The 6 Step by Steps of Guest Posting

Posted on 07. Jan, 2010 by Nate in Blogging

What is guest posting?

Have you ever heard of that concept?

Josh Klein, a guest blogger on ProBlogger.net, has this to say about the importance of guest posting:

You’ve heard the blogger cliché “content is king”. It’s a lot like the real estate industry’s “location, location, location.” It turns out blogging and real estate have something in common: for both, you need content and location.

When it comes to pro blogging, thinking about location matters. There is no “build it and they will come”, and only 20% of your work is publishing posts.

So how do you even get started guest posting and when is the right time to even start as a new online business owner?

In answer to the 2nd question, NOW is the time!

I don’t care how new you are to online marketing and blogging: if you want to make sales right out of the gate with your new business, begin implementing these steps right away. Granted, it helps if you have a place for people to go once they read your articles and love them, but really you have to start making connections even before the official “launch”.

Guest Posting 101

Step 1: The Search

Find Blogs you want to guest post on. Guest posting on “any old blog” is probably not the strategy I’d take. In stead, look for these things:

• Number of subscribers
• Number of comments on posts
• Google Page Rank
• Make sure the blog shares your target audience

Step 2: The Request

Send emails to the appropriate people (owner of the blog, manager, etc.) Personalize the message. Here’s what my general email looks like:

Hey (blog owner),

My name is Nate Moller. I’ve been blogging since 2005 and am the owner of MollerMarketing.com.

I write a lot about starting an online business, eCommerce, droshipping, SEO, social media, and self-motivation.

I’m interested in guest posting on your blog in the near future.

Here are some articles I’ve written (and these topics would be things I’d want to write about for you):

•    http://mollermarketing.com/2009/05/28/w … r-success/
•    http://mollermarketing.com/2009/11/17/t … ing-books/
•    http://mollermarketing.com/2007/12/09/s … fic-steps/

Let me know what the next steps would be.

I look forward to blogging on (you blog).

Sincerely,

Nate Moller
MollerMarketing.com
@mollermarketing on Twitter

Obviously I’m going to change this up depending on who I’m emailing.

I may add things like how I found their blog, what I liked about it, how we could benefit one another, etc.

Step 3: The Content

Start writing a blog post on your own blog. Make sure to do all the following things:

• effective blog formatting
• a 2-3 sentence bio section, usually done in italics (here’s an example): Nate Moller has been teaching clients about how to start an online business for almost five years. He consults small to medium sized business, helping them establish and implement a blogging & social media marketing strategy to grow their business. Read more about Nate at MollerMarketing.com and follow him on Twitter (@mollermarketing).
  
• images that are uploaded to your wordpress site and include a title and alt tag (if you have questions on this, let me know and I’ll write about it in the near future)
• 2-3 links to your site KEYWORD PHRASES (like the bio section above)
• you CAN include your domain name too but usually I just use keyword phrases instead.

Step 4: The Preparation

Once the post is formatted and complete, click on HTML in your word press blog editor, copy the code and paste in a Notepad (Start menu on your computer > Accessories >Notepad)

Step 5: The Handoff

Save the Notepad file and attach to an email for the guest post!

Step 6: The Promotion & Repetition

Repeat this process over and over again! Also, once the blog post is live, make sure to promote, promote, promote, especially if you plan to guest post on this blog again in the future.

6 Simple Ways to Promote a Guest Post

• Tweet it to your friends
• Ask them (in DM on Twitter) to Tweet it to their friends
• Share it on your Facebook Status
• Link to it in a blog post of your own using a quality keyword phrase
• Bookmark it with the social media tools: Stumbleupon, Digg, Delicious, Sphinn, Mixx, etc.
• Repeat this process, not just on the day of the post, but throughout the week from time to time

Here are some other great posts from Darren Rowse and Ann Smarty about guest posting:

• How to Be a Good Guest Blogger
• How to Get Guest Blogging Jobs
• Why Guest Bloggers are Great for a Blog
• Guest Blogging 101
• You Need a Blog Strategy
• How to Guest Post to Promote Your Blog
• 7 Reasons Every Blogger Should be Guest Posting

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