Imagine reaching out to an entirely new audience, driving traffic to your website, and establishing yourself as an industry leader. How? Well, what if I told you you had to do so by commenting on other people’s blogs? Doesn’t it sound too good to be true? I’m here to tell you it isn’t. When done right, the art of guest posting may help raise brand awareness and help you take your website to another level. Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or a beginner, mastering guest posting might be the twist in the story that your company needs.
Are you prepared to dive in? Firstly, let’s understand what guest posting is;
Art of Guest Posting:
Guest posting is the art that people use to increase traffic to their site, but how? Well, it’s simple. You go to trustworthy sites with good Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and guest posting history and ask them to include your blog on their page.
Now, the tricky part: your article should be worth going there and valuable to them, too. Either this or ask them to add a backlink on their blog to your page. That’s that on paper, but how to apply it? Well, worry no more ’cause we got you.
Now, let’s see how to make this strategy (Art of Guest Posting) work for you.
Define Your Objectives
Before starting your quest for guest posting, clearly defining your objectives and desired outcomes is crucial. Understanding your goals will help shape your strategy and ensure you achieve your desired outcomes. Here are some common goals for guest posting:
- Increase Traffic: Facilitate access to your website by placing backlinks so that more spectators can enter it.
- Boost SEO: Improve your Search Engine Optimization through the procurement of high-quality links from credible sites.
- Create Authority: Establish yourself as an expert in your selected niche by writing high-quality, relevant content for other established blogs.
- Expand Your Network: Reach out and develop personal relations with other bloggers, influencers, and potential niche partners.
Having a clear idea of your primary goals, you can adjust your guest posting strategy according to individual needs and track your progress effectively.
Identify the Right Blogs
Most blogs will have the same information, but how the information is presented makes the difference. Thus, finding and targeting the right platforms is significant for the success of your guest posting efforts. Now that it is settled, how do you identify the best blogs for strategy? Well, the points below should be able to
- Relevance: You should link the blog to your target market. The content on the blog should revolve around your business or specialization; this will, in turn, ensure that the message reaches the right target.
- Authority: Target authoritative blogs that have high domain authority. Backlinks from websites with a higher DA have more Search Engine Optimization (SEO) value. Tools like Ahref, Moz, and SEMrush can help you correctly determine the authority of a blog. Professionals use them a lot, too.
- Engagement: Look for blogs with an increasingly active following. A lively comment section, multiple social sharing, and active community conversations indicate a web property with a committed following.
- Posting History: Look for blogs that have a history of accepting guest contributions. The chances are high that your post will be accepted.
Now, go ahead and try out Google search operators, such as “keyword + guest post” or “keyword + write for us.” You can also locate relevant sites via guest posting directories, and tools like BuzzSumo allow you to find top-performing blogs in your niche.
Make Extensive Research
After finding your target blog, the next step would be extensive research. Knowing the style of content, preferences of the target audience, and the most popular topics will help you develop a pitch that gets noticed. Now, the hard part is how to do the research effectively. Well, no need to wait; just follow this 3-point map;
- Analyzing Popular Posts: Look at the blog’s most popular posts. Typically, these articles reflect the subjects the readership is most interested in. Look at the posts’ format, tone, and type of content (articles, how-tos, opinion pieces, etc.).
- Know Your Audience: Spend a little time reading through the blog’s connected social media conversations and comments. This will give you a feel for the audience’s preoccupations, problems and desires, and tonality.
- Observe the guidelines of the blog: You will find that most of the blogs you visit have guidelines on what to expect from a guest post. The recommendation should touch on the preferred themes, word count, format, and, in most cases, how to send the pitches. Observing the recommendations guarantees that your pitch is to be reviewed.
Construct an Appealing Pitch
Your pitch is your first impression, and a well-written pitch will dramatically increase your chances of having your post accepted. Here’s how to craft that pitch:
- Personalize the Email: Do mention the name of the owner or editor of the blog. Express your sentiment towards their blog and how your piece would benefit the readers.
- Give Them a New Angle: Suggest a new angle for the blog or present a fresh look at something familiar. Show clearly how your piece will benefit their audience.
- Showcase Your Expertise: Quickly mention your qualifications, past guest posts, and overall experience that counts you as an expert in this subject.
- Include writing samples: You may attach links to some of the articles or blog posts you have authored before to help express the nature and quality of your writing.
Create high-quality and SEO-friendly Content
Once the pitch gets accepted, you will be expected to produce high-quality content that is in keeping with, or even surpasses, their expectations. Here is how to make your guest post a hit:
- Provide quality: Your article must offer valuable help to readers. It should provide solutions to a problem, give them new ideas, or share some very useful tips.
- Match the Feel and Tone of the Blog: Every blog has a different tone and style. Some of them sound official, others very conversational. It works best if you adapt your writing to the tone of that particular blog.
- Include Relevant Links: Link internally to other relevant posts at the host blog. This does a few things: It not only adds value but also shows that you’ve done your homework. Also, be sure to link back to your website, especially if it’s related to the comment’s content and helps with your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) goals.
- Use Visuals: Break up the text and add photos, infographics, or charts, where applicable, to make it more visually appealing to the eye. Of course, you want to be permitted to reuse any of the visuals.
- Edit and Proofread: Your message must be free of grammatical, typographical, and formatting errors. Grammarly is an editor that can help perfect your text.
Interact With The Audience
After your guest post goes live, the actual work can’t stop. Engaging with the readership of the blog will serve as a foundation for building relationships, and it will further amplify the power of your posting;
- Respond to Comments: Be sure to respond to any comments made on your post. Readers who see you’re active and responsive will be more likely to leave comments in the future.
- Post Boost: Share guest posts through your social media accounts, newsletters, and websites. Your post will enjoy better outreach by tagging the blog and some influencers.
- Build a Strong Relationship: Thank the blogger, blog owner, or editor and let them know you enjoyed the writing experience and would appreciate additional opportunities to work together.
Track Your Progress
Finally, the most exciting moment of all: your work on guest blogging will be measured to determine its effectiveness and further improve the strategy.
- Monitor Your Traffic: Google Analytics easily keeps track of how much traffic the guest post drives to your website.
- Monitor Backlinks: Monitor backlinks the guest post has generated using tools such as Moz and Ahrefs.
- Evaluate Your Reach: Consider the amount of comments, social shares, and overall engagement your guest post has gotten.
- Monitor Conversions: To make guest blogging work in an integrated marketing program, track how many leads, sign-ups, or sales you get from traffic to the website that your guest post drove
Conclusion
Art of Guest posting, especially, becomes a powerful technique when combined with the expertise of Finixio Digital Agency to bring your online presence to the required level and meet your set marketing goals. Setting the proper goals, choosing the right blogs, sending engaging pitches, and developing quality material will help make the most out of guest posting for brand awareness, better Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and, critically, relationship building in any given industry. If done consistently and, most importantly, with the aid of businesses like Finixio Digital Businesses, Art of guest posting will become your cornerstone in content marketing.