There is no doubt that guest posting is one of the best ways to get great content for your blog with minimal effort. In fact, many times, the quality can rival your own. I have been on both sides of guest blogging, writing for others and receiving guest posts on my own blog. In fact, when I first wanted to write for ChurchMag, I had asked if I could get post on here for free.
This article is not to debate if guest posting is helpful for you (it is), what you should expect from guest posting (you need to let them link to their own website at least twice), or good ways to judge great content (use your own standard) because there are too many blogs talking about this. Instead, I want to help you bloggers, in ministries, churches, and individual blogs, to get better content for your community.
1) Ask
Seems simple enough, right? Yet this concept seems to elude too many people that I have to bring it up. In fact, 95% of the guest posts I write for blogs is me asking others if I can write for them. Let me say that again, I have to ask them if I can give them content.
Why are people not asking? It could be that they do not have the time to write for it. Maybe bloggers think that no one can write like them. Or maybe you are worried that no one will volunteer because your website is not big enough. Honestly, all of these reasons are not enough to not ask.
2) You Need To Respond
So I write a single article for you. Great. You got something out of it and so did I. Do you want this to continue? You need to respond to what happened.
Did you give them feedback on the article? Did you show your appreciation? Did you tell them that you would love to have another? Share with them the analytics from the post. Give them praises for what went right. Tell them a great next article you would love to have.
3) Define Your Niche
ChurchMag has a defined look for what posts it will accept. Nerdy, Christian, tech, supports the church, funny, and infographics. Because Eric has defined what works for ChurchMag, you know if your content will fit. In fact, it makes the process of you thinking about blogging for him that much easier.
Can you give a one sentence answer to what your blog is about? Do you know what you don’t want? Lay it out for them.
4) Remove the Barriers to Guest Blogging
One of the biggest barriers I have with people is what they look for in a blog article. You want me to write for you? Cool. Do you like long or short posts? Can I jump out of the traditional written medium with videos? Is it okay if I use an infographic and bullet points? Do I have to end it with a challenge question or not?
Lay out your expectations right away with a clearly written posting guidelines. You could read mine, but honestly I mostly stole it from ChurchMag. (i.e. Use his as a template, but make it your own)
5) Target Specific People
It is one thing to open your website up to the world for guest blogging. “Hey everyone, come write free for me!” Sounds a little conceded. If you are uncomfortable with that, then maybe you should think about a more targeted approach. All of my contributors are from digital relationships where I asked if they wanted to join my team.
Find out who you are engaging with on social media. Why do you like to read their posts? Maybe they have enough time to write an article for you! Quick, go ask them before someone else does!
So, who wants a guest post?
(See what I did there?)
Speak your mind...