5 Areas to Research Before Writing Guest Post

When writing a post for your own blog it’s straightforward. You know what type of people read your blog, you know what topics you’ve covered previously, and you can write in your normal style.
However, things are a little different when it comes to writing a guest post. You’re stepping into the unknown so it’s important to do some homework, with 5 areas to focus your research on before you start writing:

1) The Choice of Topic

For your own blog this is easy. You think of a topic, assess how well it links in with any previous articles you’ve written, before simply sitting down and writing the article.

With guest blogging there are more factors to consider. In particular always research what’s been covered previously - writing a similar article to a recent post is the biggest giveaway that you don’t follow the blog you’re writing for, and as a consequence is a sure-fire way to irritate the blog’s readers.

Have a look through the archives and try using the blog’s internal search to see what topics have been covered previously. If any related posts do come up keep these in mind… you may want to refer to them in your guest post.

2) The Target Audience

Who are the regular readers of the blog you’re guest posting on? Find out as much as you can about them:

What do they do?

What are their interests?

What are their goals?

What beliefs do they have?

Try to hit the key characteristics of your audience. Focus on their interests (i.e. choice of topic) and relate this to their goals, whether that’s developing a A-list blog, making money online, or some other goal.

The area of beliefs is particularly important. People inherently like to hear and read views which reinforce their beliefs. Anything which challenges these beliefs creates friction, which is why at times being a guest blogger can be a risky job.

If your readers are new bloggers attempting to grow their blogs, deriding their achievements such as reaching the 1,000 subscriber mark or hitting the front page of Digg for the first time is not likely to go down well, as one blogger found out the hard way.

3) The Right Tone

Every blogger has their own tone, their own unique style of writing. Some are more conversational whilst others are more formal. Some write with short, sharp sentences… others prefer longer fully-explained content. Some use humour, others steer clear of this.

When writing a guest post you want to develop a balance between your normal style and that of the blog you’re writing for. The best approach is to simply approach bloggers which have a similar writing style to you, although sometimes these opportunities aren’t always available.

In general, you’ll just want to stick to a reasonable match. If a blog’s posts are all conversational try to put that element into your post as well, whilst not varying too far from your natural style.

4) Formatting

If readers are used to reading content which is broken up with sub-headings, quotes and pictures, the last thing they want is to be hit by solid blocks of text from a guest blogger.
Similarly, if a blogger frequently writes bullet-point lists, highlights key lines, and links out to other articles you’ll probably want to do the same.

You want to start off on the right footing with your new audience - using similar formatting allows you to achieve this.

5) Length of Posts

Take a look through the blog you’re guest posting on and assess the usual length of blog posts. Aim for a similar number of words or perhaps a slightly longer post. Avoid writing a brief post - this will give your audience the impression that you’re there for a quick win… post, get the link and a few visitors, before returning to your blog.

Take Maki’s blog over at Dosh Dosh. If you were given the opportunity to guest blog for him you’d certainly want to write an very in-depth piece of content. Anything short or less than comprehensive probably wouldn’t be accepted, but if it was the reaction would almost certainly be negative.

Writing a similar number of words works in the same way to formatting - it allows you to stay aligned with the expectations of your audience. First impressions are just as important online as offline… getting these factors right gives your audience a good first impression of you.

Ten benefits of writing guest post for other blogs

Image by utheadache

1. Reach new readers

This one is simple, by posting on another blog you are able to reach an entirely new audience. No two blogs are going to have the exact same readers, so by accessing a new audience, you can attract readers who otherwise may have never heard of you.

The bigger the blog, the more potential untapped readers there will be. But don’t forget that a smaller yet more diverse audience can also be a great resource.

2. Target your audience

Giving the right content to the right readers is crucial if you want to be a successful blogger. Guest posting allows you to branch out into different areas and write content that would be out of place on your own blog.

As a guest poster you can focus on topics that already have readers interested in them. This ensures your post will yield maximum results by appealing to a target audience, instead of alienating uninterested readers.

3. Expand your horizons

Just because you blog within a certain niche, does not mean you don’t have interests and ideas that fall outside of your own blog’s topic. By focusing on an entirely different niche you are able to write something you really enjoy for an audience that will be interested in it.

