Guest Blogging Tips: How to Write a Great Blog

July 20, 2015

Why guest blogging is good for your business

By Maureen McCabe

Guest blogging can be an exciting opportunity for you and your business. When you get the chance, you will want to make sure your post really makes an impact. Here’s some advice for getting the most from this experience.

You probably already know that guest blogging can help promote your business website and increase traffic to it, bringing in new customers. The links back to your website from your guest blog on someone else’s site increase your own site’s authority with search engines, ranking your site higher in search results and making it easier for customers to find you.

Probably the most important thing writing a guest post can do for you is increase your credibility as an industry expert and improve name recognition for your company. Just like in the real world, getting to know others in your industry in the virtual world can open up a lot of opportunities.

Do your homework

Preparing for this opportunity by finding the right place to guest blog and picking the right topic can make a big difference. Find blogs in your niche or industry that are accepting guest posts. These are better than blogs that contain information about a wide variety of topics. Your post will be more meaningful to people that have a genuine interest in that specific topic, thus they will be more likely to engage with it.

Also keep in mind that bigger isn’t always better when it comes to selecting a blog to write a guest post for. Blogs that get a steady stream of people wanting to guest post will have a high rejection rate. And your chances of getting an opportunity here will decrease if you are fairly new or your company isn’t yet well known. Look for blogs with a decent-sized audience that leave comments regularly and share posts on social media.

Consider what kinds of people read this blog, which of its posts are most popular, and choose your topic accordingly. Your choices may vary depending on whether you’re talking to people new to the industry or seasoned professionals — and those groups are looking for different types of information. Keep that in mind when pitching your idea and writing the post.

Content tips

Hopefully doing the homework above has taken care of the number-one content rule: be relevant. So on to the second-most important part of having a successful guest-blogging experience: be original and interesting. Original content is more interesting, prompting your audience to be more engaged. They will click through to your website, share your posts and follow you on social media.

The more engaged your audience, the more likely you are to accomplish your marketing goals. Give your readers a new spin on a popular topic, provide new information, or discuss something that you get lots of questions about. Write about a topic you are enthusiastic about and let that show through in your writing style. Make your post worth reading.

DO NOT use content you have already published on your blog or elsewhere. Do not repost content verbatim on your blog that you have written as a guest post for someone else. Why? Your grade 9 English teacher called it plagiarism, Google calls it duplicate content.

Essentially, the Search Engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo will penalize you both, guaranteeing you won’t be guest blogging there again. Instead, publish a post on your blog publicizing your guest post, and offer a link directing your readers to it.

Follow any rules your host has regarding guest posts, formatting, and self-promotion. Remember the post isn’t all about you. Be informative and don’t sound like a continuous sales pitch for your company or products. Always make sure to thank your host and their readers.

Stay tuned to the McCabe Marketing blog for more great tips on guest blogging and blogging for your business website!

McCabe Marketing has written a number of guest blogs, including:

Why Free Website Builders Aren’t Good for SEO — For SEOPlus+, a digital marketing agency
Four Tips for Choosing Effective Public Speaking Events — For The Canadian Association of Marketing Professionals
Why Are My Competitors’ Websites Ranking Better? — For TechWyse, an internet marketing agency

Like what you've read? Please share this article, here:

1 comment