Guest Post: How To Write A Guest Post On Any Blog And Triple Your Traffic In Next 3 Months
Even if you write a daily post of 2,000 words, you are not guaranteed success.
Not at all.
Most bloggers have the conception that blog visibility is achieved by generating the most significant possible volume of content.
But this leads nowhere.
I have been blogging for few years, and I assure you that I have gone through all the unimaginable phases:
- You need to write at least short on a regular basis.
- After a couple of months a bit longer content
- & a longer one.
I’ve tried everything, and I can tell you for sure that I know what works and what doesn’t.
Getting to write like a possessed person makes no sense because you lack strategy. You don’t know why you write, who you are targeting, or what content to create. You are betting on the Lottery to see if, at any moment of pure luck, it is your turn.
That is why today, I want to explain in-depth one of the contents that should always be within your content strategy if you’re planning to increase your visits via a guest post or guest article.
What is this?
Why is it so important?
How to raise it?
In this post, I not only going to answer these three questions, but I bring you the definitive tutorial in which I will explain to you everything; You need to know about guest posting.
More than 5,000 words to triple your traffic in 3 months.
It is not magic, and it is a strategy.
What is a guest posting? Why is it so important?
As I told you before, it doesn’t matter if you write a 2,000-word post every day. And do you know why?
On social media you will get potential readers, & there are thousands of content like yours.
You are just one more who is on Twitter and Facebook.
In this way, all you do is wear your keyboard while increasing your frustration.
How to redirect the situation to gain visibility?
Learning to define your strategy and being clear:
- Who is your ideal reader?
- What is the purpose of your content strategy?
In this case, your goal is to win visits, so you have to focus on the contents that are best for that:
- Guest Posts
- Interviews
- SEO/Content Writing
- Sponsor Article
And these 4, for me, the most effective and the one you should always include in your content strategy is the guest post.
Now I explain the reason.
If I stick to the definition, a guest post is an article you write on someone else’s blog. But the truth is that it is much more than that. A guest article is the opportunity to attract qualified traffic.
Or, what are the same, visits that can become Email subscribers?
But it doesn’t end here.
1 The main advantages of making guest posting
In addition to visits, guest blogging can also offer other benefits:
Subscribers: Qualified traffic is equal to leads. If your guest article has quality content, the reader will not hesitate to enter your blog to see what other content you offer. And among them, your lead magnet the basis of your conversion process. Also, remember that to make your online business economically viable, you only need 1,000 loyal subscribers.
Links: if you want to climb Google, you need to be linked. If you want to gain authority in your niche, you need links. If you want traffic from other blogs, guess what? You need links. A guest post is a simple way to get a high-quality backlink for your blog.
Personal brand: it is normal for you to look for blogs that have a larger audience than yours and, therefore, also an authority. Appearing on those blogs will make the public link you with the blogger’s brand and give you credibility.
Networking: doing guest posting is a way of networking. You are interacting with other people in your sector to establish a collaboration. Who knows if any other project or even a job arises from here?
Now you may be wondering, and why would a blogger want to let me write on his blog?
Because guest posting is a win-win activity, and he also gets a benefit.
Blog owners who allow you to write, they’ll get free content in which there their audience is interested. They save themselves from writing content and you become visible to your/their audience and when you are at a peak, you appreciate it.
That said, it win-win.
2 Where can you find blogs that accept guest posting?
Now we get to work.
The first thing is to see which blogs accept guest articles to create a list. Then we will analyze each one according to different variables to see which one you are most interested in publishing.
- Google Search
You will tell me that I am nothing original, but of course, it is the first place where you should look. Start with searches like “blog” “(your niche)”, “Submit a Guest Blog” “(your niche)”, “blogs” “(your niche)”, “bloggers” “(your niche)” or “guest posts” “(your niche)”.
- Visit reference websites in your niche
In many pages, they accept guest bloggers. You just have to go around these sites that are referenced in your specialty and see who invites you to write.
Stay tuned for the menu or some sidebar widget that puts something of the style: “write for us,” “upload your article,” “guest author,” or any other equivalent. Also, in addition, you will most likely find the rules for the guest author, which will make your work easier.
- Buzzsumo – A freemium tool
This tool is as simple to use as it is to be practical. You only enter, select the “Contents” tab, and enter the keyword that corresponds to your Keywords.
With these three options, you have more than enough to start.
Make a list of 30 blogs that have caught your attention. The next step will be to filter it to see which blogs interest us the most.
3 How to select candidates to do guest posting?
There are several criteria to consider.
