Guest blogging is always touted as a great strategy to expand your blog’s reach. However, it can be difficult to know what you need to do to get your first guest post published when you’re just getting started. That’s why we’ve created this guest blogging strategy to assist you.
When you include contextual links from your own website in your content, you increase the value of that site and raise its domain authority (DA). With time, search engines will notice that your site has/is receiving a large number of quality backlinks from high-authority topic websites, which will help your site rank higher in search results.
However, a widespread myth is that guest posting is merely a link-building strategy that is quickly becoming obsolete. Even though it’s a link-building method, the method has a lot more to offer. Because Google considers link building to be one of the most important aspects of ranking your website on the Search Engine Rankings Page, people only want to focus on this aspect.
It can help you gain brand recognition, referral traffic, and authority on the web, in addition to earning backlinks from relevant websites.
Once you’ve figured out a perfect strategy to go about it, you’ll be able to effectively write content for other publications on a regular basis in no time.
In this guest blogging strategy tutorial, we’ll go over some of the reasons why you should invest time in this marketing technique. After that, we’ll show you how to publish your first article on a different website.
Let’s get started…
What is a Guest Blogging Strategy?
Any good SEO plan should include a guest blogging strategy. But we’re not talking about dubious ways where affiliate links dominate the copy. Rather, we’re talking about a meaningful strategy that earns you the respect of the publisher in your industry.
Furthermore, if these websites have a solid track record, they’ll likely gain greater exposure through Google searches, boosting your reputation. However, it necessitates a significant amount of hard work, mental effort, and time. As a result, it’s a good idea to consider how you may get the most bang for your buck.
The more strategically you think about your guest blogging strategy when you’re planning it, the more you’ll get out of it. You should be thinking about two things at once: how to benefit the host blog with your content and how it will benefit your own business.
Benefits of Guest Blogging
- It is one of the most effective methods to generate solid, high-quality relationships that can benefit you in a variety of ways, including growing commercial prospects and professional contacts, establishing brand value, and, of course, gaining link juice.
- It can help you connect with other relevant bloggers in your niche, which is especially beneficial if you’re new to the scene. While some bloggers may reject your submissions, others would cheerfully accept them as is, with no additional restrictions.
- Guest posting strategies will improve your blog’s search engine ranking. For this, you’ll need to identify relevant bloggers in your niche who will link to your websites in their content, because the more relevant backlinks you have, the higher your website will rank in SERPs.
- It is a great approach to improving your writing skills. When you continually write for websites that require higher quality content from you, you’ll develop a habit and may begin to accept anything less.
You get the chance to give new views in a fresh voice that resonates with their audience when you write well-written, thoroughly researched, authoritative articles on trustworthy websites for established businesses. This is quite beneficial to your personal reputation. You’ll quickly build an aura around your identity and business by getting published on large authority websites in your area, winning the respect of more people in your audience.
Guest Blogging Strategy Guide
Know Your Target Audience
A good guest blogging strategy, like any other marketing strategy, begins with a clear understanding of your objectives. After all, if you want to get anywhere, you need to know where you’re going. Do you want to obtain more leads and sales, drive traffic to a certain landing page, increase brand, product, and service awareness? Or do you intend to attract inbound links to improve SEO and position yourself as an expert to get more leads / projects.
It’s critical to have an objective in mind so that you can properly construct your bio and guarantee that the material visitors see when they visit delivers on what you offer. It’s the most effective technique to gain the trust of the new audience you’ve attracted.
Research guest posting sites targeting your audience
You’ll need to identify websites that welcome other bloggers and are constantly searching for fresh content. When choosing sites to write on, you should have a set of criteria in mind, such as:
- Significance: The content of the sites should be related to or in your specialty.
- Audiences to expect: Visitors of these sites are likely to be interested in your sector.
- A high level of engagement.
- Social media activity: the site’s owner is active on social media.
