Blogging has become one of the most popular platforms for spreading information nowadays. The success and popularity of blogging can be attributed to its versatility and strong digital presence. People are not only able to publicly voice their opinions on varying issues in a matter of just a few seconds, but can also store them indefinitely on the internet. It allows users a chance to share their opinions with the entire world and to engage themselves in a series of meaningful conversations with like-minded people. Blogging provides numerous posting options for its users, including videos, links, pictures, and texts. People all over the globe are spending more and more time on the internet these days, so it’s no wonder that blogging and adding new material to a blog has become such a common practice.
Now there is a new trend emerging. That trend is blogging as a guest. Bloggers are afforded an opportunity, courtesy of the blog owner, to share their opinions or lend their skills on any particular website. They can write/talk about anything interesting or share new information that will capture the attention of blog readers. If you want to try blogging as a guest, below are several guidelines that you will need to remember.
The Reason to Blog
This is the first step to consider when determining the kind of blog that you want to have or the niche of your blog. Why do you want to blog?
The reasons might be:
1. To boost your online credentials in your specific industry.
2. To market and get a higher amount of traffic to your website.
3. To provide backlinks that will lead the “clicker” to your webpage.
If your reasons to blog fit any of these options, you need to target social blogs that have a large number of followers. Backlinks are very useful in driving traffic to your website, but you need to blog on websites with strong domain authority. You can utilize the SEOmoz toolbar to help you determine the degree of authority of the domains.
The Place to Blog
The second step is to locate the appropriate website for your blog. You can start by searching for blogs with similar interests or background. Here are some criteria to guide you:
1. Look for blogs with the same nature as your blog – be it interests, background, or career.
2. Look for blogs whose readers would be interested in what you are doing in your own blog.
3. Blogs must be social with an interactive section for readers’ comments.
4. Other social media platforms – such as Twitter or Facebook – are integrated into the blog. (This ensures that the posts will be made public.)
For example, if you repair computers, try to write on websites that sell computer supplies. Utilize the many search engines available on the internet – such as Google – for your purpose. You will get a lot of hits, but you also need to prioritize for the most promising ones.
The People to Follow
The third step is to “follow the honey pot” or, in this case, the most famous bloggers who deal in your market. They are the leading experts in their fields. If you can score a blog guest spot on their websites, you will be golden – but the chance of that ever happening is minimal without connections. What should you do then? Build up enough networks and ask people in your trade to introduce you to the blog owners. If you’re lucky, you may score as a guest blogger after all.
You can also use many features on the internet to assist in scoring a place as a guest blogger. Here are the two main tools to help you:
1. Backlinks
Others in your niche who have been featured as guest bloggers usually rack up a couple of backlinks. You can use Open Site Explorer, a search engine from SEOmoz, to find them. After running OSE, you can analyze the backlinks and locate all the blogs they have made.
2. Social Media Platforms
Social media platforms are gold mines when looking for information. There are search boxes on the platforms that can yield a complete biography and works of the person you are interested in. For example, in Twitter, you can type the name of the blogger you are looking for and attach a hash-tag to keep track of it. Every time the name is mentioned in the micro blogging site, the timeline will add it, providing you with real time results of that person. This practice works well for blog posts that are linked to the timeline of their author.
Analyzing the Chosen Blog
If you have made your pick for the particular blog you want to fill as a guest, great! The next step is analyzing the site. Who are the readers of the blog? What kind of market does the blog attract? How do the authors write in their posts? Do readers tend to show bias or remain fair in responding to posts?
Start by commenting on posts and making your presence known on the website. Wait for the right time to propose a blog idea to the site owner. Keep in mind that you should not come off as an opportunist. Whenever the site owner needs some help, you can lend a hand to him/her and thus make yourself memorable. When the time arises for requests of an external blogger, you’ll be prepared to strike.
Here are some suggestions for proposing a blog idea to the site owner:
1. Learn all the rules and regulations for publishing a guest post. This is the most basic thing that you need to remember, lest you publish a post in the wrong format and not follow the site owner’s standard.
2. Send your blog post request to the person who is giving you a green light for the request. Address the individual with his/her proper name, not with common greetings such as Sir or Madam.
3. In the request letter, include your personal information and work occupation (as a blogger).
Explain the reason behind your request and also your eligibility to earn a guest blogger spot.
About the Author: I love to write about search engine optimization and marketing methods, you can read my next article which has been written on Orange County Content Marketing methods.
