visitors.
How to start guest blogging?
First of all, set up a blog and make it look professional. There are many websites available that will help you to design your blog. Secondly, you should build a logo and pages.
Remember you don’t need to add many pages. Just add pages like homepage, contact page, about page and some of your previous work.
Thirdly, this is the most important one that is knowing your niche. Be sure about your niche. It would be much better if you focus on a particular niche and build a community there.
And the last ,is to write a bio of yourself before posting so that a reader should know about the author who is reading to.
Guest Posting Strategies:
If you are planning to start guest posting, just keep in mind some few strategies which will help you get success in this.
Write detailed blogs:
Your blog should consist of 1500-2000 words as it helps you get more reach and you need to be consistent while posting. Try at least posting once a week.
Write SEO- friendly blogs:
Guest blogging is one of the best ways to generate traffic on your website. Try to do some keyword research before posting. SEO- friendly guest blogs are more likely to appear on google search results and in return it will help you to get more audience on the blogs.
Create Call-to-Action:
Most people don’t understand but call-to-action plays a role in building a community of your readers. Make sure to add a strong call-to-action button that asks the reader to subscribe to your newsletter or upcoming events. Sometimes the reader likes to get to hear more from you and that can only be possible if you provide them with a call-to-action button.
How will you submit a guest blog?
Before knowing how to submit, you should know who to submit?
Finding opportunities for Guest Blogging:
1. Google:
Well, that is simple, just type on google about which sites accept guest posts and you will get tons of websites regarding. Take a look at all of them and decide which one is the best for your blog. Make sure to choose the sites that have the audience you need and are compatible with your brand.
The key point here is what to search the best possible way out there is to search for the ‘Topic Keyword’ +‘ Your Niche’. You can look for different combinations.
[your_topic] “write for us”
[your_topic] “become an author”
[your_topic] “guest post”
[your_topic] “guest article”
[your_topic] inurl:contribute
The biggest with this method is that anybody and everybody can do this. So, this increases the saturation.
2. Social Media:
The high authority websites have pages on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. These pages usually have a huge fan base and a lot of followers. So, Search for these pages and try contacting them after you get convinced about their content.
Don’t forget to read – Does Social Media Marketing Really Affects SEO?
3. Look for the Source:
There are various websites that help find more sites that accept guest posts .These websites are usually the sources of these inbound links.
These include:
- 200+ Websites provides a link as you can see in the screenshot below:
- Alltop can also be used
- Look for your competitors as they usually post the guest blogs for reputation. This gives an exposure of other opportunities in your niche.
After looking for the websites, access the ones you find feasible for you. There are various points you need to check about them before contacting:
- Check their domain authority. This gives you an idea about their link values. Check for the high number ones from Moz’s Open Site Explorer
- Look for their following on social media platforms. This gives you an idea of your potential audience you will be reaching. The bigger the audience, the greater the traffic you will be attracting.
You can also use Alexa to access their traffic. Having decided a particular website now is the time to ‘Pitch’.
Submitting your Pitch For Guest Blogging:
Before submitting your pitch, become noticeable to the website you are approaching .Comment regularly on their posts. Follow them on all the social media platforms you can.
This helps to create a relationship with the blog, and provides a knowhow of your working environment. This also boosts your confidence to communicate with someone you know professionally.
Tips to create a Powerful Pitch:
- Give a little knowledge about your following to develop an acquaintance.
- Use a direct approach. Come straight to the point without beating about the bush.
- Share the blogs with good traffic and engaging topics.
- Keep your Pitch short and crisp.
- Try contacting the owner of the blog.
After getting a positive response, you need to get the best from your website.
Follow Up:
- Try blogging 2 to 3 times a week. Frequent blogging is highly ranked on Google.
- After submitting the guest article, look for it on their blog. It should be uploaded within a week.
- Make it more interactive. Respond to comments to increase credibility.
- Share the guest posts on your social media handles to attract more traffic.
- Focus more on the quality of your guest blog. Try to maintain various SEO ranking factors in it.
Guest Blogging is also a freelance niche. It is a highly payable niche and will help you explore more. Here are some tips for it.
- Create a profile on large selling platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer, etc.
- Contact these high authority domains and buy backlinks from them at the lowest possible rates.
- Sell it to the Buyer keeping in view your profit.
- If you choose to write the article yourself try to maintain its quality and have a planned delivery time.
- Always keep the window open for negotiations as it’s not your blog. In case of disappointment, you will have to bear the loss.
Benefits of Guest Blogging:
There are several benefits of guest blogging such as:
1. Improve your website’s SEO:
Wondering how guest blogging can benefit your website’s SEO? Let us explain. You can add backlinks which will help your website to rank on google search results.
2. Brand Awareness:
Guest blogging helps you to get more awareness and recognition in the field. The more you post guest blogs, the more there are chances that your business/ brand will get exposure. It is one of the easiest ways to reach out to your targeted audience.
3. Building Authority:
Guest blogging helps you to build authority. The more frequently you post quality content for your audience the more you will build an authority and reputation in the field.
4. Improving writing skills:
Guest blogging helps you in improving your writing skills because as a guest writer you need to post content that is well written and free of any grammatical and spelling errors. As it is said practice makes a man perfect, the same goes for writing skills. The more you write, the better you will get at it.
Wrapping it Up
Guest Blogging altogether has always been a highly profitable marketing strategy. It’s not only increases your worth but also helps the blog to grow. It may look futile in the beginning but in a year or so you will wish you had started it today. You may not be worth it but Google surely knows it.
Remember you can’t get success in this field by just posting one or two blogs. Guest blogging requires high level skills and it is a long-term strategy. You need to come up with unique content ideas to become an expert in this field.
Brey White says
Being a writer, I love blogging! But I was confused about the guest blogging technique. Then I found your article link and it solved my confusion about Guest Blogging. Thank you Team