Can Guest Blogging Help My Marketing Strategy?
Can Guest Blogging Help My Marketing Strategy?Guest blogging is often overlooked as a valuable marketing tool, sometimes because of the spam that happens with guest bloggers. Many entrepreneurs know all about content marketing: valuable content, a dedicated blogging schedule and sharing through social media. The problem with this approach alone is the time it takes to build a following and get your name out there. You don’t have to wait as long when you build connections by writing for for other sites as a guest.
How It Works
The concept is simple, find high authority blogs in your niche that accept guest posts. Write a post and they publish it, giving you credit for it and all their audience’s eyes on your post. Most also give you a link back to your site or social media account.
The Benefit
These blogs already have a dedicated audience, search engine rank and social media clout. Partnering with them gives you access to their audience, both on their site and on social media. The best part about guest blogging is that it’s usually completely free, besides costing you time. Yet the benefit to the blog is well written articles that they didn’t have to write. Sounds like a worthwhile marketing tool!
Finding The Right Blogs
LinkedIn, Twitter and Google searches will help you find the right blogs to pitch your guest blogging venture to. Search for professionals in your area, especially using those groups you joined on LinkedIn. You can even check out your industry competitors and see if they have guest blogged anywhere. Or, use applicable hashtags for your industry on Twitter or Instagram to find popular accounts.
Once you find the social media accounts or the blog itself, you have to check the popularity of the site. A large social media following is a good indication. If the site has social share counters, see how often their posts are usually shared. Shares in the upper hundreds or thousands is a great sign.
Pitching To Blog Owners
Not every blog will accept guest bloggers. But some will have a link to contact them on their main page that’s usually at the bottom of their site. Others have links on the contact page in the menu bar that gives details on how to contact the site owner for guest submissions. If instructions are provided, follow them perfectly, they didn’t write them to be ignored. If no details are provided, use the site’s contact form or details to ask the owner if they accept guest posts. Include a link back to your site so they make sure you are not a spammer, in addition to letting them see how solid your own site it. Do not pitch your idea until you hear back.
In the pitch itself, include the title and one or two short paragraphs detailing what you will tell their audience in your post. List why you are a good fit for guest blogging on their site and any experience you have on the topic. Remember, these are authority blogs and they only accept the best, that is why you are writing for them.
Getting Published
It may take a few rounds of revisions to get the post right for the blog. Take your time. You want to make a great first impression for the audience and site owner. They may even invite you again for more guest blogging. The result? Free marketing for you and the site owner gets free content! It’s a win-win way to market yourself and continue to bring on new clients from brand new audiences. Doing a few guest posts a month on these types of blogs is the best approach to growing your audience quickly.
Do you need help pulling together research for an article or proofing before you send? Reach out to Olinda Services today and see how we can help!