If you have a blog you’re hoping to make a living from, or at least to contribute to your living, it can be hard to make yourself heard among the countless other bloggers with exactly the same aim. You can put yourself at an advantage over most of them, though, if you market your blog effectively, and one of the most effective digital marketing tools is guest blogging.
Guest Blogging
The best way to reach new audiences is to write for a blog those audiences already read. This will encourage some readers to follow the link back to your site — but, as econsultancy makes clear, only if you provide quality, authoritative content, rather than openly promoting yourself.
In the past, guest blogging has often been used as little more than spam, but marketing agency in Hertfordshire UK, Flow Ink Digital, recommends posting high-quality content to engage readers and build your reputation as an authority in your sector.
Finding the Right Targets
More specifically than just attracting people to your website, it’s important to set goals and target the people you want. As the Digital Marketing Institute advises, you need to identify blogs that currently attract the people you’re looking for.
This doesn’t just mean blogs with exactly the same focus as yours, though. If you run a family blog, for instance, it’s worth thinking of other audiences that might be interested in your perspective as a parent with young children. This could be blogs focused on anything from entertainment to holidays.
Getting Your Pitch Right
The most important thing in your pitch is not to come over as a cold-caller. If you can’t get a personal introduction to the site owner, then get to know the posts and refer to them.
It can also help to have commented on some of them, as long as your comments are genuine and informative. Huffington Post’s article about courting a blogger applies to pitching for guest blogs as much as any other context.
Content and Relationships
The most important thing about your content, besides being informative and well written, is that it should be specific to the target site. Try to find a topic that hasn’t been covered there before, and refer to the site’s specific interests.
Don’t just blog and run. Promote the post on your social media, and make sure you follow up whatever comments you get. Digital marketing in general, and guest blogging particularly, is all about building relationships. You never know how those relationships might pay off a little down the line.
What tips do you have?
This is really interesting. I definitely don’t guest post enough, I barely find the time to write my own blog 😉
Nat.x
A Lovely helpful and informative post Laura.
I’ve only recently done my first guest post, a recipe for a food blogger as I dabble in baking (and cocktails recipes ) so did a recipe for her.
Was super nerve wracking but it seems to have gone ok. I’d love to guest post for another blogger but I’m nervous to approach people – and anxious I won’t write something good and let them down!
Maybe I’ll have a go…
Gem.x
#BloggerClubUK
Great helpful post! Lots of great tips. I purely just blog for a hobby at the moment but one day I’d like to make money from it, when I’m better at blogging and writing. Finding the right targets is a main factor I think! Great post, thank you for sharing with us xx
This is great, and as a newish blogger (my site is about a year old) I would have to agree, guest posting is great for all concerned. I have guested on other peoples sites, as well as published quite a few on mine.
Blogging is all about the content, so the more of it, in as many different places, the better.
Anna x
This is such a helpful post – I really need to work on things like my pitch and trying to work out my target audience more. I don’t really have those little things down.
Relationships, that is the key to effective marketing because lets face it without the relationships or bonds you create with other bloggers would you have as much engagement?
This is a great post full of so many helpful tips. I’ve only guest posted once. I should do it more. I’d say also interacted with other bloggers and commenting on other posts is a good tip x
Great post, and some great advice.. I have recently been trying to make more of a effort to take part in guest posts as and when I can, so fingers crossed it works 🙂 xx
Such a good post – it’s so very true that you have to try and guest post as much as possible – I am seriously slacking at this at the moment! H x
This is such a great post. There are some thing in here that I haven’t thought of doing yet including guest posting. xx
Fab tips Laura 🙂 I hate it when I get a request to post a guest blog and clearly haven’t even looked at my blog.
I would add that if you are a PR rep trying to promote something, be honest. When you try to pretend you’re a blogger writing a guest post then fill it with links to a certain brand, it’s so obvious! #blogstorm
Debbie
I’ve written quite a few guest posts this year, but they’ve all been from FB group requests rather than actually pitching. I’m still building up to that! x #blogstorm
As you know Laura, i run a series for guest bloggers, but I definitely need to do more myself! I also get really annoyed when I get pitches from people that clearly haven’t read my blog stating that we write about the same thing then pitch my ideas that have nothing to do my my blog or my audience!