There are numerous methods for locating websites that welcome guest posts. You can use Google to identify sites that accept content from guest writers on the themes you wish to write about, for example.
Here are some examples of search queries:
- [keyword phrase for the issue] + “write for us”
- [keyword phrase for the topic] + “guest article”
- [subject keyword phrase] + “become a contributor”
Similar inquiries can also be used on Twitter. Simply search for “guest post” or “guest article” in the search box to view a list of tweets.
Another technique to figure out this information is to look at their inbound links. Log in to SEMRush and go to Domain Analytics » Backlinks to do so. In the search box, type the URL of the site you want to visit. You’ll be able to examine the real backlinks, anchor text, referring sites, and more when you receive the report.
This information can assist you in locating further websites that accept articles. In the snapshot below, we’ve clicked on one of the anchors to see which sites include that phrase.
Connect With Site Owner/Editor
You’ll need to establish a relationship with site owners before approaching them to recommend a guest post (a process known as “pitching”). Some people also call it guest post outreach. Don’t be fooled by all the email pitch templates you find online; cold pitches won’t work for most site owners unless it is relevant to the blogger.
To begin, familiarize yourself with their site and the types of content they post by following them, where many people share their content and you’ll be notified anytime new content is published. Read the content for a few weeks, if not longer, to have a better understanding of what matters to them and their audience. Check out their top-performing or featured material if they have it listed on their website. And, then you can email them using a good guest post outreach template.
Make social media connections with site owners. Share something you really like, and don’t forget to leave a remark so it’s not just a link. Leave comments on their blogs, subscribe to their email newsletter, and reply to their emails. The goal is to establish a true connection with the site’s owner.
Don’t try to fool them; they’ll figure it out, and you won’t be able to fulfill your objectives.
Start making your Pitch
Avoid typical guest posting pitches. With very little effort, if you’ve done your research as we advised before, you’ll be able to develop a compelling pitch that’s tailored to each site owner. The very first guideline is to keep your pitch brief and concise.
Don’t waste the time of site owners, particularly those with reputable sites, who receive a LOT of pitches Second, provide their name in your pitch – most site owners will not accept proposals from people who can’t be bothered to look up this basic contact information.
Third, include the title of the post. In addition, some successful pitches include it in the email subject line as well as a supplementary heading within the email body. After that, give a brief description of the job. In a few phrases or bullet points, state what it will cover.
Describe how this piece of content will benefit their audience. This will be simple because you’re already familiar with their presentation content. Finally, demonstrate why you are the best candidate to write an article for them
Follow the guest posting guidelines and write engaging content
As long as you’ve chosen a topic that you’re passionate about and know a lot about, this should be the easiest part of the process. All you have to do now is set aside some time and start typing. It’s completely OK to hire an editor to evaluate your copy if you’re not confident in your writing. Even for experienced authors, I’d definitely suggest it. It’s usually beneficial to have a second set of eyes go at your work and provide ideas.
Here are some key tips for writing guest posts, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced writer.
1. Produce content that is both long and intriguing (at least 1,000 words)
2. Divide the content into tiny, easy-to-understand pieces.
3. On-page SEO should be prioritized.
Interlink your article with other similar articles
Your article should preferably have a strong link profile, which aids SEO and authority growth. That implies that the guest article you’re producing should have significant internal and external links. Link to fantastic material on the site you’re writing for as well as beneficial external resources within the text.
This contributes to the content’s link-building strategy, which is beneficial to SEO and authority building. Make sure you obey any site owner’s linking guidelines. Some links are restricted, as we’ll see when we come to the bio section.
Here are some key points you need to remember while interlinking the articles.
1. Please include a link to your prior content pieces on that website.
2. Include a link to some of your own, relevant content.
3. Internally, link to other articles published by your publisher.
4. Include your byline and explain what qualifies you as an authority on the subject.
Check out the submission process and submit it after proofreading
Finally, format the post to match the rest of the site’s content. Take note of how they employ subheadings, capitalization, bold text, lists, and other design elements. You’ll be more popular if you leave less work for site owners to do. Some websites include guest post guidelines; in such cases, all you have to do is follow them.
