Increase Your Brand By Writing Guest Blog Posts
Should you write a guest blog post? That is a great question, isn't it? A guest blog post is recognized as writing a blog post that is published on someone else's blog. There are a few reasons that you may want to write guest blog, such as:
- You don't have a blog of your own but are invited to contribute your opinions on someone else's blog.
- To share you expertise to a new and different network of people that you normally wouldn't reach.
- For publicity and to raise you brand's awareness.
- Spreading the word about your blog or website.
- Having a lot to say and time on your hands to express your feelings through writing and pictures (or maybe even videos?).
There are some people out there who believe that they must be paid to write guest blog posts. This is a bad way to think. You must weigh the pros and cons before choosing to write a blog post for someone else's blog and be okay without financial compensation. Learn about their reach and the promotion of their blog. Learn about their frequency of posting. Learn about the content restrictions and who will be in charge of uploading the blog post. If you are compensated, that's a pretty awesome bonus but don't let it be a deal breaker because the publicity you will get is very valuable.
Who to Write For?
Now that I've gotten you stoked to write a guest blog post, you may be puzzled about who to write for and how to build that relationship. Some of you may be lucky enough to have someone approach you and if you feel like it's the right opportunity, go for it! For the rest of us, we may need to seek out blogging opportunities. How do you do this? You can:
- Reach out to the editor of the blogs you would like to write guest blog posts for. When contacting them you want to introduce yourself, express your interest in writing a guest blog post and arrange a time to talk about it. They may request to see writing samples and you should provide them.
- Put it "out there" on your social networks that you are looking to be a guest writer for blogs and include which topics you are interested in writing on.
If you find that you have a lot to say, you may want consider starting your own blog. Blogging platforms such as WordPress and Tumblr are easy to set up and very user friendly (oh, and FREE). Alternatively, you can publish your posts on LinkedIn or even on Facebook. Being a guest blogger is a great way to reach different people and raise awareness about who you are. It allows readers to fall in love with your style of writing. So, confidently choose your expertise/niche and begin your blogging journey.