Having been a serial adulterer to my own blog over the last months, I have learned many things when it comes to guest blogging or blogging on other sites. As a beginning guest or network blogger sometimes it can be hard to feel at home and come up with killer content. Conversion of guest blogging is not always visible and can sometimes feel rather disappointing.
Here are some tips to increase the chance to gain new readers, to show authority when you guest blog on another blog.
The blog is yours for one day!
Don’t be shy, don’t feel uncomfortable, guest bloggers generally are very well welcomed. There’s no reason to doubt yourself, to feel a stranger for a day, if your regular content weren’t great already, you would never have been asked to guest blog.
This is your chance to create killer content!
Many times the blog you’re invited to write for, has a bigger readership than your own blog. This is your chance to show real authority and create genuine killer content. This is the moment to write that stumble/digg article.
Guest entries are a great business card opportunity. One killer entry will bring you lots of new visitors, many links to your blog and sometimes even new orders! You really have to put up your best content right now.
Be yourself!
Don’t try to imitate the voice of the resident blogger, to write in their style, to voice their opinions. Voice your own strong opinion, showing guts while guest blogging can have a great ROI and boost the number of visits to your own blog.
If the blog hoster didn’t respect your voice, you would never have been offered the opportunity to post an entry on THEIR blog.
Continue the visual style of the blog.
Check how the regular entries are visually written and try to continue this style. If the resident blogger uses headings and subheadings, use them too. Most readers are conditioned and expect easily skimmable entries when they are used to find them at that blog. No one wants to read 400 word paragraphs at Copyblogger or anywhere else actually.
Create a compelling intro or entry footer signature.
With every guest entry you’ll get a small intro or the occasion to use an article footer with a link to your own blog. Make this one of the most compelling parts of your guest post. Many serial feed subscribers will only skim the headers/subheaders and read the conclusion. If they find an interesting entry footer, instead of the conclusion to the entry, they might be compelled to visit your site or actually read the whole entry. Same applies to your intro.
Don’t feel afraid to set expectations in your intro. This is your chance, everyone reads you! Grab the attention. Don’t forget your most erotic picture to spice up the entry!
Start your guest entry today!
When you are asked to guest blog, you almost always have several days to prepare your entry. Unless you’re a serial deadline addict, you might want to prepare your entry today already! Set yourself the deadline one day early. You don’t want to be caught by the ‘must get it ready now fever’. Only deadline freaks write better under that pressure. Don’t hesitate to ask the blog host’s opinion!
Know the blog you write on
Guest blogging is the hardest way to show authority, but a great chance to feature yourself! The chance is yours, grab it!
Dig through the archives, read the comments and ask the blog hoster what the regulars/subscribers like, what their level is. Demographics are irrelevant, but try to understand the audience of the blog. Write on their level.
Of course those tips also apply when you’re asked to write on a multi-author blog, more even because together with your regular great content the whole team will grow!
Originally posted on August 22, 2007 @ 11:49 am