Most bloggers under estimate the benefits of going to the effort to write a guest post on someone else's blog, as they feel that the content that they write should be placed on their own blog.
I used to be of this opinion as well, but after closely studying some of the results of people that have guest posted on authority blogs, I have quickly changed my mind.
Whilst you still need to be updating your own blog on a consistent basis (which for me is two new posts a week), guest posting should definitely be on your to do list.
But you shouldn't just guest post on any old blog, it needs to be related to your niche/industry, and the blog also needs to have a high Page Rank, as well as get a lot of traffic.
If you write a guest post on a blog that is not related to your niche/industry, the traffic that reads your post is not targeted. Also if you post on a blog that does not attract much traffic, then not many people are going to read your article – therefore making the exercise a waste of time for you.
And most importantly the person that owns the blog that you are guest posting on should allow you some sort of author bio section, where you are allowed to write a few lines about yourself and have a link back to your blog/website.
Here are five important reasons why you should write a guest post for an authority blog in your niche:
1. A way to meet and make friends with a successful blogger
This is probably the most important reason why you should bother to write a guest post.
Being able to meet and chat with successful bloggers in your niche is invaluable, because you are effectively being invited into their community, and can ask them how you can improve your blog to take it to the next level.
Some of these professional bloggers will be more accesible and friendly than others, but you never know unless you ask. You may even be lucky enough to find bloggers that are happy to mastermind with you and share new ideas.
The important thing is to provide them with high quality content, and to promote them in your guest posts (not yourself). Get to know what their blog is about, and what the readers expect from the blog.
Link to other posts on the authority blogger's site when creating your guest post, as this makes your article seem relevant – and also promotes the authority blogger.
Never use this opportunity as a way of self promotion, because your articles will just get knocked back, and you will not make friends with the authority bloggers.
2. A way to get in front of the bloggers large targeted audience
Not only will you get to know the other bloggers themselves, but you will also be able to get your name out in front of the readers of the authority blog.
You will also be able to interact with the readers by responding to comments on the post that you have written.
You will find that far more people will read your articles if they are guest posted on the authority bloggers site, compared to publishing the same article on your own site.
3. A very credible way to drive traffic to your website
Providing you write quality content that appeals to the readers, a large percentage of them will click on the link in your author bio to find out more about you.
This can create a lot of traffic to your website, many times more than if you had posted it on your own blog. Some of these people will subscribe to your newsletter or RSS feed, or bookmark your website and turn out to be regular readers as well.
4. A way to show people that you are an expert in your field
Because the authority blogger has accepted and published your article on their blog, this instantly raises your credibility. Poor writers that lack talent do not feature on authority bloggers sites, so this is an awesome way to be recognised as an industry expert.
Remember this authority blog gets a lot of traffic, and a lot of people are going to read your article and see your author bio. This is an excellent way to build your brand and gain rapid exposure.
5. A way to get a highly rated back link to your website
And on top of the traffic and exposure you will also get a very highly rated back link to your site, which will help your search engine rankings.
A back link from a well respected site that gets a lot of traffic, is a lot more valuable to you than a back link from a low quality site with a Page Rank of zero.
Some people say that you can just get a back link by writing a comment on a well respected blog, but this is not true because most blogs have the nofollow feature on their comments – which basically makes the back link worthless.
And on top of that Google rates links that are higher up the page, much more than links that are further down the page, or near the bottom.
So, if you are a blogger that is not getting a lot of traffic then I urge you to at least consider approaching some of the well known bloggers in your niche to request permission to guest post on their blog.
If you can manage to keep posting quality content consistently on your own blog, plus write a guest post occasionally, then your chances of success as a blogger are very high.
Over a long period this combination is well worth it, is as you should see your traffic increase over time, and you will also become friends with professional bloggers in your niche.
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