Write an effective guest bio
The bio is the compensation for all of your tough work in developing your guest blogging strategy. This is because it is here that you can link to your own website and resources. There are a few site owners who don’t place any restrictions on links in the bio, but this isn’t particularly typical. You’ll be able to link to a URL of your choice as well as a social media link in most circumstances.
If you have the option, link to a landing page to increase lead generation by getting signups from individuals who are already interested in the material you’ve published and want to learn more. Include a clear call to action (CTA) whether or not you’re linking to a landing page, so viewers know what to do next. In a typical guest blogging CTA, readers might be asked to Visit your website, A free resource is available for download, and start to follow you on social media.
Start Promoting your guest post
Post promotion is an important aspect of any guest blogging strategy since it encourages visitors to read your content and return to your website. The owner of the site will also be pleased with the additional visitors. Guest blogging content can be promoted through the same platforms that you use to advertise your own. You may, for example, mention it in your email marketing newsletter to subscribers and share guest pieces on social media. Motivate your subscribers and fans to come by, leave comments, and share your content. Some people will gladly help.
Continue the process and pitch more sites
While one guest post can help you accomplish your dreams, you’ll need to write a lot of them to be successful. More is more with a successful guest blogging strategy, as long as the quality of your guest pieces is maintained.
The more posts you produce, the larger your internet profile becomes, and the more people regard you as an authority figure. As a result, you’ll receive more invites to write and attend events, as well as increased traffic to your website, leads, and purchases.
Track your progress
You’ll need to track and assess results if you want to know if your guest blogging strategy is a success. Some analysis tools, such as Google Analytics, Buzzsumo, Ahrefs, and SEMRush may be useful in this instance. Focus on crucial KPIs by answering the following questions to ensure that your hard work pays off:
- How much organic and social traffic is generated by your guest post?
- How has the rating of the host website altered since your guest post was published?
- In your guest article, how many backlinks do you have? How many of them provide traffic to your main site and convert visitors?
- What is the position of your guest content for target keywords?
- How does your website’s traffic behave?
Looking at the audience’s feedback and reviews is another excellent technique to gauge the success of your article. The nicer comments you get under your posts, the more beneficial your research will be. After all, once you’ve completed your evaluations and learned from your mistakes, you may go on to new content ideas. The blog proprietors may demand more from you when the prior piece is published.
How to become an effective guest blogger?
It’s possible to learn how to be a good guest blogger, just as it is to learn anything else. You have a high chance if you’re ready to listen to and follow recommendations and put in the effort to generate the products. Here are a few pointers to help you get started.
1. Recognize your Worth
2. Provide Benefits
3. Make a list of your guest blogging objectives.
4. Pick topics that will help you achieve your own business objectives.
5. Conduct extensive research on your potential client.
6. Pitch your idea
7. Attempt to form long-term relationships.
To conclude, Guest blogging for SEO has proven to be one of the most effective link-building methods by a number of successful firms. As a result, it’s never too late to start learning about it and using it in your content marketing strategy.
Every day, hundreds of new blogs and content sites emerge as the Internet’s content grows. All you need to do now is analyze your alternatives and choose the best spot to start once you’ve thoroughly investigated the blogging market and set specific goals for your campaign.
Guest writing can help you build relationships with industry influencers and brand yourself as an industry expert. Having a content piece published on a high-authority blog can bring a lot of traffic to your site.
It can also aid in the acquisition of new subscribers and the expansion of your email list. It can be difficult to become a great guest blogger but following these above-mentioned steps will help you go one step closer to posting a high-quality piece on a popular blog.
You will be able to make guest blogging work for you and improve your brand while also increasing your lead generation efforts now that you understand what it is, what it can provide you, and how to create a guest posting strategy for your site.
