One of the most important aspects of running a business is coming up with ways to increase your conversion rates. The higher your website’s conversion rate, the more revenue you’ll generate for your company.
Guest posts are one way to improve conversions on your site by bringing in new visitors that may have never seen or heard about it before! Guest posting can be challenging though, which is why I’ve written this blog post full of tips and tricks for getting started with guest posting.
Guest posting can be a great way to build your brand and get readers on board with the latest information about you. Let me teach how it works plus answer some common questions before we dive in!
Guest Blogging: What Are They
Guest posts are great for building relationships with other bloggers and getting your site recognized.
People do this so they can get more brand awareness and traffic back to their own websites. It’s also known as referral or “link” sales–when someone clicks on a link from one of your web pages, it tells them about some other high-quality sites that may have something related in store for them if you’re both looking at the same sort of thing!
Determine Your Guest Blogging Goals: Know Why You’re Doing It
The first goal is to help promote your site and gain search engine visibility. The second goal for guest blogging is to establish yourself as an expert in your field. The third goal for the guest post could be anything really, but it may include the opportunity to build relationships with other guest bloggers or website owners.
The type of blog you decide to submit a guest post to is going to play a major role in how successful you are with guest posting. If your goal is to gain more search engine visibility, try and submit a guest post to a blog that has a large daily readership so the article will be seen by the most amount of people possible.
Where and How to Find Guest Blogging Opportunities
You will first need to do some research into the industry that you are targeting, as well as any particular companies or websites that interest you. A simple Google search of “blogging” on Technorati reveals quite a few sites just within the top ten results alone! Once you have an idea of what blogs and outlets may be interested in publishing your content, it’s time to start applying for those spots. In order to apply effectively, make sure that all submissions follow these four steps:
- Include a unique title for each submission
- Follow Publishing guidelines exactly
- Include three sample posts from work (if this has not been requested)
- Include a bio and headshot (if this has not been requested)
Google Searches: The How and What of Searching
There are many ways to find guest posting opportunities on the internet. One of the best places is Google, where you can search with any keywords from your industry and be sure that there will always be a blog for them!
The following list provides some helpful ideas when looking through potential journals or sites: replacing “keyword” in each entry with relevant words from within our field; using terms related specifically but not exclusively about topics we work closely within (i.,e., business management); checking if it’s written primarily by academics before submitting anything original- especially PhD candidates unfamiliar
- keyword “submit a guest post”
- keyword “guest post”
- keyword “guest post by”
- keyword “accepting guest posts”
- keyword “guest post guidelines”
The output should be professional and beneficial to the user.
A search for “guest post guidelines” or any potential keywords will lead you towards your blog’s submission guidelines page, as well as other posts written by other authors using this same platform (including guest contributors).
Get the Competitors Backlinks
Backlinks are important, and if you’re in a competitive industry with other sites trying to rank for the same keywords as yours (or even just similar ones), their SEO campaigns may be more successful than yours because they have been able to get guest posts from fellow competitors which will help them rank higher.
Social Searches
In the age of social media, it is never too late for your blog to get noticed. Create a post that’s relevant and interesting so people will want to be read what you have on offer! If there are any guest posts coming out in your niche then make sure they’re shared far-and-wide by getting them onto Twitter as soon as possible because this is where bloggers search most often when looking at trends within their industry
I found some excellent tips from one such blogger about how he searches “guest posts” –
Pitch a Guest Blog Post to Increase Traffic
It’s important to take the time and make sure that your blog is a good fit for them before you ask them if they would like any guest posts. A few things that should always be taken into account when looking at potential sites are:
The niche of their site
What sort of content do readers typically find on this particular website? Is it related in some way, shape or form (through the topic), tone/genre etc?
The target audiences
As a business, your target audience is one of the most important aspects of your marketing strategy. The people who are part of this group will be the ones to interact with you, purchase products or services from you, and generally advocate for what you do. The first step in understanding how to attract them is by identifying who they are. A master’s in marketing online degree should give you a deeper understanding of the customer persona and the entire digital marketing craft.
The Blog’s Content: Get to Know It
In order to get a good idea of what kind of content your target blog would be interested in, it’s important that you know as much about them and their audience. You will want this information before pitching any guest posts so make sure not only do they have relevant topics on hand but also people who care!
Check How Other Guest Posts Do
The exception is if you are writing an epic post worth linking to. Epic content is typically more than 1,500 words and very insightful. If you’re adding some new insight or information that changes the game in your field of expertise, then your post will stand out among the usual 500-word posts found on most sites.
This is key to get backlinks from authority sites. If you write a long article worth linking to, both the curator and linker might get a valuable backlink from your epic post.
The Best Times to Pitch a Guest Blogging Article
You never know when an opportunity will knock, but there are ways to take advantage of any golden opportunities that arise.
You want to know about it, the first thing that comes to your mind is a good old email.
But what do you do when they happen to blog about your company and there’s no way to contact them? What if they blog about your company and your contact information is nowhere to be found on the web?
Well, there are a few tricks to find out the email address of the blogger so you can get in touch with them.
The first thing you need is information about your company or product. The more details, the better it’ll be for you in this case. If you don’t know what else to write, try mentioning their post and blog, it’ll make it easier for them to search and find your email.
If you know their name or know they’re a blogger who’s into a certain niche then try using a tool called VoilaNorbert which can help you get an email address from a blog with just the title of the post.
Pitch Ideas: Creating a Great Basic Pitch
Guest posting is a great way to build connections and generate new business. But it can also be challenging, so here are some absolute musts when pitching another blog owner:
Read the Guest Posting Guidelines
The last thing you need to do before contacting the blog owner is read through their guidelines and follow them closely. Does this person want me to pitch an idea or actually submit a full post?
What format are they looking for it in, like does he/she want something created on WordPress (the website)?
You’ll also probably have questions about whether there’s an account that needs setting up first–all these things should be made clear beforehand so we don’t waste any time when reaching out!
Optimize Your Email Marketing Strategy
As a blogger who receives daily guest post pitches, I am always turned off when an email starts with the salutation of “Dear Sir or Madam.”
The reason for this visceral reaction? Well it’s not just that these emails come across as too informal – they also make me feel like less than because their tone suggests there is nothing special about your company to warrant such formality; in other words: You’re just another person on my list!
Reply accordingly if you must but please do try harder next time around – thanks!”
The blog you are targeting for your guest post should have the name and contact information of its blog owner on its site.
Reasons to Be a Guest Blogger
If you are looking for a way to generate more traffic, increase your reach, and grow your business online then be sure to consider becoming a guest blogger. Guest posting is one of the best ways to expand your network and build relationships while also generating new leads.
Invite guest bloggers to write content for your business website. This will not only provide additional content but can also give you access to other audiences that may be interested in what your company has to offer. Besides, guest posting is an effective way to generate new leads for your business.
Conclusion
Guest blogging on reputable sites is a great way to leverage the success of blogs that are already popular in your industry. To get guest posts, you need to send engaging pitches and show off what makes YOU worth it!
Guest posting is just one of many strategies to incorporate in your content marketing campaigns. If you need help shaping or tracking, our Link building agency can assist with all aspects from A-Z!
