The 5 “W’s” of Guest Blogging In Every Industry

Although the idea of guest blogging has been around for years, many startup companies are still missing the guest blogging bandwagon. The concept might seem simple, but once you get started, the blogging concept can actually be a bit tricky. Being a guest contributor is a full time job (this coming from a full-time guest blogger), so you have to really make sure you’re hiring the right people and you have a strategy in place. When it comes time to set out a game plan for guest blogging, you have to ask yourself all of those basic questions you learned in elementary school: Who, what, where, when, and why?

The Who of Guest Blogging

When it comes to the who of guest posting, there are two things to consider:

• Writers – Companies usually hire one or two full-time writers to create content. Because guest blogging deals with writing content and talking with editors, you need to make sure that you hire someone who can write well, enjoys talking with editors, and can stay organized enough to write and publish 40 posts per month. You also want to make sure your writer understands SEO so that he/she can optimize each article with keywords and, above all else, get backlinks to your website (one of the biggest reasons for guest blogging in the first place).
• Audience – Part of the “who” of guest posting is your audience. You want to make sure that your posts are related to your niche, but you also want to make sure that the posts are written to the audience of that website. In other words, you don’t worry quite as much about the audience of your particular website, but rather the audience of the website where the guest post will be published. Still, the audiences should be similar.

The What of Guest Blogging

You want to write in what many call “blog style content.” This means that the majority of blogs want you to write in a way where visitors can scan a page and quickly know what the article discusses. This is done by using lots of subheadings, bullet points, and screenshots. You want to make sure that you break up the copy and again, are writing content for the audience where the post will be published. News opinions, reviews, interviews, and bringing in viral examples are all great ways to make sure you’re attracting visitors.

The Where of Guest Blogging

You should try to contribute articles to sites that are in your niche. These sites have a similar audience, so you have a better chance that someone will come across your article, see the link to your homepage, and click. Sites similar to your company will also allow you to write about where you’re really an expert; thus helping you prove you know what you’re talking about and making things easier on you. There are a few different ways to find sites like this:

• Always look for blogrolls on authoritative sites.
• Be sure to check the “Top 10 __ Blogs” that discuss your niche.
• When you make a connection on a social network, always make sure that you look at the person’s website. In many cases, it’s one that accepts guest posts!
• Set up Google Alerts for terms like “guest post” and “write for us.” I often find many great blogs this way.
• Utilize MyBlogGuest. This website allows writers and editors to connect easily, and you can even explicitly state that you’re looking for a place for a particular article.

The When of Guest Blogging

Guest blogging should be something you put into your marketing strategy once you begin focusing on SEO. Companies usually focus on PPC ads first because you get results faster and can really perfect your ads and gain some traffic, but a true SEO strategy should come next. The minute you begin focusing on backlinks, you should get ready to have a guest posting strategy.

The Why of Guest Blogging

Guest blogging comes with many benefits:

• Your content is in front of the eyes of a new audience; thus helping you gain visibility.
• You get to show off what you know and prove you’re really an expert in your industry.
• You get links back to your site, which will help improve your SEO.
• You form connections with others in your industry, which helps you to really network and make a name for your company.

There are many more aspects to guest blogging when it comes time to consider how to optimize these articles, but asking yourself the questions above will get you started on the right track. Do you have any tips about guest blogging? Let us know in the comments below!