“Guest Post Hosting: the Surprising Traffic Driver” plus 2 more

Guest Post Hosting: the Surprising Traffic Driver
5 Tips to Convince Editors to Say “Yes” to Your Guest Posts
Why You Should Start Guest Posting … Today

Guest Post Hosting: the Surprising Traffic Driver

Posted: 01 May 2012 01:04 PM PDT

This guest post is by Shari Lopatin of ShariLopatin.com.

We've all heard how writing guest posts for other blogs can increase exposure and drive traffic to your site. But what about hosting guest bloggers as a way to increase traffic?

New concept, huh?

Before we move on, I want you to stop right here and clear your mind. Then, repeat after me: "Inviting others to my site will not help my competitors. Inviting others to my site will not help my competitors."

Benefits of hosting guest bloggers

Several months ago, I was experiencing a major lull in my blog, "Shari Lopatin: Rogue Writer." Literally, I averaged 15 visits a day. Then, I invited another published writer and teacher to craft a guest post. The day she published … bingo!

My blog's views soared from 15 to 200—in less than two hours. And it only climbed from there.

After inviting others to guest post in the coming weeks, I started seeing a trend. Every time I hosted a guest blogger, my page views more than doubled. Sometimes, they quadrupled. And this was good traffic, too. People commented. They followed me on Twitter. And, some even subscribed to my blog.

How to drive traffic with guest bloggers

Here's the key: you can't invite just anyone to write for your site. You have to find the "influencers" within your niche. If you want to be successful, here are the steps I recommend following. They haven't failed me yet!

1. Find potential influencers

Start by using Twitter's search feature, or other social media search tools, such as SocialMention.com or Topsy.com. Use terms that correlate to your blog's niche, such as "social media" or "photography."

2. Identify the true influencers

These are the people whose followings are not only large, but engaged. Some points to look for: consistent blog comments, regular (but not necessarily frequent) blog posts, more Twitter followers than they are following, and consistent responses to Facebook comments.

3. Be reasonable in choosing your influencers

I say this because if you're a lesser-known writer, you cannot expect Seth Rogen to guest post on your blog. Even another writer with 2,000 Twitter followers could be a great pick.

4. Court your influencers

Like them on Facebook, subscribe to their blog (and then comment), follow them on Twitter. Get to know their writing style and understand how they interact with their readers.

5. Reach out and invite them to guest post

If you courted your influencers correctly, they may already know your name by now. So email them, or send a direct message on Twitter. Ask them to write a guest post for your blog … and tell them why you're asking (i.e. do they generate great discussions, or perhaps their composition blows you away?).

6. Cross-promote!

This is vital. The whole reason your blog will benefit from hosting a guest, is because of cross-promotion. On the day you publish, ask your guest to:

post a few links to Twitter
promote their post on Facebook
run a teaser on their blog, driving traffic to your site
and don't forget: you do the same to promote them!

Give it a try, and I promise you'll see results. If it works, I'd love to hear your success stories (I might even blog about them), so find me at the virtual hubs below and let me know. If you’ve already used this technique to boost traffic to your blog, let us know your story in the comments.

Shari Lopatin is an award-winning professional writer, journalist, and media strategist who’s been published regionally, and nationally. Find her on Twitter @ShariLopatin, follow her on Facebook, or visit her at "Shari Lopatin: Rogue Writer," where she blogs every other Thursday about writing tips, funny stories, industry news, and media strategies.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

Guest Post Hosting: the Surprising Traffic Driver

5 Tips to Convince Editors to Say “Yes” to Your Guest Posts

Posted: 01 May 2012 10:08 AM PDT

This guest post is by Alexis Grant of AlexisGrant.com.

You know all the benefits of guest posting on popular blogs. And you’ve decided to start guest posting today. So you want to do your best to crank out awesome content.

But smart ideas are only half the battle. The difference between pitching a thought-provoking post and pitching a thought-provoking post that gets accepted is making it easy for your editor to say “yes.” In other words, go beyond providing awesome, unique content and make accepting your post a no-brainer.

