Guest posting is an act of writing and publishing an article on someone else’s website or blog, it’s one of the best ways to connect with new readers and get your name out. But for the longest time, I overlooked this essential strategy for growing a popular blog. I wish I hadn’t And I hope you won’t. Guest-posting is the single most important strategy for growing your blog readership and influence.
However, getting traffic to your blog isn’t just about building links and ranking high in search engines. That’s just one source of potential customers. Social media is the next source that most people consider and that’s definitely a way to increase your reach.
The truth is that the more visible you are online, the more traffic you will get. That’s why guest posting on other people’s blogs can increase the traffic to your own site exponentially. Click to Tweet
How does guest posting work?
When you write an interesting article for another blog, all the people who visit that site will see what you’ve written. If it’s well written and engaging they will read the entire article and see the author bio which gets included at the end of every guest post. If they enjoyed your article, they may then click on one of the links you’ve included in your bio. That’s where your traffic comes from. And this is traffic that wouldn’t necessarily have found you in any other way.
In addition, if you can create a conversation by encouraging people to comment on your guest post, you can increase traffic even more. Readers start to make a connection with you through the comments and want to learn more by clicking on your avatar that links back to your blog.
Tips on getting traffic from your guest posts
Write quality posts on relevant topics. You should always be presenting your best quality writing anywhere you post. However, when you write for another person’s blog you also need to choose topics that are highly relevant to their readers (as well to your own market).
They won’t read your article if it’s not relevant to them and the guest blog owner may not want to publish it otherwise. Click to tweet
Select sites whose readers are your target market. Choose the places you guest post carefully to make the most of your efforts. Find ones that get a decent amount of traffic from people that you are trying to attract as customers.
Gaining highly targeted traffic is one of the biggest benefits of guest posting. Always keep track of comments. As soon as you know the post has been published, subscribe to the comments so that you’ll be able to respond. Whenever someone makes a comment, be sure to leave a reply right away. They will appreciate it and often click through on your link.
Write a tempting bio box. There’s no point writing an amazing guest post just to have a boring author bio at the end that leads to nowhere. Write a few words about yourself and then invite readers to click on a specific link for something, such as a special offer, report, free giveaway, etc.
If your guest posts are valuable and well-written, they will increase your visibility as an expert in your field. If the sites you choose to guest blog on have readers in your target market, you will start drawing more and more targeted traffic to your blog. And, as targeted traffic, these are the readers who are most likely to become long term readers and customers of yours.
Why guest posting matters
According to my recent discovery, when it comes to SEO, guest posting on other sites is ten times as valuable as creating new content on your own site so long as you get the backlink. Below are 3 reasons why I love this concept.
- Guest-posting builds relationships with other bloggers
- It introduces you to new communities
- Guest posting is great for search engines
How about others guest-posting on your blog?
I have not been accepting guest posts on my blog but I think I will give it a chance now. You should equally consider offering guest posting on your own blog, too (if you don’t already).
If you’re asking for opportunities to guest post on others’ blogs, this just makes sense. It allows the relationship you’ve developed with the host blogger to be mutual. Click Here and Here to find sites that accept guest post.
Most bloggers will even blog about their guest post and link to it from their own blog (giving you some more backlink. Personally, I’m a fan of this practice.
What to do after your guest-post has been published
- Promote it on Twitter (several times)
- Link to the post from my blog
- Share it on Facebook
- Thank the person
While not everyone does this, it’s not a bad idea.
Finally, If you have to choose between getting people to guest post on your site or guest posting elsewhere, do the latter. It’s always better to get your name out into new communities. Give it a shot and you will be glad you did…hahaha
Lets here from you: Do you guest post? Why/Why not?
Please help spread the news by sharing and tweeting it.
Photo Credit: midiman’s photostream
Jon says
I personally think guest posting is one of the best ways to build authority in a new niche. If done correctly you make connections with influencers in your niche and if you blow them away with the quality you offer they are connections you can rely on later.
Guest posting is great but following up the guest post with a genuine relationship that mutually benefits yourself and the other person are how you move from the F list to the A list in the blogging world.
Thanks for a great post on a strategy that I believe will continue to be a very successful strategy for a long time!
Nwangene Theodore says
Welcome to my blog Jon,
Yea i agree with you that guest posting will continue to be a very successful model to drive traffic to a blog.
I didn’t realize this on time but i thank God i just did now.
Are you guest blogging too and how many have you written?
Thanks for visiting, hope to see you around again.
Ben Troy says
would you please share some tips on Guest Posting Strategy
Nwangene Theodore says
Ok Troy,
I will do just that in my up coming post, precisely on monday.
Thanks for coming.
Tim Bonner says
Hi Theodore
I haven’t done a guest post yet. I’ve been asked to do one though and I must get around to it.
I keep putting it off as I need to get on with content on my blog but as you quite rightly point out, it can be a great way to firstly get traffic to your blog and secondly to get your name out there.
Nwangene Theodore says
Definitely Tim,
You really have to give it a thought, i was also ignoring the concept before but i have made up my mind to enter the band wagon.
When are you trying to apply for one?
Thanks for coming.
Ana Hoffman says
Nicely done, Theodore; reminded me I desperately need to get back to guest posting.
Thanks for the mention!
Theodore Nwangene says
Thanks Ana,
You really have to start it again, i first know about when you guest posted at Entrepreneurs Journey. Thanks for visiting my blog.
Felicia says
Hi Theodore,
A few months back, I followed a blogger who seldomly wrote on his blog but he always had a guest post on other blogs, and I was really amazed at his enthusiasm and motivation to write guest posts, no matter how long they are and he even takes the time to reply to every comment made on every post he guest posted on! Unfortunately, her site went down due to financial troubles and she temporarily said goodbye to blogging as I remember that in her bio she said she’s a dialysis patient. I sure hope she’s doing okay wherever she is right now.
I agree that writing guest posts are really beneficial in many ways (links, exposure, reputation) and it can provide good value to your blog as long as your posts are great, informative, helpful and interesting to readers.
Theodore Nwangene says
Yea Felicia,
Guest posting is that effective and i think you should also give it a shot.
But you should also try and update your own blog so that your new visitors will have something to read.
I pray that the person you shared her story gets back her stand, Amen.
Thanks for coming friend.
Pappy says
Nice post you have here man, more ink to your pen…
Theodore Nwangene says
Thanks for visiting my blog Paddy,
I’m glad you like the post. Please do come back.