5 Reasons To Guest Post

Full disclosure, I am biassed towards guest posts, and we feature them whenever we can! From blog tours to Women In Horror Month to just having an author, editor, or publisher wanting to talk about the craft of story creation I am always thrilled to have guest posts to share. Today, we have five more authors and marketers weighing in on the subject to give you their own experience and points of view!

Guest posting is a tactic that has worked pretty well for marketers and it can work especially well for authors, since it can help them find more readers, spread their message to a wider audience and of course, increase traffic to their website.

There really is not too much variety on the methods one can use, in order to find blogs that accept guest posts. The author will need to research competition first, pick a topic and then reach out to those blogs that accept guest posts-the more, the better. Just make sure that the topics you propose are topics that can actually be published on the blog you’re proposing them to.

Now, the reasons why an author should do that, are plenty. First of all, they’ll reach a broader audience. Secondly, they’ll get more exposure and, as a result, traffic to their website. And thirdly-and perhaps, most importantly, seeing as the competition is fierce out there-guest blogging will improve their own website’s SEO, seeing as a relevant site that links back to their own (or a backlink) will show search engines that the website is of value. Oh, and the more, the merrier!

Guest posting has helped me almost double the traffic to my website and gain new readers who learned of my food writing from my guest posts. Guest posting has also allowed me to gain credibility in Google’s eyes thanks to having precious links to Garlic Delight from well-known websites.

Here are my 3 tips for authors trying to guest post:

1. *Get a warm introduction or set up a connection: *Cold pitches usually go ignored. Meet authors, bloggers, and content creators in person before pitching. If you cannot meet people in person, create a relationship online by following them on social media and liking or commenting on their posts a few times before pitching them.

2. *Write a custom pitch that clearly shows research*: A generic pitch is obvious. A pitch that doesn’t use someone’s first name goes straight to the trash. Pitch 2-3 thoughtful ideas that cover topics that are similar to the target website where you want to guest post.

3. *Spend time to add value:* When I guest post, I usually take three or four times longer than a post I would publish on Garlic Delight. Avoid sloppy work that gets rejected which is awkward and embarrassing for everybody.

Guest Posting is an opportunity to establish and build a relationship with another outlet. Backlinks from host websites aid your own site’s authority and your own profile. It makes it possible for members of the host site’s audience to discover a new author, potentially opening a new avenue for others to find your own website.

As with other forms of publishing, the pitch — the ‘why’ of your post — is everything. Not only do you have to let the host know what your post is about, but also why your post would be a good fit for their repertoire. Take care to consider the tone and style of the website you’re aiming for, without sacrificing your own style, as this is what will lead people to wanting to discover your other content. 

I have personally used guest posting to gain exposure for my brand and website. People have contacted me saying they saw my guest post on a particular website and wanted to be added to my list or make an investment in a website or ask questions about my area of expertise. Guest posts are a great way to grow your brand and showcase your expertise. I even had a CEO of a large website investing company reach out to me after reading my post and say he had read my guest post and wanted to know if I would speak at their website selling conference.

Since publishing my book in July, I have included guest posting as a part of my overall marketing and advertising strategy. There are several reasons that I feel this has helped me get my message to the masses. Initially, this a free way to share your story. Most authors have a limited budget and guest posting is a great way to stretch your marketing budget. Secondly, I have found that guest posting has helped me focus my message. This has increased my presence in my preferred audience. Another benefit of guest posting is it adds an audio component for my message. I have found this makes me more relatable to the readers.

As for the advertising, I post the guest post links into appropriate social media groups as a way to share my message with others.

I’ve found having third party social proof helps spread your message and increase sales.

If you run a blog and take guest posts, please let us know! We may look into compiling a list of sites that do and share it with our readership. Thanks for tuning in and have a great week!