What Is Guest Blogging
Guest blogging is also known as guest posting. The concept is simple, your articles are posted on another company’s website, usually within a relevant industry to either yours or the content of your article.
There are two options, be the guest poster or the recipient of the guest post.
The Benefits Of Guest Posts
- Expands your network: If your blog post is well received, new readers will become new fans of your brand.
- Builds relationships: By nurturing those new fans, you’ll establish trusting relationships.
- Establishes thought leadership: Article placement on reputable websites will grow your subject matter authority.
- SEO: Links placed on those reputable websites give search engines the message that you’re legit, and it helps with your SEO.
- Fresh content: You’ll have new material to present to your established audience
- Consistent content: Accepting guest posts is an efficient and easy way to always have fresh content
If you need a little blog post writing guidance, check out this article: How To Write A Blog Post Built To Convert
Know Your Goals
Before you start submitting posts to websites across the internet, have a goal-driven purpose in mind. What is it you’re hoping to achieve with all these guest posts? And conversely, why is your website going to accept submissions for guest posts?
Some of your goals could be:
- Making a name for yourself in your industry
- Increasing online exposure
- You need to get backlinks for better SEO
Whatever your goals, have them defined prior to starting your guest posting efforts.
Do Your Research
Before sending off those well-written articles that took you hours to write, do some digging into who is deserving of them. There are a ton of sites that accept guest post submissions, but not all of them are the right fit. Some are even total scams.
This article, Guest Post In 2020 hosts an extensive, well-researched list broken up into industries. It’s a great resource and guide to help you define which websites to submit guest posts to.
The same holds true if you’re a website openly accepting guest blog posts. For every submission you receive, check the validity of the author and the links included in the post. There is just too much spam and scammers out there. You don’t want to take the chance of Google penalizing your website, getting a bad reputation, or having plagiarized work.
Things to check for:
- Inspect the author or websites social profiles
- The type of social media fans and followers they have
- How they present themselves online
- What is their website like
- How would the author or receiving website help your credibility or authority
Writing Guidelines
If you are going to be doing any type of guest blogging or accepting them for your blog, writing guidelines are crucial. There’s no doubt, having guest posters can help grow your audience. And, being a guest blogger for a high-authority website can help grow your personal brand.
If your blog allows guest posters, here are some tips to consider:
- What type of content has the author written and for what kinds of sites?
- Is the content being offered to my website all original, and never published before?
- Do you have first rights to the content being offered?
- Is the piece something you could be proud to share across your network, and does it represent who your brand is?
If you’re a guest poster, some things to consider are:
- Are you willing to give away first rights to your written piece?
- Does the site represent who you are as a professional?
- Have you carefully read the guest posting guidelines?
- What type of promoting do the owners of the site do?
If done carefully and correctly, guest posts are beneficial to both parties. It can be labor-intensive depending on volume, but so worth it in the end.
References:
https://www.newbreedmarketing.com/blog/what-is-guest-blogging
https://neilpatel.com/blog/guide-to-guest-blogging/