When you’re busy running your business and focusing on your own marketing, the idea of writing a blog post for someone else’s website might seem ridiculous. But, if you’re not guest posting at least occasionally, you’re missing out on an incredible opportunity.
Guest blogging is one of the best ways to share your knowledge and expertise, spread your brand’s message, and get in front of a whole new audience. If you’re intrigued, stick around. I’m about to tell you everything you need to know so you can take advantage of this extremely effective marketing strategy.
What is guest posting?
Let’s start at the beginning. Guest posting, also called guest blogging, is the act of creating an article or blog post to be published on another company’s website. These posts should generally be educational in nature and should provide enough information to create true value for the reader.
While each website varies, most will allow you to include one or two links back to your website within your post and a short bio at the end.
Top benefits of guest posts
Now that we’re clear on what a guest post is, you’re probably still wondering how this could possibly be worth your time. It’s a valid question!
There are actually many benefits of guest posting, but we’ll just focus on a few.
1. Become a trusted resource
Anybody can post updates on their own blog, but when you start to expand out to other platforms, you begin to build a portfolio and a knowledge base. The more people see your content across the web, the more they’ll start to view you as a true expert and a reliable source of knowledge.
Even if a person doesn’t need your product or service at the time they read your post, if they later find that they do, you’ll be the first person who comes to mind since you’ve already shown that you’re an authority on the topic.
2. Access a whole new audience
While you may or may not already have a group of loyal followers, when you share your thoughts on a new platform, you automatically gain access to a whole new audience. As long as the site you’re posting to is in your niche or has a group of followers that fit into your target audience, this can be a major advantage.
3. Generate qualified leads
When writing a guest post, it’s a great idea to include a call to action (CTA). Generally, this would be an invitation to visit your site or contact you for more information. Since you’ve already shown that you’re an expert regarding the topic at hand, the next obvious step is for readers to follow up with you. This is one of the easiest ways to convert another website’s audience to qualified leads.
4. Shorten your sales cycle
Sharing valuable information allows you to build trust and authority. When you do, it makes potential customers more open to the possibility of buying your products or services.
Guest posting on trusted sites gives you a stage to showcase your brand message and explain your value proposition. This effectively shortens your sales cycle and expedites your customer journey.
5. Improve your website rankings
Backlinks are a key factor in search engine rankings. Most websites that accept guest posts allow you to include at least one link back to your business website. Even a single backlink from an authoritative website can significantly improve your search engine optimization (SEO). This makes all of your content more discoverable on Google and other search engines.
How to write a great guest post
The best blog posts cover topics that readers are interested in, are well-written, and sharable. When choosing a topic for a guest post, you may want to think about some of the questions you’re asked most often or timely topics that will engage the reader.
It’s usually best to check with the platform you’ll be posting for to make sure they approve the topic you plan to cover. This way, you won’t end up wasting your valuable time. Once you’ve got your topic nailed down, make sure to follow these other important pieces of advice.
1. Make sure your article is well written
This may go without saying, but if your goal is to gain credibility and trust, things like grammar and spelling really matter. Take the time to thoroughly proofread your article, then proofread it again. If you’re not comfortable with your writing skills, consider working with a skilled ghostwriter instead.
2. Offer unique insight
It’s one thing to say your post should include “valuable content,” but what does that really mean? If you want to get real traction from your post, make sure you’re offering readers your unique insight on a topic that’s important to them.
If you’re not sure exactly what you want to say, spend some time Googling your topic. Choose the three best articles you can find, then make sure the article you create is better than all of them.
3. Add actionable takeaways
Educating people is important, but in today’s busy world, most readers are looking for actionable steps that they can start using right away. Do this right, and your readers will enjoy the content you’ve created so much that they’ll be happy to share it. This is a great way to gain even more credibility and increase your presence on social media.
Discover Bradenton offers FREE guest posting opportunities for Bradenton-area businesses!
If you’re a Bradenton-area business and want to enjoy the benefits of guest posting – you’re in luck! Discover Bradenton offers guest posting opportunities to all of our members for FREE! All you need to do is contact us to pitch a topic and we’ll help you with the rest.
Not a member yet? You can join Discover Bradenton today for just $24 a month!