Traffic: You should search for blogs with more traffic than yours. To do this, you can use Semrush. Another indicator that can give you a reference for your traffic (although in this case, we see the authority), are the references that the Moz Bar gives you ( a free google chrome extension for the browser ). If its parameters are high, it indicates that it has relevance and, therefore, traffic.
Participation: It is a crucial issue; traffic is not everything. Check the volume of comments regularly in each post. If the community of that blog is very active, you are guaranteed an extra point. It is also interesting that you take a look at the activity of your social networks. Do not stay alone with their number of followers, but with whether their publications are shared.
Type of audience: You have to search for blogs that share an audience similar to yours.
It is essential to take time to analyze this data calmly because writing an article will cost you a few hours of work. More than ever, quantity does not matter, but quality.
Find a good excuse to link your blog post with the blog you want to publish.
4 How to choose the best blog to write a guest post
In the Middle Ages, the kings were almost inaccessible. They had the emissaries waiting months and even years before giving them an audience. Sometimes for lack of time, sometimes for simple “appearance.”
If you wanted to talk to the king, the best thing you could do was not knock directly at his door. Not even they were the ones who managed their appointments.
How could you then get the king to listen to you?
Camel To His Entourage.
If you became visible among them, you generated friendships and got them to have you as a person of high esteem, which could save you the “no” of the king or even months of waiting.
Well, in the world of blogging, the strategy is the same: to get to the influencer, you first have to win your team.
- Why is it not a good idea to start with the king of your niche?
Surely in your niche, there are one or several stars or recognized experts who stand out above the others. Visible figures that attract all the attention of your sector. Posting on your blog would be a bombshell for you, but the reality is that you are now a stranger in your industry.
Is it complicated, right?
The reality is that if you approach that “king” now, most likely, they will reject you or give you long if he answers you, of course.
Do not be discouraged. Think that these people will receive dozens of proposals from guest posts and bloggers with more experience than you. It is logical that in the comparison, you lose.
- How to climb the court to approach the king
I have already commented on the blog many times, as soon as you grow a little with your online business, the amount of accumulated work will devour you. The list of tasks becomes endless, and you don’t get to half of the things, and burnout makes you desperate and tense. It is time to delegate.
Throughout these years, whenever I have incorporated people into the team, I have looked for a particular profile: a talented freelance that stands out in its sector.
Someone specialized and who knew he was very good at his.
What does this have to do with guest posting?
All these people of whom I speak to you have an intermediate profile, although they may be kings in their specialization and have direct access to me — continuing with the simile of the king. They are noble of the court they have fewer readers than the king but many more than you who have a perfect relationship with the king.
If you wanted to write on My Secret Blogging, who do you think would have it more comfortable?
- Unknown blogger: Any blogger that I don’t know about anything, and that sends me an email “without coming to mind.“
- Blogger is known by my team: A blogger who is friends with several people on my team and whose relationship is quite close, so it is recommended by them.
No need to answer.
Although it is also true that there is a much faster way to access the king and that it would be like a kind of “royal safe-conduct.”
If you want to reach this immediate blogger, what you have to do is buy one of their training products.
In the course, you will have direct access to that person, and you will be able to establish a direct relationship with him — a relationship in which he will already receive you positively for having spent your money on his products.
But as this is not always possible or interesting, forget about the stars at first and focus on the court.
If you manage to shine on different blogs of the members of the “kingdom,” it is likely that the king decides to meet you in his palace (he will have been curious to know who wrote on his friends’ blogs).
And you also have to keep in mind that you must find the right balance.
If you just started, writing a guest post on a blog with 1,000 subscribers and a 1-2 year history is a good goal, but if you have been two years and you have 1,000 subscribers, it is not.
The goal right at the right time.
Guest posting: Forget the stars at first and focus on the court
5 How to prepare the ground so that it is impossible for them to say no to your guest post proposal
Even if you are going to address a nobleman of the court (an intermediate profile blogger), the opportunities to write as a guest author do not come from anywhere. It’s weird that someone knocks on your door and says, “Hey! Why don’t you write a guest article on my blog with 10,000 subscribers?“
I told you before, and you have to make yourself visible inside the court. You have to start building your name heard and earned merits to be taken into account. You have to become the fashion person of the moment.
And to be, you just have to follow these ten steps.
- Study the blogger: The first thing is to do the homework. That is, thoroughly examine the blog in which we are interested in participating.
