If you are following me for a while in the blogosphere, you would have heard from me time and time again, saying guest blogging is golden.
I am not going to discuss the benefits of guest blogging in this post. I’ve talked a lot about it in many places.
But just to give you a pinch of what I mean and what I enjoy everyday, let me mention a few pointers, briefly.
Why should you think about guest blogging in the first place?
The power of guest blogging is phenomenal. You may not realize its power until you try it out yourself.
If you follow some simple (doable) strategies, you can reap great benefits via guest blogging.
The blogosphere has many examples of successful bloggers who have experienced mega success via guest blogging, yours truly included. Please find a list of my guest posts here.
Guest blogging is a powerful weapon where you just need to create awesome content and not worry much about getting traffic to your content, and/or promoting it and making it popular.
If the host blog is a bigger and a more popular blog than yours (which usually is the case when you want to do guest blogging effectively), you already have a targeted audience - if you pick the right blog in YOUR niche.
The host blog has big-sized regular readership, big-sized newsletter subscribers, authority, reach and many other perks. You’re going to use it and enjoy the benefits!
All you need to do is to create killer guest posts that will speak for you!
OK so let’s dive in.
You want to get guest blogging success with one guest post
Writing one guest post and expecting a landslide of traffic is so unrealistic. With one guest post you will get a spike of traffic for sure; it doesn’t matter if your post is published on Copyblogger, Problogger or Forbes.
And after a few days of publishing the post, you will surely see a deep sink in traffic. That’s totally normal.
Coz that popular blog would have got another guest post featured by that time and your prime show is almost over.
Well, you will get a consistent amount of search traffic (that is, search traffic that reaches your guest post and then people from there finding you), but this will be much lesser.
Unless you do guest blogging consistently, people won’t remember you. And they won’t stop by to check you. I hope you get the point.
Your byline says nothing
You author byline is the place where you have a good opportunity to introduce yourself to the readers (of the other blog).
Since most probably the readers of the host blog don’t know you, you should use the byline for this purpose.
If you are just going to link to your homepage, you are missing out! Don’t do that unless, if the host blog allows only a link to your homepage and not to any of your inner pages.
Make sure you mention who you are and what you do - especially what you are successful at, or what your expertise is. Also make sure that mentioning this bit makes people get an idea how you and your work will be useful for them. This is very crucial for conversion.
And, unless you are spamming guest blogging for links, make sure you don’t take anchor text very seriously (given the Panda and Penguins).
Be very natural with your links. The less keyword focused you are, the more credibility you will get which will in turn increase your click throughs.
On the other hand, if you’re too much into keyword optimizing your anchor text, people will smell some sense of spam in that and you will get lesser click throughs.
You’re selfish about links
While it is your primary concern to insert backlinks to your own blog posts, it is good to hold that urge back or use it sparingly - may be link to one or two posts from your blog (in cases where it is highly relevant to what you are talking about in that guest post).
And more importantly, make sure you link to it naturally without artificially trying to use SEO-anchored keyword texts.
But above this, if you manage to link to “other” people’s valuable content, that could help put your guest post in the spotlight!
Reference blog posts of biggies (not SO biggies, who get loads of links everyday and don’t notice them) so that you draw their attention.
Again, don’t do this for the sake of doing it; rather make the links highly relevant and make them look natural.
Guest blogging fail: Takeaway
These are three, very simple reasons as to why your guest blogging campaigns might not be performing well. Fix them and see the difference.
But before you do that, don’t forget to leave a comment on this post and share it with your social circle!
If you are a host blogger who accepts guest posts, make sure you read this post by Neil >> Don’t accept guest posts unless you follow these 7 rules!
Hi Jane thanks for this post. Its fabulous post like previous i don’t know how you write such excellent article but i would like to be blogger like you because you have great writing skill.
You’re welcome Ashutosh!
yes Jane
another Great article thanks
cheers
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nice article jane as usual – this one caught my eye right away. Here’s to quality content. I agree with everything you’ve said – thanks very much for articulating it so well.
A great guest blogger does not think of himself but instead of the blogger he’s guesting and the ideas he wants to impart to the readers.
I should not say this but I have seen some selfish people about links. Some people follow guest post exchange & some just ask to guest post but don’t give back link to another one. Which isn’t fine.
I understand that Christina!
Wayne Liew says
Another reason why a guest blogging campaign may fail, in terms of generating quality traffic and leads, is that the blogger fails to understand his or her audience and starts to guest blogging on every blog that allows him or her to do so. Often times, a lot of these can be told by just looking at the analytics report.
This may even have an effect on his or her content. Imagine a blogger, who is trying to attract clients for a writing service, is guest blogging a lot about how bloggers can charge a high price for their writings. Imagine what potential clients will think of the blogger.
