You’ve probably heard that guest blogging is a powerful traffic-building strategy.
But traffic isn’t the only reason to start publishing on other blogs.
Getting your name on big-name blogs gives you:
- Name recognition.
- Credibility as an expert in your field.
- More opt-ins to your list.
- More visibility in your community.
So what’s holding you back?
Follow the 12 commonsense rules listed below and take advantage of the internet’s biggest need: great, high-quality content.
1. Write in the style of your target blog
The first rule of article writing is to know your publisher’s needs. As a content writer, you supply content to a business, whether it’s a book publisher like Random House or a business blog like Crazy Egg.
So take time to get to know your target blog.
- What topics does it write about?
- What style are posts written in?
- Do they use lots of images or not?
- Do they write in a casual style or are they buttoned-down professionals?
Write in that same style, with the same layout, and the editor will love you.
2. Don’t focus on the time invested
If you’re in it for the money, forget it.
Writing for other sites (whether as a guest blogger or paid writer) doesn’t pay well if you only look at dollars per hour. But the return in name recognition and credibility is hard to beat.
Keep that in mind when you feel like you could make more money at your kids’ lemonade stand.
Remember, sometimes maximum ROI isn’t achieved in words per hour, but in getting seen by the right people.
3. Always do your best work
The first impression you leave is the one people will always remember. So come off as a professional and an expert, not someone who’s lazy or in it for the money.
Always do your best work in your guest posts.
- Double-check your facts.
- Try to catch all typos and grammatical errors.
- Edit, edit, edit.
4. Share valuable information
Your target website is trying to grow its business with high-quality content that informs, educates, and entertains its readers. Help them do that, and they’ll ask you to write more.
Take time to research your topic. Refer to recognized, well-respected sources. Look for quotes from industry leaders. Most of all, write something that hasn’t been published anywhere else on the Web.
5. Write something original
Don’t recycle content. Don’t copy other people’s content. And by all means, don’t plagiarize.
Spinning content may save time, but it doesn’t help your credibility as an expert in your field. So take time to come up with something new to say.
6. Don’t promote yourself
I can’t say this enough. Your reward is your reputation as an excellent writer or expert in your field.
Getting published on a big-name blog is promotion enough. So don’t risk your reputation by being self-serving.
- No affiliate links.
- No unnecessary backlinks to your website.
- No talking about your own business.
7. Add value to your target blog
Your goal is to help your target blog achieve its own business goals. For instance, when writing for Crazy Egg, I try to tie my topics to heat mapping or conversion optimization.
I focus on their core topics, not mine.
8. Think of it as a publishing contract, not a drain on your resources
As I mentioned above, you don’t write guest posts for the money. You write them for the exposure.
It’s a hard lesson for most wanna-be writers. The average writer makes just $5,000 per year from his or her writing.
That includes book writers (which is why copywriting is so popular; it pays the bills far better than other types of writing).
So why do writers keep writing. Because there are other perks. I know authors who lost money on their book, but now have more speaking engagements than they can keep up with.
Publishing gives you clout. And so does guest blogging — if you treat it as seriously as a book deal.
If you have time, publish a book. But if time is short, focus on shorter publishing opportunities like guest blogging.
9. Write for high-quality sites, but not necessarily the highest trafficked sites
While we all want to write for the biggest-name blogs, that isn’t always the best strategy.
If you’re still developing your writing chops, take your time. It’s okay to write for smaller blogs to start out. Just make sure they target your ideal customers.
Practice writing every day and, if necessary, get a writing coach. This helps you gain experience and improve your skills, which will get you to the level of those big-name blogs much quicker.
10. Write a really great bio to go with your article
Here’s where you get to promote yourself. But don’t go overboard to the point of writing a personal ad.
Keep your bio to about three sentences and limit it to two or three links. Here are a few great examples:
Chris Brogan focuses on engagement:
http://www.copyblogger.com/content-is-not-branding/
Willy Franzen alerts you to his blog and service:
http://www.copyblogger.com/increase-blog-subscribers/
I directed people to my newsletter subscription page:
11. Don’t link back to your home page in your bio
For SEO purposes, linking to your home page is too generic. It doesn’t add much Google juice to your backlinks. Instead, link to a subscription page or a related article in your own blog.
This adds value to those pages and may draw pre-qualified traffic to your website.
12. Check to see if you have Author Rank in the site
More and more publishers are setting up Google authorship. But if they aren’t there yet, add it to your bio.
It really does work
At first, it may seem that you’re giving away your time. But you have to keep your eye on the ball. You gain clout when you can say you’ve written for 4 or 5 highly respected websites. And it can fast-track your networking efforts.
Most important, you can write forever on your own website and never get noticed. But one blog post for this big-name blog and another for that big-name blog can put you in the spotlight quickly.
It’s worth the trouble. I guarantee it.
