Five Simple Yet Effective Guest Blogging Tips
Guest posting is an excellent way to contribute to other blogs in your niche and get your name out there. But it wonât make any impact unless you ensure youâve included these five essential ingredients.
1. Know Your Audience
Table of Contents
Who are you catering for? If you donât know who will be consuming your content, it’ll be a recipe for disaster.
Ensure you choose a topic that will resonate with the audience at the blog you’re writing for. If you don’t write something they can relate to, the post will fall flat.
It’s best to avoid giving them the same old content. Give them something fresh and new, while keeping to the underlying premise of the blog.
2. Show Your Passion
If youâre not passionate about the recipe you’re concocting, it will show through in your execution and presentation.
Don’t be a sub-standard writer. Tell the audience about something close to your heart. Put a little of yourself in everything you do.
3. Make No Mistakes
Just because youâve found something good to present, doesn’t mean you’ll be able to pull it off. Believe in yourself – but don’t forget about the quality. Imagine finding a bone in a fillet of fish (and I don’t’ mean the ones from McDonald’s).
If you publish a post that communicates a groundbreaking message in a post littered with spelling and grammar mistakes, it’ll leave a bad taste in the mouths of many.
4. Use a Striking Image
Nobody likes a wall of text. Including a beautiful, eye-catching image is akin to carefully arranging garnish on a plate of food.
Using a great image gives a good first impression to readers, and shows you cared enough to hunt for a relevant picture. If the image is loosely related to the content, itâs a rather nice cherry on the top.
5. Provoke a Discussion
Are you interested in what people have to say about your latest work? Feedback is an excellent way to improve. Plus itâs always good to write a post that generates some comments.
The type of post that gets people talking is what youâre aiming for. Aim for that, and youâre well on your way to writing a truly delicious guest post.
Discussion
Whatâs the best guest post youâve read? What else makes a guest post great?
Image Credit: Henry Fong / Creative Commons 2.0
About Ben Barden
Nice post Ben, thank you for sharing it here on Hot Blog Tips. You have more Guest Posting experience than I do so it’s nice to let our readers learn from the more experienced.
Thanks Brian 🙂 Thanks for accepting the post. I haven’t written a lot of guest posts, but I’ve read a lot – and I learn fast 😉
Nice post Ben! These tips all make sense, but it’s so easy to forget some of these points when you start writing a guest blog post… the last thing you want is to embarrass yourself on someone else’s blog!
Hi Anthony – thanks for the comment. 🙂 They say any publicity is good publicity. I’m not sure if I would always agree with that. What I would say is that the last thing you want is for your guest post to be forgettable. If it doesn’t grab people’s attention, you may as well not bother writing it. But taking risks is OK 🙂
Fantastic tips! Knowing who exActly you’re talking to, and showing genuine passion are probably the most important ones. It’s not hard to spot whether the author really knows what he’s talking about or not. And just because it’s ‘guest blogging’ on someone else’s blog, being lazy @ it for that reason is ridiculous. Impress them and a ton of them will come running @ YOUR blog and subscribe to YOUR list!
Hi Jack – thanks for the comment. 🙂 Totally agree you can’t be lazy with guest posts. I believe some people say that guest posts should be your best posts. After all, they are effectively an advert for your blog 🙂
Guest is much difficult than posting on own blog, mainly because we have study audience of other blogs. To sum up great tips to start with guest posting with good mood.
Thanks Pradosh 🙂 It isn’t that difficult once you get used to it. I’d say it’s challenging, but in a good way.
Agree with you Ben, guest posting is very important for getting a mark in our niche. It sometimes happen with me that, after getting a chance for guest blogging I donât get satisfaction of posting a good article. I got to know from your post that it might be because of my excitement of getting a opportunity for the same. It makes me nervous, whether I will be able to write a good content. It is very important to give readers of other blogs a high quality content to read otherwise it is just a waste of golden opportunity. Thanks for your post Ben and sharing your experience with us!
Hi Mitchell – thanks for the comment. 🙂 Guest posts should definitely be good, otherwise there’s no point!
Hey Ben,
Guest blogging is definitely a great way to get exposure for your blog. All five of these ingredients are essential but I believe the most important one is to show your passion.
Once you show how passionate you are about a certain topic it will definitely show through in your guest post. And once people recognize your passion they’ll want to know more about you and follow your advice.
