Guest posting on relevant industry blogs is an excellent way to increase your market visibility and be recognized as a thought leader. In fact, it can lead to speaking engagements, prospective client meetings and more. Here are 5 tips to help you get started as a guest poster.
1. Research Your Industry
Besides Google’s Blog Search Tool, Technorati is a great place to research relevant industry blogs and gauge their influence in the marketplace. Look for blogs in your industry with a high Authority ranking. This number measures a site’s standing and influence in the blogosphere. The Authority number is based on a site’s back link, categorization and other associated data. Technorati Authority is ranked on a scale of 0-1000, where 1000 is the highest possible authority.
2. Email The Blog Owner
Based on your research, identify several relevant blogs and email the owner offering your services as a guest poster. In your email explain the topic of your post and how it will specifically benefit the blog’s audience. All blogs, but especially blogs with high Technorati authority, need fresh content and will likely be willing to accept your material. Be sure you ask for a link back to your company’s web site or blog as part of your pitch.
3. Offer Up Your Best Material
This may seem counterintuitive, but your very best blog posts should be reserved for guest posting and not your own blog. Offering your very best material helps ensure that you indeed provide high value content to a blog’s audience. This will in turn increase your chances of building your own audience and raising your social media profile in the blogosphere.
4. Properly Format Your Guest Posts
Most blogs prefer their writers to supply publication-ready posts, complete with images and formatted in the style of the blog. Be sure and check with the blog’s publisher to find out how they want to receive your post. If there are formatting requirements, you can have an assistant take care of that for you or do it yourself. By making the blogger’s life easier you’ll get a reputation for being easy to work with and will likely be invited to make future contributions.
5. Make Time For Guest Posting
With all the other things on your to-do list, how in the world do you fit in one more activity like guest posting on industry blogs? Block out one hour a week to focus on a specific topic, or hire a ghost writer to do it for you. Sometimes it’s easier to have someone write the post for you so you can simply edit it. The choice is up to you. The important thing is to get out there and be seen.