You have to look at the following points:
- Editorial line: carefully check all the posts that have been published in your blog. Although I have been writing for a long time, I am sure that there is an untouched topic or a new point of view for an article. If you think you can arrive and say: “I want to make a guest post on your blog about anything!” You are going astray.
- Comments: the important thing about a blog is its audience, not the blogger. That is why this point is critical. Check the comments of the posts looking for interesting questions or comments about which you can propose.
- About Me: check this section of your blog to see your tastes and your own story. If you have something in common, it will be useful to find a connection point.
- Newsletter: stay tuned for the latest news. Your promotions, your products, the events you are going to attend all this information can be useful at any given time.
When you start approaching your circle, you have to notice that you know who he is and that you know his blog. As a well-known blogger tells of “My Web Positioning” in this post, there is nothing more absurd than proposing a guest article and then do not know what the blog is about.
Please be serious and don’t waste your time on people.
- Comment your articles: It is the ideal way to break the ice and have your name start to stay in your head. Now, don’t think that with a «Great post. A hug » is enough. You have to add value to your comment.
It is not that you write a post in the comment, much less, but that you complement what is told in the article. Think of tools, resources, other strategies, or even other posts that serve to complement. Beware of this, and if this is the first time you comment on your blog, it is better to ask permission before putting the link.
If it confuses you with a spammer, you are lost.
Just by sharing your experience with other readers, you will already be contributing a lot to the conversation within your community. And that is something that the blogger will value because it will also go to his benefit.
It is always better to comment on the most recent articles than on the old ones since they are usually given more attention and review all comments beforehand.
If it is the case that you do not agree with what the blogger is saying, the best thing you can do is not to get into discussions and move on. You should always remember that your purpose is to write an article on that blog, so starting the relationship by discussing it is not the best way to start.
Want to know how to leave a perfect comment on a blog? Check out this post.
- Connect through Twitter: The third step would be to connect with that person on Twitter. A good strategy is to add it to a private list with the people you are interested in. So you can check everything you have said even if you have not been connected and not miss anything.
Do retweets and also add a post as a favorite. It is a straightforward and quick way to get someone’s attention. But when you do a result, write a comment.
It is an influential blogger, and the usual thing is that its contents are shared a lot. With a typical result, it will not look at your name; you have to write something that makes you notice yourself.
It’s also a good idea to take advantage of the conversations. Many bloggers send messages with others with a hashtag, so the discussion is open for you to participate in. Send a tweet by asking him a question or commenting on something he said.
The more you interact, the more he will notice you.
- Pay attention to details: As in a relationship, you have to be attentive to any detail.
When you find out something, for example, the launch of an ebook, very positive monthly reports, or an appearance in a vital magazine (that’s why I told you to sign up for the newsletter), don’t forget to congratulate him.
You can also take advantage of the one that will give a presentation at an event. You can say, “On the” x “day, I will be at the (event name) to hear your presentation. I hope we have the chance to meet, and I can greet you. ”
These may be the magic words that open the door of an influencer.
- Interviews: Another way to take action may be to propose an interview on your blog, but be careful that this requires the interview to be attractive (yes, if you are surprised with a good job, you have a lot of money).
Do not ask for excessive time: neither because of the length of the interview nor because you have not organized everything well. An unforeseen event may always arise, but try to have everything well tied.
Take good care of the questions: other than the usual ones. They will not generate any interest and will make you feel like you only interview doing it. And that without counting that for your readers, it will also be a bore.
Analyze the interviewee thoroughly: before I told you about the importance of soaking your blog. If you have done well, surely you have a lot of information that you can use to ask interesting questions. Analyze your tastes or the issues with which you feel comfortable. An “easy” question may be good to start or to relax if you are very nervous.
Count on the yes: usually, they do not refuse to appear in an interview because that contributes to their brand. But if you do not meet the previous 3 points, the image you will give will be awful, and they will not pay attention to you.
When it is already published, send a small follow-up email with the link and report the impact it had.
If you have not had many visits (if necessary), you can comment with him a message that has left a reader or emphasize how interesting you thought “that” he explained at a given time. You are just demonstrating that the interview is not a “catch-up” and that it is something that matters to you.
If you find the world of interviews interesting, here is a guide on how to set them up and prepare them.
Interviewing an influencer is a great way to prepare the ground and then ask for a guest post
- The time of the proposal: How to establish the first contact?
Before proposing any blogger, especially when you talk to the most popular, you have to do a field job. If you achieve your goal, it is most likely that you will open the doors again to write as a guest author on any other blog.
