The “Holy Grail” of Guest Blogging Tips
Going off from what I talked about in a previous post, writing guest blog posts can in many ways be more effective in building traffic and gaining readership, sales, etc than paying for reviews or buying advertising slots or links on blogs.
Not only can this free method of advertising be more effective, but it also brings with it many more benefits.
The fact that you don’t have to pay anything to get exposure on a high authority blog, or any blog of your choice, is the most obvious. There are two other main benefits, and they are:
Being seen as an expert in your field – The fact that your post is being published on a high authority blog speaks volumes for your credibility, whether you’re actually credible or not. Common sense says that you are if you managed to get this far, and the readers of the blog are automatically going to trust you just as much as they trust the blog owner. Well, maybe not quite as much, but if the blogger is endorsing you, and they are since they’re publishing you’re article, then that’s going to build trust between you and the readers.
This holds a lot more weight to the blog readers because you’re providing valid and relevant information that they can relate to and use, rather than just paying the blogger to write a review about you. The readers are going to respond much better to a guest post because the blogger isn’t obligated to post your article at all. If they’re being paid to write a review, then they have to talk about you.
Automatic trust among readers – I touched briefly on this in the first point, but I feel I need to elaborate on this further. Don’t underestimate the power of trust. Trust is critical to your online success, no matter what your business.
No matter what activities you’re involved in with your business, you want to make sure that what you do and say is creating and building trust with others. It could be the slightest, littlest thing, but believe me, one miniscule little thing can completely ruin any trust you had. You want to do whatever you can to build and keep the trust you have.
The first thing to do to create trust is build relationships, and keeping in line with the topic of guest blog posts, the blogger has already done the hard part in building a relationship with his/her readers. As a guest author, you get to reap the rewards.
That’s not to say that you can slack off and write a mediocre article. For one, it won’t get published. Second, the readers will take notice and decide they have better things to do than check out another wannabe blogger. A lot of care and time needs to be taken when writing your guest post.
Here are some tips to help you write killer guest blog posts…
This should really be part of your overall marketing strategy for many different reasons, but knowing what to do, and what not to do, can really go a long way. Read each and every post I link to and learn them well. Save them, favorite them, bookmark them… whatever you do… so when you’re ready to do a guest post, you’ll start off on the right foot.
Instead of making this into a VERY long and drawn-out post, I thought I’d keep it somewhat short and give out some link love to other bloggers who have already taken the time to share their guest blogging tips. I call this the “Holy Grail” of guest blogging tips… tips from the A-List bloggers themselves.
The first set of tips comes from none other than “ProBlogger” Darren Rowse. Darren writes about How to be a Good Guest Blogger. Be sure to check out his full Guest Blogging Series at the end of his post for even more great killer content. Also check out his How to Guest Post to Promote Your Blog article.
Our second round of tips comes from Copyblogger, which just happens to be a guest post by Jordan Cooper. Neat how that works, huh? Jordan’s article is 10 Proven Steps to Snag a Guest Post on an A-List Blog. If nothing else, read it for the humor and sarcasm Jordan incorporates into the post… if you like that sort of thing. I think you know which way I lean. 
The third set of tips comes from Chris Garrett about How To Guest Blog Without Disaster. Chris provides some great advice for bloggers who are ready to tackle the challenge guest posting.
As mentioned earlier, check out every single one of these articles. The content is beyond excellent.
Another reason I decided to go this route is because I’ll soon be venturing into this area as well, and linking out to articles I find helpful makes it easier for me to find for future reference. That’s my own personal blogging tip… did you get it?
Know of any other bloggers who’ve shared guest blgging tips that you’ve found helpful that I didn’t link to? Share them below to make my “Holy Grail” list even bigger!
What other benefits are there from guest posting on other blogs? Share your thoughts and personal experiences below…
Tags: blogging, blogs, guest blog post, guest blogging, guest blogging tips, marketing strategy, ProBlogger, writing a guest blog post
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Filed under: Advertising • Branding • Credibility • Resources • Writing • blogging • marketing
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Twitter: ryanbiddulph
says:
Thanks for sharing your guest post insight Alan. I agree with you that guest posting can garner automatic trust. If a readership loves its blogger than they’ll trust just about any guest poster as long as the article is up to snuff.
I feel that the #1 guest posting benefit is expanding your presence. You reach a whole new network when guest posting. You’ve also built a potentially valuable relationship with a fellow blogger. You can never put a price tag on a solid relationship because who knows how many doors a fellow blogger can open for you? I’ve noticed a spike in readership as well as opt-in’s to my squeeze page after most guest postings.
Ryan´s last blog ..6 Cash Gifting Red Flags
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Ryan, Thanks for your contribution, Ryan. It’s always appreciated.
Congratulations on your guest blogging success. Do you have any additional tips you’d like to share other than the ones already covered?
[Reply]
You’re right Alan.Guest posting is very effective especially if your topic is interesting and insightful. You also gain new audience and possibly more visitors to your own blog besides the exposure you are getting.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Peter@ How To Make Money Blogging,
I believe I’ve seen you guest post a few times, Peter, am I right? Did you achieve the results you were aiming for? Got any tips to share?
[Reply]
Twitter: DennisEdell
says:
OK whether you meant to or not, you raised an extremely important flip side point.
“…if the blogger is endorsing you, and they are since they’re publishing you’re article…”
The hosts also need to be careful who they let guest; whether they know it or not, they ARE then endorsing said guest.
Btw, I call dibs on turning this comment into a free standing article first. lol…no worries, a linkback will be placed.
Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Do You USE Aweber? I Want Your Affiliate Link. Part 2
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing,
I meant to, but purposefully didn’t address it.
I thought I’d leave the comments open for further discussion in the hopes that some would bring up other points, just as you did.
I do agree that a host should be careful regarding who they let guest post on their blog. If the guest poster turns out to be schmuck, or the article is less than desirable, then that will most definitely look bad for the blog owner and may have irreversible consequences.
Thanks for bringing it up, as I hoped someone would… LOL.
Hey, do what you will. I’d be honored.
[Reply]
Twitter: clickonportal
says:
I do think the keyword there is to make a “killer” guest post, not just any old post. When you guest post it has to be one of your best works as you are winning over a fans of a high authority blog which may have pretty high standards.
Mici @ Click On Portal´s last blog ..Time Blogging You Can’t Get Back
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Mici @ Click On Portal,
Exactly… write the best “killer” post you can that’s targeted for that blog’s audience.
[Reply]
I hope many people who plan on guest posting will read your article and your links. From my experience with having guest bloggers on my site I can say that you will have some who will put out their best content and some that will submit less than quality articles. I just want to advice site owners not to get discouraged by the low quality postings but to focus on the good. For people serving as guest bloggers my recommendation is put your best foot forward if you want reader trust.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Karla Campos Lopez,
Thanks for your input on the subject, Karla, and I completely agree. We shouldn’t accept just any articles for our blogs as guest writers should go above and beyond what they would normally write for their own blogs.
Thanks again and hope to see you soon.
[Reply]