The Planning Before Writing A Guest Blog
One thing that you want to do before the actual mechanics of writing a guest blog is making sure that your topic itself is a good match. This means not only doing something that’s on-topic for who you’re pitching for, but not doing something that’s been covered before.
Brandon Andersen, Chief Strategist at Ceralytics, shares a strategy that he uses to try and make effective but not repetitive content. Simply either use a keyword research tool or just read through the blog on your own to find what type of topics they have.“Then we write content that fills those gaps. This approach makes our guest posts all the more valuable for publications,” he explains.
The reason for this is that even if you have a novel take on a common topic, it can be difficult for your post to compete traffic-wise, unless you make that take front-and-center.
What Goes Into Writing A Guest Blog Well
- Make sure your funnel leads to action.
When you put a guest post together, the first thing that’s probably on your mind is that all-important backlink to your page. Make sure that you make the most of this opportunity by linking to a page with a clear CTA rather than just a general homepage.
- Use relevant links.
While you are an expert in your area, you still need to provide effective sources. Make sure that you back up your claims with links to authoritative sites.
- Be smart with your anchor text.
This also adds the chance for another potential opportunity to raise the SEO of your posts. When you create a link, be sure that the anchor text you use is a keyword or topic that you would like to rank for.
- Avoid overpromoting yourself.
When you’re on someone else’s site, it’s okay to position yourself as an expert, but readers can tell quickly if you’re more concerned about promoting yourself rather than promoting knowledge.
- Mention other bloggers in your niche.
While you may think of them in competition, there’s nothing wrong with mentioning or linking to some of the top best-in-class bloggers in your area. Not only are they credible sources, but they will show your readers that you’re paying attention to important developments in your niche, but outside of your business.
- Don’t forget the fundamentals.
At the end of the day, you still need to have effective writing when writing a guest blog. This means making sure that your grammar, spelling, and other basics are all correct. Publications have in-house editors most of the time, but you still want to put your best foot forward.
Put all these items together, and you’ll be well on the path to successfully writing a guest blog that will drive interest and action.