Another aspect of this is that you get to explore new styles of writing. Improving your skills and repertoire is something every blogger should aim to do and guest posting is an ideal opportunity to put this into practice. If you usually write a formal blog then why not try your hand at humour? If your own blog is largely filled with cooking tips than maybe it’s time you let the world know about your political opinions!

4. Networking

Building relationships with other bloggers can benefit you in many ways. You can build a network of peers where you can share advice, information, skills and support when you need it. Guest posting is one of the best ways to build these sorts of relationships because you are giving something of value to a fellow blogger, which is something they won’t soon forget.

5. Increase your credibility

It’s important that your readers have faith in you and what you write, and this is why you need to build credibility as a blogger. When you have a post featured by another blogger, their readers will usually interpret the gesture as a “tick of approval” towards you.

Readers realise that any respected blogger isn’t going to feature a guest post just for the sake of it and will only allow content that they consider to be of worthy quality. Having just about any guest post published is going to make you look good, but on a blog with high authority and respect amongst its readers, it will ensure that their credibility is passed on to you.

6. Get some fresh feedback

Getting critique on your writing is crucial if you wish to improve as a blogger. While you may already get a lot of feedback from your blog’s readers, over time their feedback will not be as impartial as it once was. Your regular readers will be used to your writing style and chances are they like what they see, that’s why they are your regulars.

When you guest post to an entirely new audience you are exposing your work to fresh feedback. If you take the advice on board, this can help you write better guest posts as well as improve the content on your own blog.

7. Backlinks!

This is an important point for anyone interested in increasing their standings with search engines. Usually when you guest post, it’s only fair that you’ll get a link back and maybe even a quick blurb or byline about what your blog has to offer. Links from related sites are valuable, and guest posts are a perfect way to get them.

8. Converse with new readers

When you make a guest post, it’s not a simple “hit & run” process. Once the post is made you have to remember to follow it up and respond to the comments it receives. This shouldn’t be seen as a chore but as a chance to communicate with a prospective new audience. By further engaging the readers in the comments, you are more likely to build a rapport with them that could translate into those readers becoming your readers as well.

9. Get your content out there

Inspiration in blogging seems to comes in waves. At times you’ll have total writer’s block, and then suddenly you’ll have too many ideas to handle. If you are in the situation where you have a surplus of posts waiting to be published but don’t want to overload your readers, then why not offer them as guest posts? Instead of waiting around for your great posts to become outdated, strike while the iron is hot and make the most out of a fresh idea.

10. One good post deserves another

By making good guest posts for another blog you are only going to increase the number of opportunities for more guest posting in the future. It might be another post on the same blog, or you might catch the eye of other bloggers that would love to have your content sitting next to their own. But be warned, as the reverse is also true; bad guest posting will give you a poor reputation which will result in fewer opportunities in the future.


Have you been a guest poster before? Do you make it a regular thing? What other benefits have you discovered?

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10 Things I've learned about Blogging

Some blogs give you tips on what to do and what not to do. But sometimes they miss vital details, and some topics don’t seem to come up much. Here are some things I’ve learned from blogging not by reading other people’s blog tips, but by maintaining blogs of my own. Hopefully you’ll learn from this post, too.

1. You need to choose a topic you know and like.

Blogging is easy! You can create a blog in a matter of minutes, and get started very quickly.

The problem is, if you jump right in before you’ve really thought about it, you may find that you stop posting once the novelty wears off.

Before you start, you need to think of a topic that you know and like - something you can write about on a regular basis. Can’t think of anything? Give it some time. Don’t just start blogging anyway. Think about what you want to do first.

2. You need to enjoy writing.

One thing a lot of blogs seem to miss is that blogging isn’t something that absolutely anyone will want to do. Following a tutorial can help you with the technical side, but if you’re not interested in writing, you’re going to come unstuck.

Can anyone be a writer? Well, is everyone good at everything? Of course not. If writing sounds unappealing, I’m not going to tell you that blogging is right for you. But if you’re not sure, you could try planning a few posts, then write the detail, and see how you get on.

3. You don’t have to reply to every comment individually.

While I do think it’s important to reply to comments, it can get increasingly difficult to do this if you get a lot of them.

Threaded comments can help to show who you’re replying to, or you could post one comment and reply to several previous comments at once. Replying to a few comments in one reply is my preferred method.

