Everyone seems to agree (and rightly so) that guest blogging is a good strategy to get traffic, and more than that, name recognition for you and your blog. Just about every blog about blogging has either a current post or something buried deep in the archives about the benefits.
Guest blogging drives traffic back to your website and establishes the author's presence in their particular niche or blogging community. Quite often it's as simple as emailing a blog author asking for an opportunity to submit an article to his or her site for consideration or submitting your article through a link on the actual blog.
It's a win-win situation. The guest blogger opens a portal ushering in an entire new readership. The host blogger wins by capitalizing on an opportunity for a much needed break and the reader wins by having an opportunity to read content from a different perspective about subjects they're interested in.
Just make sure you have a few things ironed out before you decide to submit a guest post.
When Emailing A Blog Author Requesting an Opportunity to Write a Guest Post
1. Include the topics you would like an opportunity to write about. At this point asking for suggestions from the author is a good idea.
2. Make sure to leave the URL to your site.
3. Give information regarding the length (number of words, etc.) of the post.
4. Inform the author about any images you'd like to include in your post.
Once you obtain permission to write the guest post email the author thanking him for the opportunity and provide him with the topic you've chosen to post about and the time frame you plan to have it submitted.
Writing Your Guest Post
1. Always remember to be you. But styling your post to fit the theme of the blog you'll be posting on might be wise.
2. Make sure your post is your "best work". This is your time to shine - quality, quality, quality. You want to make sure your first impression is a memorable and lasting one (in a positive way).
3. Don't use the guest post as a sales pitch.
4. Make sure to respond to each comment left on your guest post.
5. If the author needs to make revisions related to grammatical correctness or structure...be open-minded. Remember you're their guest.
Your Turn
Have you ever written a guest post before? What was the experience like and what other tips can you give bloggers interested in guest posting.
