When it comes to blogging, size matters – the size of your audience, that is. There are several techniques you can use to grow your blog audience, but a quick and fairly simple method for gaining a bigger audience is getting the right exposure. And, the perfect way to get that exposure is by writing a guest post for somebody else’s blog. There’s a right way to go about these things, though, and that’s where we come in! These 6 simple tips will help you navigate the sometimes tricky waters of guest blogging:
1. Look Out for Opportunities
Sometimes blogs are actively looking for someone to write a guest post, but not always. You might be dying to write for a specific blog, but that doesn’t mean the owner of that blog wants the same thing. If nobody seems to be searching for any guest bloggers, monitor some blogs that you think would be a good fit and look out for opportune moments – for instance, if they repost something from you on social media.
2. Get to Know the Blog
Before you contact the blog owner, get a feel for the blog, its regular content, and its target audience. Your guest post should mesh with all of these things. In addition, you should make sure the blog is fairly similar to your own. You want to make sure that the readers of this blog would also be interested in your own usual posts.
3. Prove Your Blogging Ability
When you contact the owner of the blog and ask about guest blogging, give them a writing sample or a link to your portfolio. They don’t want to waste their time with people who can’t write well, so prove to them that you’re worth the effort.
4. Pitch the Right Post
Once you actually start writing your post, make sure it’s the right one for the blog. Check out past guest posts, or ask if the owner provides any guidelines. In particular, don’t allow your post to appear like just a poorly disguised advertisement for your own blog. Neither the other blog owner nor their audience will want to read that.
5. Provide Great Content
Don’t think that you can expend less effort because this post won’t be going on your own site. You want blogs that won't bore your audience, and so does the person you’re guest blogging for. If anything, you should be trying even harder than usual to produce your best content! It’s in your best interest to make a good relationship with the blog owner, and you want to put your best foot forward with all the potential readers of your own blog.
6. Promote the Post
Once your guest post goes live, promote it as much as you can. Link to it on social media, and let all your friends and family know about it. If you can generate a good amount of traffic on the post, the other blog owner might want to set up a regular guest post for you.
So, if you want to get your content noticed, why not try writing a guest post or two? Follow these steps from our pocket guide to guest blogging to get a bigger and better blog audience!
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