Peter Jobes
Definition of Guest Post
A guest post is a post written for a blog that the author does not own. Most guest posting opportunities are created as a way of a blogger getting exposure for their own blog or product while providing value to an already established audience of another blog.
Guest posts have two ways of working practically; either you produce a guest piece on someone else’s website, or someone submits a guest article on your site.
The theory behind it is simple – by writing for different online publications, you get the chance to showcase your work to a new and often broader audience than what would be possible through your own domain. This allows new people to see your content and potentially visit your site.
So strong is this content-driven form of digital marketing that many highly reputable sites offer platforms for guest submissions. Websites like Forbes, Mashable, Moz, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur – the list goes on.
You can use guest posts as a networking tool to build relationships with other blog owners too. This can pave the way for collaborative pieces and projects with other guest posters or business owners, all while maximising your online presence.
Of course, the biggest appeal is the potential to bring in pivotal backlinks from high ranking websites that are a sure fire way to bring big audiences back to your site from a quality guest post submission. Search engines tend to frown on too much self-promotion from individuals looking to gain traffic by linking from a larger website, but be sure to include a link to your work in your guest bio for the host site. The addition of a link in your bio is ideal because it’ll be the first thing visitors see after reading your work. If they’re happy with your content, they can immediately click back to your website for more quality content.
Guest posting has its challenges too. There’s the drawback of the fact that you’re posting quality content on a domain that doesn’t belong to you, meaning that your good work won’t directly impact your site and that you’re fully reliant on the all-important backlinks doing their job in bringing readers back to you. However, as long as you’re dedicated to producing quality work then it’ll only be a matter of time before you begin to reap the rewards, and recognition, which come with writing guest posts.
Tip: Guest posts are your hooks to bring in more visitors to your site. Be sure to write engaging pieces for your guest sites and avoid neglecting them in a bid to save your quality work for your site only – it’s your chance to put yourself in the blogosphere’s shop window.
Further Reading:
1. List of 300+ Websites/Blogs That Accept Guest Posts & Contributions
Peter Jobes
Content Marketing Manager