\"\"

The SITS Girls

The Secret to Success is Support

Guest Blogs: How to Guest Post Best Practices

·

This post may contain affiliate links which may give us a commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Guest blogs / a blog guest post can be a great way to tap into a related audience of blog readers. You can support your fellow tribe members (often a blogger will ask for guest posts during a vacation or illness), while also spreading your personal message to new circles. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when crafting a guest post that will make it easier for people to ask you to come back.

When someone welcomes you to their blog, are you behaving? Photo by Keith D. Tyler

3 Winning Strategies for Guest Blogs

1. Know – or Learn – About the Blog You’re Posting On

Knowing the blog you want to guest post on can be the difference between success or failure. For example, when I was doing guest posts about 30 Days to Make and Sell a Fabulous Ebook I was asked to submit a guest post for an internet marketing blog. When I took the time to read back several blog posts on his blog, I noticed an announcement about two months prior where he mentioned starting a course about how to use affiliate sales in your blog. So my guest post mentioned ways to incorporate affiliate marketing techniques into your ebook to monetize it beyond the initial sale. He was so appreciative that I have provided him with a post relevant to his focus and push!

It doesn’t have to take you very long to do either. Skim through the about page information. Read several blog posts back and see which types of posts got good comments. See if there’s an editorial calendar with a specific theme for the month. All these things will prove to the blog owner that you are thinking about them.

2. Give Quality Information – Don’t be Stingy!

It’s easy to think, “I need to hold back this crucial piece of information so that people will want to read more.” or “If I give too much information, they won’t want to buy the book.” What I’ve found is the opposite is actually true. When I write an amazing guest post and help educate people about their possibilities, they are MORE likely to buy my book. About 40% of people who listen to me speak about eBooks, for example, buy the book. When someone reads my book on how to do SEO research, about 20% of them will hire me to help them.

When someone reads your words you have the chance the make a connection with them. To show them who you are. That connection is what sells! That connection is what keeps them coming back for more! People would rather read, share, and buy from someone they know and trust.

3. Tailor the Message to THEIR Audience – Not Yours

This to me is a respect thing. When you’re submitting a guest post on someone else’s blog, you are speaking to their readership. Not yours. So it’s really helpful to get a feel for their audience, their topic, their space and style of doing things. Is the audience mostly beginning bloggers? Focused on a specific theme? Do they usually prefer lists? Practical tips?

When you create a post that is timely, relevant, and speaks to the audience you are presenting to, you are guest posting with thoughtfulness!

More on Guest Post Blog

Read more about guest blogging best practices here:

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Please be careful with my heart says

    Because once you know what your character wants, you know who that character is.
    Comedy is one genre that is considered to be a formula for success at box office
    as people wish to see movies that can relieve them of all the stress in life.
    Short movies are dainty to the mind, and in some cases the heart.

  2. Karen Dawkins says

    Love the third tip! When I guest post, I ask the blog owner what they want and then I tailor the post, to the best of my ability, to their audience. For a budget blog, I focus more on the budgeting aspects of family travel. For a mom blog, I share more personal anecdotes while providing travel tips. Using a format that suits the blogger’s audience is a win for all!

  4. Magdalena says

    I have never written a guest post and never though about it.
    This tips are useful but I’m not sure if I would ever write a guest post. It’s not for me.

  5. Gary @ SocialMediaFollowing says

    These are some really great tips. Another, tip I would also mention is just actually getting out there and doing it. I see so many people say they are going to start trying to guest post but then they never do. It can be a little scary at first if you have never done before, but the more you get out there and try it the more you are going to love it.

  7. Hodgepodge of Styles says

    Great post and tips! Recently did a guest post about travel tips and no. 3 was something I needed to note. However, there should be a middle ground where you write with their readers in mind and at the same time showcase your personality.

  8. Jen says

    I do think it’s important to tailor your post to that person’s website. The times I have done guest posts I’ve worked hard to tweak my voice for the audience. It takes some thought as you don’t want to lose what makes you interesting. It can be a lot of fun.

  11. [email protected] says

    This is a great post and so true. When I first started blogging, the people in my “tribe” and the ones I clicked with, didn’t exactly write the same kind of content as me. We did some switch ups and guest blogs, but I think it was confusing for some of our audiences because we had SUCH different writing styles and hadn’t spent enough time catering to who the most popular readers were. We still got a lot of page views, but probably could have engaged the clients through comments more had we done some more research.

  12. Melody says

    I accept guest posts on two blogs, but it is SO difficult to get a good one. They’re usually way too general at best or full of errors at worst. Submitting information that most people already know, off-topic information, or not following the guidelines are the most frequent offenses.

    It’s also important to do more than a quick Google for research, especially on topics such as health. I’ve rejected many natural pet care posts because they included information that could actually harm the animal.

    Now that search engines like Google are rating the quality of guest posts, you’ll want to put some effort into it if you’re after link popularity credit. 🙂

  13. Julie Moore says

    Great tips! I also find that it helps to ask the person who is hosting what they would like you to write about. Sometimes they have something totally different in mind than you do! I tell them what I’m expecting of them: A few sentences about themselves, a few sentences about their blog, the relevant material, pictures, links to their social sites. You’d be surprised how much you don’t think of sometimes to include! I also make it a point to plug them being there and thank them publicly. I also ask that they be available the day of the guest post to answer comments and even let them know if future comments/questions arise. And giving them more than just an hour in the limelight is key, too. I like to leave guest posts up at least a week.

  15. Raquel says

    This is so timely! Ferly from Gifts We Use and I are guest posting on each others blogs today! We met on SITS and got a chance to meet in real life. This was so fun to do and I would love to have more guest posts. She offers some great technology advice and I am so happy to have her on my blog.

  17. adrian says

    Hi girlies! Funny you should ask. I am actually a guest poster TODAY over at Mom It Forward. I am sharing some tips on how to get your family to eat more healthy during this season of the unhealthiest food of the year!

    http://momitforward.com/healthy-eating-painless

    PS: One caveat on guest posting. Get to know the person a little bit before you invite them to post. Have a look at their work first. I invited a digital scrapbooker to share a post on my blog and the one she sent me was the ugliest piece of work I’d seen in a long time. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so I went ahead and posted it. Then I did a whole flurry of my own posts, so it would push it off my front page after a day or two. Then after a month or so, I quietly deleted it.

  22. Laila @OnlyLaila says

    Great advice on tailoring the post to fit their audience not yours. That is something I’ve definitely learned when I’ve written for other sites.