How to Guest Blog With a Purpose

Guest blogging, as you may or may not know, has long been heralded as one of the best link-building tactics for your blog and website. (If you aren’t sure what “guest blogging” is, read this. If you’re not sure what “link-building tactics” are, read this.) Well, until this guy came out and said that wasn’t true. And while I agree with him in that, these days, a totally random email from a stranger asking to blog on your site is likely to be shunned more often than it is to be accepted (“sure, random stranger, I’d love you to contribute to the heart and soul of my being that is my blog” … really?), there are ways to go about it so that it’s not so spammy. Oh, and there’s also the other-way-around scenario where you get asked out of the blue by some spaminator email (with no real person behind it, maybe) for YOU to spend YOUR precious, limited-as-is time to blog on someone else’s site. Instant delete!

And so, I bring you, how to guest blog with a purpose:

Start with the people you know.
Is there anyone in your circle of friends, family and colleagues who can speak with authority on a subject related to your blog? Or can you be the expert for one of their blogs? Tap into this already-there-at-your-fingertips community before you begin to reach out to complete strangers. Even if you’ve only met them once at a networking event, at least there’s some kind of connection and relationship to build off of when approaching the subject of guest blogging.

Show authority and tailor your pitch.
Don’t make your guest blog requests via email seem spam-like with an all-for-one copy/paste letter that can be equated to the ubiquitous automated messages you get when you’re calling, well, anywhere these days. There’s no personality. If you were to just TALK to someone, you might get somewhere a lot faster! So, craft an email (think of it like a pitch) that tells of who you are, why you would be a great expert contributor for their particular blog, and pitch a series of content, recommends Jennita, director of community at Moz. What this does is further positions you as more of an expert than just a one-off guest post, and offers the opportunity for continued link-building. After all, you’ve just put in all that hard work to make the connection — why not see if you can milk it for a little while.

Ask them if they’d like to do the same.
Again, you already have their attention (hopefully) — maybe they would be interested in contributing on your blog as well. Also, Jennita suggests try to work with authors who let you publish content with your name attached to it, and ones who have Google profiles, which allow them to add contributor to links.

Don’t make it all about the links.
Some sites have no follow policies — don’t let that stop you from contributing great content to a great site that is seen by tons of people. That’s still fabulous exposure for your blog and you. Plus, they might promote your posts via robust social media sites.

Pay for guest blogs.
And then there’s this option. It’s a lot easier to get guest bloggers that are influencers in your industry to write top-quality content if you are paying them to do so. I know small-business budgets are often tight, but this is a tactic that might actually save you some time.

Are you a regular guest blogger or do you have guest bloggers contribute to your website? Let us know how it’s working for you.
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