The Complete Guest Post Writing Guide: Expert Tips and Tricks

If you are a Netizen, the chances are high that you come across & even accessed numerous how-to guides, Top 10 lists and detailed walkthroughs online. Most of such informative content published across websites are known as ‘guest posts’ or ‘blogs.’ Hundreds of websites publish a range of such informative content by guest content writers, making guest posts a smart way of attracting organic traffic via third-party backlinks.

What Are Guest Posts? And Why Do They Work?

Guest blogging is a powerful promotional tactic that is mutually beneficial for both the writer & the publisher. It leverages the popularity of the publishing website and uses inbound traffic from backlinks in the published content to boost the writer’s organization or web page’s online search presence. Guest posts are used by numerous organizations, freelancing professionals, dedicated bloggers, etc., to attract their target audience and expand their online footprint. Online services employ content marketers &, in some cases, essay writers to generate quality guest post content for popular websites. 

Besides attracting substantial inbound traffic, there are several other benefits of a relevant, well-written and high-quality guest post.

• Builds better brand awareness
• Boost credibility
• Develops a strong visitor-base
• Establishes authority
• Boosts exposure
• Drives substantial traffic of all kinds, inbound, SEO, and direct
• Grows the emailing list
•  Increase the number of loyal social media followers

Quality guest blogging is an excellent way to build a solid online profile, hone Search Engine Optimization and enhance market influence. Publishing guest posts on heavy-traffic websites is a sure-fire way to boost click-through rates and increase engagement. From online retailer to coursework writing help services, well-crafted guest blogs work wonders for all once they get published on the well-established blogging platform.

 Quality content and a strong pitch are necessary for publishing content on the above elite guest-blogging platforms. You need to convince them about the objectives of your post as well as highlight its notable features.

Following are some potent tips for developing an effective guest post writing & promotional roadmap.

Tips To Perfect Blog Writing & Promoting

Before you embark on your guest posting endeavor, you need to set some goals and understand what exactly you are trying to achieve. 

Neil Patel, SEO & digital marketing expert and New York Times Bestselling author, points out that determining the guest blogging objectives should be the preliminary priority of every content writer. According to him, the myriad benefits of guest blogging are vital factors that guide the intentions of all blog writers, with every writer wanting to:

• Establish themselves as an authority in their respective domains;
• Get loads of traffic and resultant exposure to their website;
• Obtain inbound links from their websites & services;

Finding The Golden Opportunity

To achieve the above, businesses, marketers and content writers need to identify a potential subject in their domain and narrow down on a specific topic for their guest blog. Identifying potential guest blogging opportunities is one of the most crucial steps and involves quite a lot of SEO-specific research, keyword analysis & brainstorming.

The pointers below lay down a practical roadmap to find the perfect guest post topic.

1. Just as your blog needs a publisher that’s active and popular, it also requires a topic relevant to your niche or domain AND interesting enough to intrigue & engage the audience.

2. Google Analytics is a good starting point to find out trending search terms & keywords relevant to any industry or sector.

3. Pay a visit to leading guest post publishing platforms and find out the top-performing content there.

4. Search online about reputed guest bloggers in your sector and look at what they are writing about. 

5. If possible, try to perform a backlink analysis of your competitors as a part of your SEO campaign. Services like Ahrefs.com, MOZ Link Explorer, Link Graph are powerful backlink checkers available online for free.

6. BuzzSumo is an excellent place to learn unique insights about activities concerning different keywords & domains. Reddit, Digg and Buffer are some other great places to learn about trending topics.

7. Social Media Searches are yet another great way to learn about ripe guest blogging opportunities.

8. Finally, there’s My Guest Blog, a community of guest bloggers, where you can sign up for free and learn about blog sites & popular topics.

Writing A Good Blog

Once your pitch has been successfully accepted, it is time to get down to the actual writing process. Writing a good guest post requires copious amounts of research, dedicated effort and critical writing skills. Different writers have their methods and techniques. Nevertheless, here are some tips that are bound to come in handy for one & all.

1. Write for the audience. They are your targets, so deliver content that’s easy to understand and offers them something of value. 

2. Catch their attention with a compelling title. Keep it within eight words and give it some twist. Use questions or add sub-titles for better engagement.

3. Draw them in intriguing introductions and hook them with interesting information. Keep them engaged with quality & informative content.

4. Deliver actionable content, no a 10000-word piece. Give valuable tips, guidance, information, something that has some tangible & actionable advantages. The more value you deliver, the more appreciation you will get and the better the result. 

5. Add custom images, infographics, stats and questionnaires to boost quality.

6. Never promote anything explicitly in your guest posts. Content writing is all about using good content to impress & steer the audience’s mindset. 

7. Post internal links of the blogging platform to boost their SEO and earn their appreciation.

8. Use an interesting author-bio or byline for posting referral links to your services. Trace a way for your audience back to your best landing page for better reception.

9. Remember to keep a healthy balance between SEO and good content.

10. Include a call-to-action or urge them to connect on social media.

The best guest posts focus on quality, value, engagement and clever SEO & link placement for well-rounded benefits for both writers & publishers.

After your guest post gets published successfully, there’s still work to be done. With the thousands of guest posts being written & published daily, ensuring your content reaches its target audience and stays in the limelight requires some effective post-writing promotion.

Promoting For Maximum Exposure 

Following up on your guest post is vital for getting the maximum value from your content. Even the most awesome content can go unnoticed without careful planning & avenues of exposure. Google SERPs, blog site subscribers and inbound traffic may be your primary targets, but they are several other effective ways to boost CTRs & engagement.

Below are things to do to promote and leverage your published content.

1. Respond to comments actively once your post goes live. The more comments, the more traffic.

2. Promote the guest post on social media.

3. Follow up with thank you emails and the like.

4. Use RSS feeds to your advantage.  Plug the blog’s RSS URL onto social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.

5. Shorten the URL of your guest posts.

6. Add the blog signature to your email signature, social media profile and the like.

7. Send emails to your contacts informing them about your post.

8. Use blog promotion networks like My Blog Guest, Social Buzz Club, etc.

9. Article syndication, influencer linking, banner advertising, paid traffic & traditional advertising are some great ways to promote & put your content in motion.

Guest posts are potent promotional media. If you have the skills, knowledge and know-how to craft charismatic content, you can expect a vast CTR boost, rise in engagement and loads of inbound, organic & direct traffic for your venture with assured guaranteed. Hope this guide helps you develop such an effective guest post writing strategy and enables you to deliver maximum value for the best results.

All the best!

Author-Bio: Clara Smith is a content writer, guest blogger, SEO specialist, freelance writer & video gamer, all rolled into one.  Working with a major digital publicity firm in Texas, he has helped many businesses establish a strong foothold in the virtual domain. She spends the little free time he gets working as a part-time essay writer at Essaygator.com.