Guest blogging can provide a real boost to your SEO and inbound referrals, but only if its done well, and done with efficiency and impact already in mind. There are numerous benefits beyond the immediate aims of link building and SEO. Especially with content marketing becoming a key aspect of online strategy for 2013.
Here are a few things to consider if you are using guest bloggers:
- Scale your research. Content is the output. Research combined with inspiration, and your own particular flair, is the input. You can’t rely on randomly stumbling across, and remembering, ideas for content just when browsing the internet or noticing something on a social network. Instead, set up email alerts to get news delivered to your inbox from your main sources of information. Also use tools like Evernote or Pocket to clip and save articles to the cloud. Now you have material, you will be as up to date as possible for news from your sector.
- Leverage the power of Twitter. Twitter is the social media fire-hose from which we all drink, and its benefits to communication is enormous. Well known tools, like Tweetdeck and HootSuite can be used to create public or private lists. That way you are using it as a resource, as well as a means to engage with others. You can use hashtags or simply add people to lists who often tweet about the things you are interested in. Getting a better idea about what your audience is interested in will make it easier to write content that will get their attention.
- Set public deadlines. If you are being paid to write, you write. If its a promotional matter, or a project of your own undertaking, then it is usually private, until published. The trick authors encourage is to tell people. Set a deadline with the guest outlet you are blogging for, and stick to it. Otherwise you risk burning a valuable, high traffic bridge.
- Get organised. Think of guest blogging as any other piece of work, not just writing for its own sake. Include it in any productivity workflow tool you use most often, and set yourself reminders. You could even just edit your browser bookmarks, indicating action needs to be taken for the various blogs you read (by putting reminders in capitals).
- Keep aiming higher. Once you have established a reputation as a writer of quality guest blogs you can keep going for higher traffic media. This is a simple way to get noticed by your peers and customers, by consistently writing as a thought leader on a subject you are passionate about. The easier it is to include this in your working week, the more your content will get shared, and therefore the more likely you can approach widely read media who will want to publish what you write. Content marketing does take time, so the more efficiently you do this, the greater benefits you will receive.
This is valuable secret of inbound marketing. I hope it brings you new customers in 2013!
