When you first start your blog, finding ways to bring in consistent traffic can be a major challenge.
One way that many newbie bloggers have made this transition easier is by guest posting.
So, what is guest posting?
Well, essentially, it means that you offer to write a blog post for another website. The post is generally credited to you and the blogger will allow you to link back to your site.
There are obvious advantages for both sides here. You’ll gain the exposure of their visitors while they get quality content to post on their blog.
But how exactly do you get these guest posting opportunities?
And what do you do when you get them?
Let’s find out.
Finding Guest Posting Opportunities
Your main goal when attempting to find guest posting opportunities should be to look for someone that has an audience as similar to your target reader as possible.
If you’re in the health niche, for example, you probably don’t want to guest post on a coding blog.
Instead, it’s best to stick with other health bloggers that wouldn’t exactly be defined as your competition.
For example, a blog that focuses on weightlifting will likely have interest in content from a nutritionist that has similar views on healthy eating.
So long as you’re establishing yourself as an authority within a strong niche, you shouldn’t have much problem finding other bloggers that would be more than happy to have you share your expertise on their blog.
Create a Plan
If you want to use guest posting to drive your blog success, you need to have a plan.
The first aspect of this guest posting plan is to determine your main objectives.
In most cases, your three main objectives are going to include:
- Bringing more traffic to your blog
- Positioning yourself as an authority within your niche
- Earning backlinks that help with SEO
While you could write an entire book on the steps to take in order to accomplish those objectives, it’s important that you have some type of actionable plan in place
At the very least, you should have an idea of how many guest posts you intend to write.
Create a Killer Guest Post
While guest posting can definitely help you achieve the objectives listed above, it will be a huge waste of time if the content you create isn’t outstanding.
Creating a killer guest post on a website with a strong following can literally change the entire direction of your blog.
So, if you’re lucky enough to earn your way through the door and get accepted, make sure you produce something that’s memorable.
How do you do this?
Well, it starts with being useful.
Produce something that truly offers value to the people that read their blog. This will help you earn their trust and hopefully click that link back to your blog.
Conclusion
The potential offered by guest posting is something that very few other blog marketing opportunities can offer.
Take advantage of this and create a plan to use guest posting to drive your blog’s success.