You put forth a great point Wayne. Only strategic guest posting will get effective results. Writing guest posts on all blogs that accept guest posts won’t cut it.
I found this post pretty well balanced approach to an emotional topic. I can appreciate the potential value of guest blogging, but I prefer to comment on blogs i like and respect and write guest posts if and when their owner invites me to. Thanks and take care,.
Ansh says
Hey i have a question.. What’s the good interval to post a new guest-post on the same blog?
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Well it depends on the frequency of updates at the guest blog you choose. If that blog publishes daily, then I won’t publish again in a week.
Guest blogging is a golden nugget in blogging today.
Your author by-line is very important and where the traffic will most likely follow through.
I guest post for SEO in the meantime without sacrificing the content itself and what the host blog is looking for!
Yes pleasing the host blogger AND search engines is a good thing.
Sudipto says
Hey Jane,
Nice post with great information. I think comments on other blog is nice way to make links with other but guest blogging is always far better than commenting on blogs and best way to get targeted traffic. I think all the newbies surely gonna some benefits after reading this post. Thanks for sharing this post.
Ben Lloyd says
What do you make of Matt Cutts’ recent comments about guest blogging which suggest that Google are starting to take a dim view of the practice? Cutts even seemed to suggest that blogs which invite the submission of guest posts may suffer in SERPs as a result. How would a change like this affect your view of guest blogging?
Another value-packed post, Jane, which I’ll be bookmarking and sharing. I haven’t had time to do any guest blogging yet, but it’s on my agenda for later this year, so I’m very grateful for the advice you’ve laid out here and I’ll bear it in mind.
Many thanks,
Sue
Nice post by you Jane! As you said, guest post is a powerful weapon in blogging and it needs special care while writing. Just now I started to write guest posts on other blogs of same niche.
Sure, while doing guest blogging will consider your three simple points to perform well. Thanks for writing the needful post!
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Mohd Aktar says
Nice strategies you have outlined here, Wow really amazing post, You have given useful info about guest blogging. thanks.
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Innovative Article. I have just started my Guest Posting campaign. Its always good to learn something about the task you are going to start. That’s true that one article can’t give you more. To get proven and known in the blogosphere, one needs a lot of Guest Posting on a lot of niche blogs. Awesome Tips Jane Mam.
Jaimie says
Great ideas Jane. I stumbled across PostJoint.com a few weeks ago – that seems like a great place to find and post guest blogging opportunities. However the main disadvantage is that your not targeting specific ‘quality’ sites – it’s more reliant on people finding you. Worth a look though
Ravi says
I use a Specific Strategy. I study the Topic Thoroughly and Make a Original Titled and having Good Content. Then I search Various Blogs and their articles that whether they have published such article before or not, if they have not Published any article ti the topic nearby then only I offer them my post which makes it easier to get accepted
hey jane its a great post.
I am moved by your blogging skills and find your posts attractive.
I am a new blogger and would like to learn from you.
Though Guest posting has got much attention from bloggers, the right way to do is what we need to learn.
We get more out of Guest posting like Buffer app made it happen.
just we need to try with different things to work for us, not just depending on what it is been said.
~@Khajamoin1
Very well said Jane. I have seen that you yourself have written lots of guest posts. That’s something quite increadible. Having so much experience with guest blogging, I think you bound to know all the pros and cons as well as some best practises of guest blogging.
Hi sheeba, Many time I send a mail to blog owners requesting for the chance of guest blogging, but either they did not respond or refuse to accept article on that time. It is strange, how can they will be interested to see my article!!
Hi Jane, thank you for the great post, you’ve really put a lot of good ideas out there about guest blogging. One that I hadn’t thought about previously was linking to the content of others in your guest post to get even more traffic - what a great way to make the most of an opportunity.
Hi Jane,
I love your tips on the byline that use natural links instead of selected one that seems to be like spam. Byline is the most important part in guest blogging since it decide whether you’ll get targeted visitor or not from your effort. Great tips
Hi Jane,
I like your tips. I think you have good writing skills. I would like to learn from you.
Thanks for showing me this post.
Jignesh Rathod says
Thank you Jane for sharing new ideas about guest blogging. Also when a post is poorly formatted, the host blogger will not care to look at it, no matter how good it is. Also, the posts which are too short never impress the host blogger- because short posts are written only for back-links and self-promotion, and not for real purpose of guest posting. The key thing is to carefully read and follow the guide-lines provided by the guest blogger. Thanks again, Jane. Keep writing! Will be regularly checking here for more.
John says
Thanks for the ideas Rae. Searching for opportunities in places that others are not makes a lot of sense. It is certainly clear right now that there are a lot of people wanting to contribute guest posts to all sorts of blogs, so finding less competitive blogs will be a big help.