Getting that first guest post is the most difficult, so you have to make a proposal that they cannot refuse. Follow the next steps:
- Study the popular contents of your market: there is always a more popular topic than another. You must know them well to understand what the readers are looking for at that time. Although also be careful, if you choose a subject that you do not master when you write the post, you will sweat ink so that something decent comes out. Do not complicate yourself excessively.
- Put yourself in the ‘shoes’ of the ideal reader of your target blog: study their needs and the problems that prevent them from sleeping every night. In the same way, you write for THAT person in your blog, and you will have to do the same in others.
- Look for the “gaps” on the most popular topics: this is what I was referring to before you analyzed its editorial line. Is there a subject that is missing something specifically? Is there a reader who has been interested in something that has not yet been addressed?
- Check the most popular posts of that blog and analyze why they succeed: a post can succeed for different reasons. Perhaps it is an article that addresses a subject in greater depth than others. It may also be that you have videos, and that influences your understanding better. The motivating stories in which the blogger tells a more personal topic work very well too. The idea is that you analyze what has been most successful so you can replicate that strategy with your guest article.
At this point, you have already done an analysis of the sector and the blog to understand the tastes of the readers.
Now that you have all the information, you are in a position to choose the ideal topic. He thinks that 3 points have to be compulsorily fulfilled:
- Buyer person: you have to talk about something that helps the blogger community.
- You bring value: you must be able to offer valuable information that is not the same as what is told everywhere.
- Hook: within a topic that is usually discussed in your sector, always look for a different approach that attracts attention. Take advantage of something that has happened, a tool, a new strategy, or even a point of view. Or have you not seen much content explained by Don Draper? Be original.
Well, you already have the chosen topic, now it’s time to write to the influencer to tell him that you are interested in writing in his blog. I suggest two things when it comes to putting it: be nice and go to the point without going around a lot.
Bloggers don’t have time, and they do have thousands of things to read. I give you an example of an email that you could send.
Hi XXX,
My name is (your name), and I am the editor of (name of your blog), a newly released blog. In the blog, I try to give practical advice to (ideal reader) to (the benefit you bring, what you help). I leave the link in case you want to check it out.
I have been following your blog for a long time; above all, and I loved the post in which you talked about (so you will see that you know his blog). I do not know if you will remember me, but I left you a comment telling you (so, if it did not place you first, now it will be safe. And if not, it will look at the comment).
Well, I’m going to the point that I imagine you’ll be very busy. I am writing because I wanted to propose you write a guest post. I comment on the two ideas that I have had:
Post title: this topic has been discussed in your blog on “this” and “this other” occasions, but I have seen that you have never talked about “this” in particular. I think it would perfectly complement these two posts. Also, it is a topic that always generates many comments.
Post title: the same as before, you explain why you find it interesting to talk about this in your blog. If you also know some SEO and have located a keyword that is not positioned, better than better.
If, when you see my blog, you think I can discuss another topic, we comment on it, for me, there is no problem.
You will tell me what you think of my proposal. If you feel like it, we can even do a Skype to talk about the subject faster.
Thanks for your time.
You also have another way to do it, but I only recommend it if you are fully convinced that your content is very good.
It’s about thinking about a topic that has a lot of pull and writes it in advance. So, when you propose, you just have to say: “if you like it, publish it.” It usually works, even with many of those who otherwise would have had you spinning around. In this way, you do not waste time on the other bloggers and give them the solution already made.
Of course, if they have a page of rules for invited authors, adapt the content to those rules. If for whatever reason, he doesn’t accept it, you’ll have to touch it up; but it doesn’t have to take you a long time either.
6 How to write a guest post to captivate your audience and get them to become your most loyal followers
All the recommendations you have read about writing a good post are not only that you have to apply them when you make a guest posting, but you have to go further. Guest articles are your key to getting visitors and subscribers, but to achieve this, you will have to surprise them.
Get ready to write something outstanding.
Here is a fast track of what you have to keep in mind when writing.
- Original: I hope this is not necessary to say it, but just in case I comment. All content must be unique and innovative. You should never have used it before. Don’t you think about copying anything you see online? First of all, because it is wrong and you would be stealing the work of others. Second, why do you want to make guest posting if you are not able to write content? And third, because Google would detect that the content is duplicated and penalize the blogger.
- Extension: I insist, a guest post is not regular content; you have to offer the best of yourself. In many cases, the blogger will require a minimum length (about 2,000 words), but the important thing is that you address the issue thoroughly and explain everything necessary to make the reader happy.
