5 Tips to Get More Guest Blog Posts for Your Site

The post 5 Tips to Get More Guest Blog Posts for Your Site appeared first on HostGator Blog . 5 Tips to Get More Guest Blog Posts for Your Site By accepting guest posts, your brand draws new attention to your site. Guest posting adds a variety of content to your blog and helps you develop meaningful relationships with bloggers. It is also an avenue to drive traffic and keep your readers engaged. “In an era where reputation is everything, it’s incredibly useful to build a network of trusted writers to verify each other’s legitimacy in a given field…When a guest author posts on your site, the author is implicitly agreeing that you’re an authoritative source,” states Forbes contributor Jayson DeMers . Are you ready to get more guest blog posts? Here are five tips to get you started.   1. Write a Guest Blog Page Information is important in our society of technology. Knowing about opportunities empowers people to take action. Your company can attract more guest bloggers by merely announcing your interest. Start by writing a guest blog page. You’ll want to include all your guidelines for submitting a post. State the desired topics, word count, sources, and other standards. Don’t shy away from giving writers every crucial detail. By doing so, you set expectations for your content. Bloggers will appreciate the value you place on high-quality writing. It makes getting their blog post accepted a badge of honor, rather than an item to complete on a long to-do list. In some instances, it may be helpful to include the entire submission process. Check out this  example from Entrepreneur  below. You’ll want to convey to writers the benefits of guest blogging on your site. Will they get featured in your exclusive email list? Or will they receive a small financial reward? Be sure to list all the advantages on your guest blog page. And of course, it wouldn’t hurt to mention all the notable bloggers who’ve already published on your site. This social proof will persuade bloggers to send in their submissions. Be honest and specific on your guest blog page. It’s the first step to receiving superb content from writers.   2. Give Guest Bloggers Credit Online communities rely on developing quality relationships with individuals. It’s an ongoing give-and-take bond amongst content creators. So, it’s vital that your business shows goodwill too. “Bloggers make up a large percentage of conversations happening on the Internet, especially on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. They can be tremendously influential. Which makes them good friends to have,” says best-selling author Jeff Goins . For writers, giving credit is one of the simplest things your site can do. Set up your blog to add multiple authors, and then ask bloggers to submit a short bio with their post. Providing a bio section is also beneficial to the reader. If they enjoy the post, they may want to read more of the person’s content elsewhere. Plus, it adds humanity to the words. Readers will know that an article wasn’t just pumped out from a content mill; someone actually took deliberate action to write a post to inform or entertain the reader. Get creative when showcasing your guest bloggers. You can invite them to a Slack community that matches their interests. Or refer bloggers to other brands seeking professional writing services. Guest blogging is all about highlighting other people’s expertise. By giving credit, you show your company’s appreciation and become a business ally.   3. Add a Guest Post Submission Form When you’re seeking guest posts, managing the entire process can become difficult. You have to promote an open call, draft a guest page, and sift through all the submissions. Depending on your brand’s popularity, you may receive a high volume of guest post pitches. And if you’re receiving them all by email that will flood your inbox. Creating a submission form is one solution to this issue. It’s a convenient way to organize all the pitches. Form tools, like SurveyMonkey and Typeform, let you build custom fields and export data into spreadsheets. CoSchedule  uses a Google form to capture its submissions. They even require guest bloggers to fill out specific information. When crafting your form, you’ll want to ask for links to relevant writing samples and why the blogger wants to publish on your site. It helps to get a sense of the person behind the words. Remember to keep the form short by limiting your questions. More blogger details mean more unnecessary work. Don’t bog down your team by accepting guest post pitches via email. You can create a unique submission form to make the process easier.   4. Pay Traffic Bonuses Money is a motivator for many bloggers. If your site wants to attract the best writers, you may consider offering a few financial incentives. If the blogger is doing more than just writing, like following specific SEO requirements or adding the content to WordPress, it’s a signal to pay the guest blogger. Susan Gunelius , president & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., gives her perspective: “The more you expect a blogger to do, the more you can expect to pay that blogger to charge you to write for your business blog. The reason is simple: the more the blogger has to do, the longer it takes her to complete the project, and she should be compensated adequately for her time.” Financial rewards can take many shapes and forms. You can start with paying traffic bonuses to writers who exceed a particular session goal. Decide how you will track the traffic, maybe a custom URL . Then, the blogger and you can monitor the results on a designated dashboard on Google Analytics. With any financial agreement, you’ll want to draft a contract and speak with an attorney. It will save you the hassle if any problems arise in the future. Sometimes guest bloggers will need more than just exposure. You can up the ante by offering writers a monetary bonus.   5. Promote Guest Posts Guest posting means nothing if no one gets to read the work. That’s why it’s so essential to promote your blog posts as much as possible. Depending on your business industry, how you publicize your content will vary. You may need to talk about the post in a community forum or syndicate posts on other brand sites. It may even be beneficial to enlist the help of an influencer . Well-known industry leaders can instantly spark people’s curiosity and drive traffic to the content. And don’t forget the power of social media. From Facebook to Instagram, your brand can use these channels to lure in more eyeballs on your guest posts. See below how Prisync promotes on Twitter.   The best way to understand your customer journey, and how it relates to your checkout flow, is to rely on your analytics Let’s jump in our latest article “How to Understand Your Customer Journey from your #Ecommerce Analytics.” ( via @DivvitHq ) https://t.co/WayaPtyEnk — Prisync (@PrisyncCom) May 25, 2018 Avoid the desire to splatter your guest posts everywhere. Instead, you want to develop a target strategy. If a post discusses the latest baking techniques, find promotional channels around food and cooking. Promotion is a two-way street. Before asking bloggers to promote on their marketing channels, it’s key that you take the initiative. Promote guest posts like any other piece of content. Work with your team to get the most attention from your target audience.   Earn More Guest Post Contributors Guest posting is beneficial for your brand and readers. It opens the doors to new relationships, while giving your consumers a different perspective. Ramp up your guest posts by sharing your blogging guidelines. You can entice contributors to participate with financial rewards. And you’ll want to promote guest posts as much as possible. It’s your turn. Start getting more guest blog posts today. Find the post on the HostGator Blog