If you are a small business owner or a freelancer looking for more exposure from top blogs then guest blogging is a great way to expand your content marketing strategy. Are you new to guest blogging and don’t really know how to take the bull by the horns? You are in the right place, here are five useful steps to help you get started.
# 1. Write for people with faces
Having in your mind the clear face of the person you are writing for helps to target your content more effectively. All companies have relevant information about their clients but sometimes, just having “cold” data that describes your target audience isn’t enough to give you a simple and clear idea of what type of person you are writing for.
That is why having customer profiles makes things easier. If you don’t know how to make them, an extremely useful resource you can use is the free template for creating buyer personas from Hubspot. It will not only help you write better but it will also improve your sales pitch.
# 2. Find opportunities
Finding blogs that accept guest posting is one of the easy parts. You can find plenty of ready-made lists with top blogs from different industries that have their doors open for new writers.
As a tip, try to look for blogs that rank higher than yours. How do you know the rank of a blog? Just install any page rank extension on your browser, most of them will tell you other relevant information about the blog such as the number of links that point to the site and a traffic estimation.
# 3. Pitch your idea
Most websites that accept guest articles offer basic guidelines on how to choose your topics and pitch your ideas. But if you are not so confident on how to approach this matter then follow a logical structure and personalize your message as much as you can.
Start by addressing the editor of the website by his name, include the full name of the blog you want to get your post on and explain why your article fits the content of the site. Offer 3 magnetic headlines for 3 different topics you would like to write about and include 3 main key points under each headline.
Always explain why your approach is unique and how your article can benefit the website, this will help you stand out from the rest of the pitchers.
# 4. Nail your headlines
There are plenty of resources out there designed to teach you how to write posts that attract visitors and almost all of them talk about the importance of headlines. Although people might have different opinions on how a title should be constructed all of them agree on one thing:
The headline is everything and more! There are various headline templates available that you can use in case your muse is on break, you can even check out the Tweak Your Biz Headline Generator but and there is a big but:-
Keep in mind that these types of headlines don’t work with every website or industry so, ultimately you need to first check how are the posts in the website you want to guest blog written and structured and come up with something that will fit in!
# 5. Optimize your linking strategy
Needless to say you should pay special attention to where you get your information from and the links you include in your article. Make sure you are only linking to authority sites that are relevant to your topic.
I have recently participated in Jon Morrow’s webinar about effective guest blogging and if there is one thing I learned it would be the following:
Always include a link to an actionable page rather than to your homepage when writing a guest post. If you are promoting your products and services don’t just link to your homepage, link directly to your free trial, newsletter subscription or to a custom designed page that has one clear call to action. According to Jon, this is an effective way to use your guest post and increase conversions.
Do you have a useful tip about effective guest blogging you would like to share with us? You are most welcome to leave your comments below.
Images: ”blogging tips – isolated text in vintage letterpress wood type /Shutterstock.com“
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