As editor of Brazen Life, I see aspiring contributors make the same mistakes again and again—mistakes that make me groan and delete. Here's what you've got to remember: the editor you're pitching is a person with a job to do, just like you. And the easier you make their job, the more likely they are to publish your post.

Here are five steps you can take that will make it easy for editors to say “yes” to your guest posts.

1. Write in the "you" voice, not the "I" voice

Readers want to feel like you're talking to them, offering helpful advice and ideas—not like you're talking about yourself. While the occasional anecdote can be effective, your best bet is to start out your post by talking to the reader, and writing about how what you're about to share will change their life. Then delve into your personal anecdote.

Here's an example of what I mean. Writing in the "I" voice might turn out a post that begins like this:

“I've always had trouble paying back my student loans.”

Writing in the "you" voice would look more like this:

“Having trouble paying back your student loans?”

The “you” there is only implied—"[Are you] having trouble paying back your student loans?"—but it's still there. Here's another option:

“Lots of students are having trouble paying back student loans. If you fall into this camp, listen up.”

That's not the catchiest intro, but you get the idea—it's written with “you”s rather than “I”s. This concept is essential throughout your piece, but most important in your introduction.

2. Don't bury the lede

The biggest problem I see with guest posts is that they fail to have a focused introduction that tells the reader what they're about to get—and tells them right away. In journalism, we call this "burying the lede."

You only have a few seconds to catch and keep the attention of your reader. That means you can't spend two paragraphs getting to the meat of your idea. Instead, you've got to get a running start, at least hinting at your main point from the very beginning.

If you're having a hard time with this, see what happens if you chop off the first graph or two. Is it possible the piece would actually be stronger if you started with the second or third paragraph?

Even writers who offer fabulous ideas throughout their piece often have a weak introduction. Give your first few paragraphs extra care; they'll make or break your post. And your editor will be particularly happy if s/he doesn't have to rewrite your intro.

3. Write a great headline—even if you don't have to

You may not be required to write a headline for your post, but guess what? It makes your editor's job easier. The headline can be the hardest part; it's got to be catchy, relevant and SEO-optimized. And it should match the voice of the other headlines on the site.

That means it will probably take some time to come up with a good one. But rather than completing your post and pitching it straight away, consider the extra effort it takes to create a fabulous headline part of the assignment.

There's an added bonus here, too: if your headline is great, more readers will read, share and comment on your post. You'll get more clicks on the link in your byline and more return for your investment. If you leave the headline up to the editor, there's a chance they'll come up with one that will serve you well, but if you take the time to do it yourself, you know you've done all you can to maximize eyes on the post.

Of course, it's always the editor's prerogative to change the headline, but that shouldn't keep you from giving it your best shot. And take it from me—your editor will appreciate it!

4. Follow the publication's link policy from the get-go

Each publication has its own policy about including links within the post¸ So either look for those requirements within the publication's guest post guidelines, or ask the editor ahead of time.

At Brazen Life, we love to see links within the post so long as they're relevant and helpful to our readers; in fact, we don't run posts without links. But some publications have different preferences, often asking, for example, that the writer not link to his or her own blog. Getting this right the first time will make your editor's day that much easier.

5. When in doubt, create a list

Having trouble getting your ideas across succinctly? Lots of us do, and lists can be a great help with that.

Here's the good news: lists are popular with readers, too. Most posts with "5 Tips" or "5 Pieces of Advice" or "5 Reasons" get lots of clicks, which means if you're good at writing list posts, you should do it.

I hate to advise this initially, because it's so refreshing when a writer offers an awesome post that's not written as a list or in bullet format. But bullets do make posts easy to read online. And if you're struggling to write a helpful post, bullets can make it easier for you to convey your main ideas.

Following these tips—and making your editor's job easy—won't just help you land one guest post. If you abide by these suggestions, write a clean post and offer thought-provoking content, they'll want you to write for them again down the line. And that means lots more guest posts in your future.

Do you have any tips you can add to this list? We’d love to hear them in the comments. And if you’re looking for other ways to use guest posts to attract new readers, stick around—later today, we’ll see how accepting guest posts on your blog can boost your traffic levels.

