Today’s blog is in response to a post in our Platform Speakers forum from PPI Graduate Suzanne Fergus who asked
“What is guest blogging and how is it best approached?”
What is guest blogging?
Put simply, you write a blog post sharing some great tips or strategies… but instead of it appearing in your own blog, it is posted on someone else’s blog.
You don’t receive payment for your post… you are credited as the author of the post and it is usual for a link to your website to be shown too. There are huge benefits to you, including
- Showcasing your expertise to a new audience
- Generating traffic to your website
Let’s look at each of these in turn…
Reaching a larger audience:
You will likely have noticed that while I was away on holiday recently, I invited some of my graduates to write blog posts sharing their knowledge… the posts appeared here for your reading and learning pleasure.
Doing so meant that I had blog posts I could share with you while I was away… and the benefit to them was the opportunity to get their name out there and share their expertise with my community. At the end of each expert’s post, their website was listed, so you could hop over to their site, download their free report and find out more about them.
The guest bloggers grew their lists and you got access to additional expert content.
Can you see how powerful that could be?
Writing a guest blog post for a complementary business blog could position you as an expert directly in view of your target audience.
For example… if you are a Weight Loss Coach, writing a guest blog post for a blog owned by say, an Image Therapist or a website that offers healthy eating recipes could introduce you to lots of your targeted prospects.
Think about what else your potential customers are buying and who else they are buying from… not competitors, but those whose message complements your own.
Are you with me?
Where can you find guest blogging opportunities?
Think about all the people you know already who have a blog that is attracting traffic…
-Existing clients
-Your friends
-People you’ve met at networking groups
-Your social media community (those you follow or who follow you)
-The communities you belong to… are you subscribing to emails from other business owners?
-Writers of blogs you read regularly
… and ask them if they would like to feature a guest blog from you.
They will probably want to see examples of blogs you’ve written previously… so it is a good idea to get a few posts up on your own blog first. But if you don’t yet have a blog of your own or are only just getting started, that doesn’t have to be a barrier to guest blogging.
Create those opportunities!
Agreeing the details:Once you have been given an opportunity to write a guest post, make sure you clarify the details before you start writing.
-What is their required word count?
-Do they have a deadline for submitting your copy to be posted?
-Is there a specific angle they’d like you to tackle your topic from?
-Are you permitted to “seed” your offer? (Your best strategy is to see this as a lead generation opportunity to grow your community… so you can continue to market to them in the future)
What next?
When your post goes live, hopefully the blog owner will promote its publication to their community… you could share the link with your own community too by sending an email and posting on all your social media profiles.
Are you including guest blogging in your marketing strategy? What have you found works well for you in creating opportunities to write guest posts? Maybe you regularly invite complementary guest posts to your own blog? Please share your experiences by leaving a comment below.
