Guest blogging is one of the most powerful, but underused tools available to avid bloggers. Building credibility and establishing a readership base is one of the biggest hurdles bloggers face. Guest blogging allows you to benefit from an established blog by putting you in front of a much larger audience.
When I first entertained writing guest posts, my questions were – why would I guest blog and what’s in it for me? In other words, why would I blog anywhere other than my own blog and why would I pass along content I’d worked so hard on?
My concern was this:
- I would be pushing people towards a blog I didn’t own
- I therefore would have no control over that blog or my content
In my experience, both concerns were unfounded and the results I received were well worth the additional blogging effort.
Why Guest Blog
Guest blogging gives you the chance to seek out well established authority blogs that can increase the awareness and visibility of your online presence. Chances are an authority blog that has been around for a good amount of time has an established and loyal readership.
Your job as a guest blogger is to offer inspiring and enlightening content that connects with their current readers. With quality content, guest blogging can enhance your credibility and drive readers to your own blog where they can find content similar to their interests.
The goal is to acquire readership and traffic that might not have found you otherwise.
Other benefits an authority blog can offer:
- An increase in your notoriety and reputation within your given area of expertise
- Buzz that goes viral when your post is tweeted and shared
- Readers that are already interested in your niche
- Targeted, value-rich inbound links that make Google take notice
- Improved search engine ranking
Before You Start Guest Blogging
The biggest mistake bloggers can make is requesting a guest blog spot before building a solid base of quality content. It is essential that you have at least a few articles on your own blog first before you try pushing people towards it.
If you have a passion for your niche and are able to connect with your current reader base, more than likely that will translate to posts written on a blog with similiar interests.
How to Get Started
Your first step is determining what value you will bring as a guest blogger. Then do your homework. Who are the leading or authority blogs within your niche? Is their content in line with yours?
Your next step is to reach out to the blog owner. A simple email requesting a guest spot with links to your content is all that’s needed.
Make sure you express why you are interested and what you currently write about. The worst they can is no and you move on. My odds are on the fact that they will say yes if you're doing your job well and consistently.
Guest blogging can be your ticket to hightened online awareness, improved readership and increased blog traffic!
The Powerful Hidden Benefit to Guest Blogging was written by Rebekah Radice.
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