But you don’t have to reply to every single comment, especially if they’re short comments saying “great post!” without asking questions. You don’t have to say “Thanks!” to everyone. A general “thank you” for the comments works just as well, and won’t bog down your blog with lots of separate replies.

4. You shouldn’t rely too heavily on one traffic source.

Whether you get most of your traffic from search engines, subscribers who read your feed, social media sites, other blogs or forums, you shouldn’t rely on one source of traffic too much.

Things can change quickly. The service might go down for maintenance or be permanently closed. Your account could be closed. Also, you may end up forgetting about other traffic sources and not spreading your efforts between several different methods.

Don’t be lazy. Make the effort to branch out and try different sites. Measure how well they do. This will help you to bring in people from a wide range of places on the web.

5. You shouldn’t worry about a high bounce rate.

If someone arrives at your blog but only looks at one page before moving to a different site, that counts as a “bounce”. Many blogs view a high bounce rate as a problem. It really isn’t.

Different people may arrive at your site in different ways. They might start at a post, read it, then bookmark your site and decide to come back later. Or they might start at the home page, read the latest post (if you display the full content of each post on your home page), and go away again.

It’s not necessarily bad if this happens. What’s more important is how long the person stays on your site, and whether they come back. Some people just won’t be interested in your blog no matter what you do. That’s fine, not everyone will like it.

Bounce rate tells you a lot more if you review it alongside other statistics. However, when isolated from other statistics, bounce rate alone does not tell you much.

6. You don’t usually get links by asking for them.

Your blogroll is a list of links on your blog that point to other blogs. So, how do you get on someone’s blogroll?

My advice is to put this question out of your mind and instead, focus on building relationships with other bloggers. If you like someone’s blog and you want to link to it, put them on your blogroll. If they like your blog, they might put you on their blogroll too.

It doesn’t have to be a reciprocal thing, and it shouldn’t matter who puts the link up first. I think there’s a lot less value in a blogroll where everyone reciprocates, than in a blogroll where the owner added the sites he or she enjoys and finds useful.

If you think it’s a good idea to link to anyone who asks, see if you change your mind once you have a few hundred links. A really long blogroll is not particularly useful to readers.

7. You don’t launch a forum when you have very few readers.

Before I got into blogging, I was keen on web forums. Back then, a lot of people had their own multi-topic forums - communities with various different sections for a wide range of topics. I’m sure there are plenty of active forums still out there.

But because they’ve been around for a while, I’ve noticed it is now a lot harder to get a brand new forum off the ground. Starting a blog is a lot of work too, but the barriers for new readers are far lower on blogs than on forums, because you don’t usually have to register to post a comment.

Some blogs are now trying to run a forum alongside their blog, so their readers can join in with some discussions. The problem is, most of these forums end up being too quiet for people to participate in. I’ve tried setting up a forum for bloggers in the past, but it didn’t work as I had hardly any readers. However, when I gave it another try with the Top Ten Blog Tips blogging forum, people started to participate. This is because I had more readers.

If you’re all set to run a forum with your blog, don’t do it until you’re getting lots of comments and you have lots of subscribers. I’d say you need at least 10 comments per blog post before you even consider running a forum, because it shows people have something to say.

8. Your posts need to be different.

It may seem easier just to write the same posts as others, especially if some of those people get lots of comments, but it doesn’t offer anything new to potential readers.

An opposing viewpoint or an unusual topic will attract more attention than writing what everyone else is writing. Write original, compelling content and you’re well on the way.

9. You can waste a lot of time on social networking sites.

How many blogs suggest using StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Twitter or Plurk to get your blog noticed? Granted, these sites have large communities that you can leverage to a degree - but some people spend more time “networking” than writing new posts!

Don’t lose sight of your goals - try to limit the time you spend on social networking sites. Make sure you spend your time productively, in a way that works for you as well as the people you’re interacting with. Don’t spam, or any effort you put in will most likely be wasted.

10. You’ll meet some great people.

I really enjoy blogging. I like writing new posts, otherwise I wouldn’t keep on doing it. But it wouldn’t be the same if there weren’t so many great people out there.

Blogging is a really good way to meet people with similar interests or opposing viewpoints. It can help you to build personal and professional relationships. Whether or not it’s easy to set up your first blog, regardless of whether you make money online, bloggers are a thoughtful, creative group of people and there’s always someone new to meet.

What have you learned about blogging that you didn’t know before you tried it?

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