Alexis Grant is managing editor of Brazen Careerist's blog, Brazen Life.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

5 Tips to Convince Editors to Say “Yes” to Your Guest Posts

Why You Should Start Guest Posting … Today

Posted: 01 May 2012 07:01 AM PDT

This guest post is by Jaime of USBundles.com.

When they’re done correctly, guest posts can be a true “meeting of the minds”—a way for both the guest blogger and the host website to benefit from association. However, many bloggers may resist the opportunity for various reasons.

Let's examine some of the most common reasons why a blogger might be reluctant to guest post—and see why these aren't really issues after all.

Tone is a ubiquitous conundrum. Or should I have said "tone is always a sticky wicket"?

Exactly. You already know the significant challenges that come with writing for your own goals—you need to understand how to engage an audience, and develop your style so that it is both natural and effective in context. When you're a guest poster, you need to take into consideration a potentially unfamiliar site and audience—an extra barrier that must be overcome.

Why this isn't really an issue: you're there precisely because you bring something extra to the table. Some unique combination of style and expertise got you the gig in the first place. Don't waste your time and their time by being overly self-conscious and diluting the qualities that make you valuable.

On the other hand, square pegs don't fit into round holes, and opposites only attract in the movies

If you tend to use short, witty, casual blog posts to get your point across, a guest blog on a site that involves serious analysis and research is going to seem like a bad fit. What happens when readers accustomed to a 400-word top-ten list get thrown a 1,500-word in-depth discussion with charts and graphs (or vice versa)?

Why this isn't really an issue: you can maintain your tone and style while respecting the host's expectations. Examine the layout and structure of the existing posts. How do they use bullet points, paragraphs, block quotes, and other structural elements? How do they use photos, tables, graphs, and captions? Flex your writerly muscles by attempting to communicate in a format that will be familiar to the readership, and be prepared to go into more or less depth than you're accustomed to. You'll only become more flexible and knowledgeable, and therefore more valuable overall.

Who does this really benefit? You're giving away precious words, and directing potential readers toward another site!

You can't help but wonder if both of you might be better off concentrating on building your own audience and optimizing your own traffic. It's hard enough getting people to come and stay—surely it can't be a good idea to give people a reason to go somewhere else?

Why this isn't really an issue: what's true in Real Life is even more true on the internet—networking is a basic key to success. A major part of SEO strategy is to develop a fertile web of connections between sites; a healthy combination of quality content and link traffic (in that order!) is the single best way to improve your search results. But even more than that, exposing content to a wider audience can only be a good thing for the visibility, reputation, and connections on both sides of the equation.

You're an outsider. The regulars will say "who the heck is this person?" and you'll say "I don't belong, so I don't care"

You are a potentially disruptive influence upon a community of readers who feel comfortably empowered to engage with the content. Even if you hit all the right notes as far as tone and structure, you're likely to address some different topics and different points of view. And you're at risk of maintaining your outsider status by refusing to engage with the community.

Why it's not really an issue: you really wouldn't have been considered for guest posting in the first place if you and the host (and therefore the host's community) didn't share a relevant interest. Even the narrowest niche has a wide range of thematic connections (call it the blogging version of “six degrees of Kevin Bacon!”), so don't worry too much if your topic strays a bit from the usual subject matter. We're not talking about some sort of free-form aggregate web site here—guests bring their quality and expertise on a specific topic, and both sides get the benefit of spicing up their “routine” with a different angle.

And call me sneaky, but it's a perfect way to introduce a little controversy (and therefore conversation and attention, which benefits everyone!). Be as respectful and ethical as possible, of course, but don't be afraid to ruffle some feathers—both you and the host will be able to distance yourselves from a negative reaction, if necessary.

Later today we’ll look at two key aspects of guest posting to help you get ahead in this competitive field. First, we’ll present tips to help you get your post accepted so you can build your profile with others’ audiences. Then, we’ll see how accepting guests on your own blog can boost your traffic levels.

But for now, tell us: have you ever guest posted? Are you facing the challenges mentioned here? Share your experiences of guest posting in the comments.

Jaime is an avid hiker and skier who loves to write in her spare time for USBundles.com—home of USBundles.com.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

Why You Should Start Guest Posting … Today

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