Morshed says
Hi Jane,Thanks for the writing.It was great,you find out the reasons why guest bogging campaign not performing well.I am agreed with the reasons you have written here.For me the main reason i think the artificial work for SEO.The blog,comment should be natural.One should express his/her knowledge through his blog/comment whatever he/she knows.
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Hello Jane,
Your tips are just right on point and i love me. Guest post can truly play a big roll in the journey to a successful blogging carrier. i love your byline tips; it is nice to fill the byline with enough information and utilize it to your own advantage. Thanks
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Hey Jane !
Thoughtful post. I totally agree with you that some bloggers are there who want guest blogging success by just one guest post which is not possible practically, Indeed.
Thanks for highlighting important point.
Matt
A great guest blogger does not think of himself but instead of the blogger he’s guesting and the ideas he wants to impart to the readers.Thank you so much!!!!!!!
Excellent post. I do not think that any one can become a great guest blogger with just posting few posts.
Thanks
Sanju says
Hey Jane.. Very Nice Blog. I was thinking to put an option of Guest Blogging on my Blog..This will help a lot..Thanks
Joy says
I’ve been hearing about guest blogging for some time now and I haven’t exactly tried it before. I’ll be reading your other articles about guest blogging soon so that I could learn more. Thanks for spending time on making this great article.
I think guest blogging is not just a very interesting and rewarding campaign but it’s one way to reach out to other bloggers that you exist. Its also a way of sharing to the world what you know by guest-posting on other people’s blogs or websites. Thank you for posting this one. Very informative and I’ll do better on my blog next time.
Maybe you are missing something very important. Perhaps you may have to think of more interesting angles to discuss. I think guest posting is good. Always. As long as you pick the right blog in your niche.
Guest blogging can have a lot of effect on our blogs. Therefore, content should always be checked prior to posting it. Thanks for the article.
Justin Thomson says
Well, Jane you have really well written. Guest Posting is one of awesome feature of link building to spread our link to other’s blog. It’s completely perfect way to get attention of other blog owners. It also creates backlinks to our site.
You’re selfish about links
But Jane, as you said that marketers become selfish to get links, according to me they should always write according to demand of readers. Whenever we try to be authentic, everything will go well.
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chamal says
Excellent post…Guest post is valuable both sides,posters and owner….
A great guest blogger does not think of himself but instead of the blogger he’s guesting and the ideas he wants to impart to the readers.
Koj T. Tajo says
Hey Jane you are such a wonderful writer. have gone through couple of your guest post from your guest post list. Hope one day I come to you with a request for guest posting. before that I have lot of works to be done on my writings.
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Nice Post Jane you are writing very well. I’m in favor of you that the there are a many reasons which leads us to the failure in Guest blogging. Thank you for sharing your nice thoughts over here.
Hi Jane
Guest blogging has always worried me about whether my writing is up to scratch or not. Somehow on your own blog you are fine but on someone else’s it just feels like pressure to get it right.
Great post lee
Jane, you provided nice tips for them who always complain that their guest post are not being included on certain blogs. It is really helpful for me also. Thanks.
Chetan Gupta says
Hey Jane
you are absolutely right about all the points. Guest blogging is really a golden trick to drive huge traffic to your blog. A high quality post simply gives a huge traffic through guest blogging. thanks for sharing with us
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All of these points are great! The part on “You’re selfish about links” is a very important key to understanding the concept of link juice. It doesn’t really matter at the end of the day if you get on a PR7. There are great 3s and 4s out there that may actually open up more opportunities for your blog/site to get recognition because they have readers who comment often and interact with the posts. Many PR7s (for example) simply post, and if your post gets that much interaction…that’s hit and miss just as much as any PR3 or 4.
Another factor which contributes to you not getting traffic from your guest post is because you don’t fill out your author bio. R u crazy! I dont believe this. People are taking full advantage of this section. Provide me some examples here.
Anyways, I like the way you guide and give in depth information here. Keep it Up.
Hi, I wanna ask that I am regularly do guest blog for others, and havent tried guest blogging on any of my websites. Please suggest If I do this then how can I protect my blog from spammers
manu says
hi jane i agree with you and your thoughts… but some says that guest blogging is good for seo. why
Priyanka Sharma says
great post jane thanks for sharing information here now from 2014 Google says that guest blogging is not worthy for SEO so we can do another things and leave guest blogging
Vikas Bhatt says
I have seen Guest bloggers eventually fail just because their main motive is to get links from the respective website, the only motive should be providing good quality content that would be beneficial for the other blog owner.
Robeen says
You are completely right about every one of the focuses. Guest blogging is truly brilliant trap to drive tremendous movement to your website. A brilliant post essentially gives a gigantic movement through visitor blogging. A Thanks for posting such a usefull information…