Glen Allsopp writes on the subject of Reputation Management at the ViperChill Blog.
When Patrick created a post looking for guest bloggers, I put a little note in my ‘to-do list’ to come up with an idea on what to write. When I thought about it a little more, I thought it might be a good idea to explain why somebody like me would benefit or like to spend time writing content for the blog of somebody else. Guests posts can’t just be anything though, Patrick specifically asked for something web related so that’s what this is, and if you are reading it now then it was accepted.
So, why is guest blogging a good idea?
- Write in front of a new audience – If you write on your own blog you will understand the enjoyment of checking comments on your blog posts to see people’s reactions. This blog has built up a large following in a short period of time, focuses mostly on linkbaiting and is relatively young. That means the readers are likely to still be actively reading the feed, and are very interested in linkbaiting / linkbuilding tactics. Writing on this blog allows
me to write to people that wouldn’t have seen my work before and can get you feedback from a different array of people. - Build your reputation – I’ve been writing a blog for over a year so in the niche of this blog a few people might have heard about me already. However, it doesn’t hurt to get your name out there when you get the opportunity. I did a test blog about 6 months ago (no longer live) which built up over 2,000 backlinks in its first month, one of the ways I got in a lot of attention was by getting my name out on popular blogs so that people trusted what I was saying and believed me to be an authority on the relevant
subject. - Write about something different – As much as I like writing on the
subject of Social Media (and now reputation management), I sometimes wish I could be a little more personal with my readers without putting them off, like explaining how I just passed my driving test and my new apartment in South Africa has a swimming pool on the roof. Of course I wouldn’t write something solely personal on a guest blog but it allows me to write something that my own readers might not relate too but I wanted to share with the world. I have a
large amount of other blogging post ideas that I would like to write on other blogging related blogs (not saying this is one). - Get a backlink – I couldn’t write a blog entry for the king of linkbait without giving his readers a tip on how they can build their backlinks. Writing for other blogs can be a good way to increase your link popularity and also diversify the sources of your links, especially helpful if you have only been focusing on directory submissions. Be careful not to link to
all parts of your website or write rubbish content just because you want a link, it will be obvious to the blog author and it probably won’t get published which will just result in wasted time. - Feel good by helping out – Blog authors sometimes look for blog
posts just to diversify their content or give some other people a chance, but in the case of Patrick he’s said he is going to be busy for a few weeks so I feel like I’m helping him out till his presence is back on his own blog. If you know a blogger who is going on holiday or is struggling to come up with some unique ideas in their niche, why not give them some ideas or offer to post yourself to help them out.
Guest blogging has its benefits, but also remember that coming up with post ideas is time consuming as is the creation process so only do it if you feel you are available to do so. Not everyone believes guest blogging is a great idea and some think that you should just keep your content on your own site, hopefully this post has outlined my thought process as to why guest postings are beneficial.
Patrick Altoft is Director of Search at Leeds based digital & SEO agency Branded3. Patrick also runs Blogstorm.You can get our blog posts delivered for free by email every day - simply add your email address to the box below or alternatively grab the RSS feed.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
It is the new article submission and a great way to get some good anchor text to your homepage.
And slightly like Directory submissions…everybody benefits.
I am a big fan of guest blogging as you can tell
Very well written reasons, Glen. Kind of strange though, a guest post about guest posting
As a relatively new blogger, guest blogging is one of my main traffic building tactics. I can reach large audiences immediately and begin establishing credibility in the field. I really can’t see any negatives to it.
I like the idea of guest post and have been thinking it would be nice to have a few good bloggers making posts on a couple of my blogs.
That would a great idea of when we start traveling in the next year or two.
haha thanks, makes it more unique though I think.
Great post! I’m currently in the process of writing a few posts to be a guest blogger on a few blogs. It helps make blogging even more social!
I haven’s tried doing some guest blogging before but after reading your post I’m considering of doing it soon..^^
As in everything in life, things have positive and negative aspects. I think guest posting is extremely effective but others may not. I suggest. you research and make an informed decision.
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