Yesterday I was invited to host #AtomicChat (courtesy of Atomic Reach) and talk about guest blogging. Obviously, I was happy to jump in (you can’t get me shut up if you ask me to talk guest blogging, so beware).
The chat was awesome and I thought I’d better re-use my prepared answers with our own community too!
Note: These are just my answers and a few selected tweets; it’s not the full script. The actual chat was much MORE active!
1. What is guest blogging?
A1 Guest blogging is inviting someone into your playground!! #atomicchat
— Louise DiCarlo (@LovelyLu) November 26, 2013
Guest blogging is a process where a blogger invites an outside writer to contribute a free article(s) to his/her blog
>>We have an easy guest blogging infographic explaining the basic process:
(Please click the image to enlarge)
What are the benefits of contributing as a guest blogger?
Yes RT a_robinson: A2 guest blogging is abt building relationships too! behind every blog=people + people who like their content #AtomicChat
— Padma Mohanram (@padma_mohan) November 26, 2013
The guest author gets the opportunity to expose his/her writing to a new audience (and thus builds brand, connections, links etc)
If you (as a guest author) is doing your job right, you build up the list of connections and continue interacting with them
>> We covered some ways to make the most of each guest blogging contacts.
Some authors sadly think their job is done after the guest post goes live but in reality guest writers will only benefit if they actively interact with everyone who interacts with their content!
By getting involved you (1) get more people to know and remember you & (2) make all your bloggers LOVE you 🙂 which means they will keep publishing your content and remain valuable influencers in your network
What are the benefits of having guest bloggers?
A3: You could have a guest blogger discuss a topic you might not know as much about. #AtomicChat
— Kavita Chintapalli (@kavita1010) November 26, 2013
Obviously, the blogger gets free content (and fresh perspective) + hopefully author’s help in promoting the article
>> With some effort, you can build the whole team of recurring contributors.
Many hugest blogs grew exactly because they built a strong community of contributors (think @smexaminer, @business2community, etc)
How do you know if your guest posts are producing results?
My A4) Traffic, Social Shares, Engaged Followers #atomicchat
— Josepf Haslam (@Josepf) November 26, 2013
(Obviously) referrals & conversions. I see users who came from guest posts more willing to stay with me longer
Guest post referrals are usually few but they seem to comment, share, sign up for my newsletters
Your brand awareness and network (reach). You’ll see more people citing you, following you, RTing you, etc
>> I’ve always said: The only value of guest blogging that matters is RELATIONSHIPS.
The growing list of contacts you keep interacting with is your most important measurable result
What are the qualities of a great guest post? How do you create a high-quality post?
A5) Write naturally and be passionate and knowledgeable about your subject to create quality content. #atomicchat
— Padma Mohanram (@padma_mohan) November 26, 2013
Oh I have written a lot about that but in a word: You should genuinely love reading your own guest post
Often, if I don’t feel an article is perfect, I’d rather use it for my own site 🙂
This top-notch quality is important if you want really powerful bloggers become your friends for life
>> I mentioned my own case study in this slideshare deck:
>> I have listed some actual quality guidelines here (from the above case study) via @2createawebsite
What are some common misconceptions of guest blogging?
A6 In reality, the goal is that links (and references, shares, etc) start coming on their own #AtomicChat
— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) November 26, 2013
The major one: That all you need is a link from your guest post
In reality, the goal is that links (and references, shares, etc) start coming on their own
Many bloggers who now mention #myblogguest when saying “guest blogging” found it exactly from my guest posts on their sites
I did my very best when writing a guest post for them, so they remembered me and keep promoting my site
By taking your guest blogging connections seriously, you will win the world!
A lot of people guest blog to drive referral back to their site. Is this the most effective way to drive traffic?
My A7) It can be very effective done right, however, the social connections are long-term enduring and cannot be understated #AtomicChat
— Josepf Haslam (@Josepf) November 26, 2013
I’ve never succeeded in getting too much traffic from guest posts, honestly
Even my guest posts on Mashable with the link above content, I got ~100 clicks a day for a couple of days (example of my guest post for Mashable to give you an idea).
But like I said, those few visits are worth thousands of random Google referrals – they come to you site because they already loved your content enough to click the link in your guest post.
Guest post referrals are much likelier to browse your site, interact, follow you on social media and become your friends
How do you look for guest blogging opportunities?
Very cool! RT @seosmarty A8 This year we have launched Articles Requests http://t.co/cxkXGmQesg #AtomicChat
— Atomic Reach (@Atomic_Reach) November 26, 2013
Well, you force me to self-promote 🙂 MyBlogGuest.com is my first and most efficient channel
>> This year we have launched two important features (1) Articles Requests and (2) Google Authorship.
Both have been very helpful for discovering blogs and putting my brand there
I also get many direct invites to guest post and get interviewed and I am trying to accept each!
With the above two channels I hardly have time / need to search for more!
Thanks #AtomicChat for having me!
Joseph
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Sana
That was an amazingly active chat!
Thank you for the summary, Ann!