- Internal links: link in your post to all the contents of the blog you can. This will improve your SEO On-Page and give a good image as you will show that you know the editorial line of the blog.
- Comments: of course, you have to be aware of all the comments that come to the post and respond as soon as possible. This is an important point because you are going to interact with the audience of the blogger. You are going to talk to your community (the one you want to attract to your blog), bring all the value you can in the comments to cause a good image.
This is what you have to keep in mind for being a guest post.
If you manage to write fantastic content, you already have a cover letter that will guarantee you when you come back to propose another guest post. By teaching this first article, you will see the quality of what you do, and the rest of your articles will be approved and published quickly.
And of course, when you appear on several blogs, a called effect will be generated that will invite you from others. Do not doubt that very quickly, and you will reap all the benefits of guest posting. If, on the contrary, your content is half-haired, all you have achieved is wasting time.
Maybe they’ll publish it to you if you’re lucky, but you won’t gain traffic or subscribers, just a link lost out there and lifeless. Of course, a lot of work for little result.
7 Create a balanced calendar
In the face of your guest blogging plan, you must be fairly realistic and intelligent in terms of dates. You must keep this in mind.
- It is better to publish in 10 blogs than to publish ten times in the same blog.
- Do not propose to make seven posts a week because you will burn.
- Space the publication of the articles in time, it is not convenient for you all to be published in the same week.
- It’s about going slowly, but without stopping. It is more worth it to take longer to publish in another blog that you lower the quality of what you offer.
Think they have a reference to your previous articles, if they see that what you do now is worse, they will feel cheated.
8 How to optimize registrations in a guest post
You have to offer the highest quality with each post you write, but you also have to get the most out of each article. And that you will do in 2 ways.
- An author’s box with a call to action:
It is the most basic.
In your author box, your photo will appear along with a bio or presentation explaining to people who you are and what you do. But not only serves to introduce you, but also to encourage them to subscribe:
- Put a link to your Squeeze Page.
- Indicate the main benefit in the link to encourage them to click (“Download this free guide to triple your sales“).
- A well-designed Squeeze Page:
You already know that the Squeeze Page is the landing page that you have optimized to improve your conversion to win subscribers. In this post, I explain in-depth how to raise it, but I will give you here the primary key.
To get a conversion rate of between 30% and 40%, you need a hyper-practical lead magnet and which reflects the benefit of what the user will get if you download it.
Whenever you make a guest post, you must link in your author box to your Squeeze Page. In some cases, some bloggers will let you offer your lead magnet at the close of the guest post. If so, great, more options to get subscribers.
Also, there are now tools such as Lead Pages or Content Builder, with which you can create different variations of your Squeeze Page to make it even more personalized and improve conversion.
9 Is your work finished after publishing?
Do not.
Of course not. You still have to see what the performance of the post has been and “close” your relationship with the blogger. This is a contact you already have, and you have to finish off the task leaving the door open in case you are interested in the future to establish another collaboration with him.
- Tracking the results
Now you have to keep track of the impact that the guest post brings you. For that, you only need Google Analytics; with it, you can see which are the blogs that direct you the most traffic.
How?
Go to Google Analytics and in the tab that says ‘ Acquisition ‘ choose ‘ All traffic‘ and then ‘References.’
Now that you have the data:
- Analyze which are the links that are bringing you more subscribers and their conversion rates.
- Look at the average time spent on your blog and the number of page views.
If you see that there is a blog that is sending you much high and quality, what do you have to do? Do not hesitate for a second: write an email to that blogger to maintain a good relationship with him.
It is a good contact, a good asset.
In the future, you will be interested in repeating with another guest post.
- Thank you email
When a few days have passed, send a thank you email to the blogger telling him that you liked collaborating with him and thank him for his effort.
It is also good that the blogger feels suitable for having let you write on his blog. That not only says, “I have managed to create good content for my audience,” but also thinks that he has done something very good for you.
If there has been a good feeling, take advantage of this email to propose a future collaboration (maybe it becomes your affiliate ) or to close another guest article within a year. The important thing is to have a link with this person and keep it in time.
A guest post can be the beginning of a collaboration forever
Ready to start your guest posting strategy?
Then show me and set yourself a goal.
Before a month, you must have managed to publish a guest post on an essential blog within your sector.
In this article, you have everything you need to find the best blogs, know which ones to choose and how to make an irresistible proposal. Lock yourself up for 2 hours, rethink your editorial calendar, and introduce guest articles into your recruitment strategy.
Do you want to continue writing without getting results or triple your traffic and your subscribers?
You already know the answer.