Hi John – thanks for the comment. 🙂 Passion is essential. A lack of passion will only lead to a boring post. You can’t fake passion 😉
I think your image is not related to the article
Hi maika – I disagree! There are several words and phrases in the post that relate to food. Have a closer look 🙂
i also agree with you Ben Barden
I always wanted to try guest posting, but never got to actually doing it. Maybe i don’t have what it takes.
Though the benefits are really tempting…
Hi Stan – thanks for the comment. 🙂 You should definitely give it a try! Nothing ventured, nothing gained…
May be your article are not too unique for those bloggers owner
Hi Ben, great article – for me passion is key, you’ve got to love what you blog about.
What is that dish? it looks mighty tasty!
Hi Adam – thanks for the comment. 🙂 The dish is Spicy Rice Cakes 🙂
ohh . very nice tips and pointing view ben 🙂 keep sharing more articles with us 🙂
Thanks Sai.
It’s awesome tips for new guest bloggers.
Thanks Nidhi.
Thanks for sharing. I need to start guest posting soon, but it seems like a very time consuming task though.
Thanks Asma. It shouldn’t be much more time consuming than writing posts for your own blog.
great blog and all of your five ingredients are essential yes, but i do believe first and foremost that your passion has to come through, people can spot a genuine, authentic person a mile off, especally as there`s no body language to go by on a blog
Hi Julie – thanks for your comment. 🙂 Passion is definitely important. 🙂 Don’t you think though, if you don’t know your audience, passion may not actually make a huge amount of difference? People might see that you’re trying, but ultimately if your post is irrelevant to them, they probably won’t find it all that compelling.
I have seen some blogs and particularly news releases deliberately twisting a point to gather attention. Is Guest post a good place to try these?
Hi Ganesh – thanks for your comment. 🙂 I think it really depends on the topic. I wouldn’t suggest writing a post purely to get people’s attention. If there’s some substance to the post, such as some useful tips, unique insights, or just your opinion on a topic, I think you’ll be more likely to get long-lasting attention. Of course, some of the most popular content I’ve seen online tends to be funny videos, pictures of cats, that kind of thing. Nothing wrong with that, if you can make it 🙂
It is true Ben, writing on the topic which is very close to the heart is important in guest blogging. It will help in creating the best quality content for the readers which is vital in guest blogging. Also one should take precautionary steps for making no mistakes while writing on other blog sites. All the tips which you have given for guest blogging are perfect. One can make most if followed them.
Hi John – thanks for the comment. 🙂 Do you write guest posts?
thx, ben. i often find that “show your passion” is rather awkward when you are writing topics taht you don’t love. btw, i write only topics that i like now. 🙂
Thanks Manto. You’re on the right track: you shouldn’t write about topics you’re not passionate about.
Hi Ben,
Thanks for your tips.
Is it possible to know all the audience and gives all of them what they want?
However, the thing I know is that I have to keep my voice consistent with my readers.
Do you have any other ways to Know adudiences?
Thanks – Ferb
Hi Ferb – thanks for the comment. 🙂 I don’t believe it is possible to know 100% of the audience on another person’s blog. I also don’t think you should try to please everyone.
What I’d suggest is to look over the recent topics on the blog you wish to guest post for, and also look at the comments people have posted on those topics. This should give you some idea of the type of person who reads the blog. Of course, it’s a lot harder for larger blogs, and there may be a lot of people who read but don’t comment.
If nothing else, make sure the guest post you submit is in some way relevant to the overall topic of the blog. A good way to ensure this is to read the blog for a few weeks before you submit a post, and also submit some comments of your own.
Great tips! Having a passion to your work is really important for you to become an effective blogger. Giving time on knowing your audience is also one of the important tips that I am applying right now. Thank you for sharing…
Thanks Catherine.
I totally agree that if you want to make a guest post it is not compulsory to know the another blog’s audience. After all that is why guest posting are made – to be different. Of course not to write in a geekblog about high-heels:)
Hi Anna -thanks for your comment. 🙂 Who are you agreeing with? I didn’t say it is not compulsory to know the audience… quite the opposite, in fact.
Guest posting is becoming more and more popular all over the Internet, and i like this fact most of all. I think that this is a good opportunity and alternative for everyone
Hi Melissa – thanks for your comment. 🙂 Guest posting is great – have you tried it yet?
Good post Ben,
My tip I’d like to add is that you should link out from your guest post to a squeeze page rather than, or in addition to a content piece. That way you can build you list and increase revenue!
Hi Chad -thanks for the comment. 🙂 Nice tip. I’d suggest being careful the link is relevant though – if it looks like you’re just throwing in a link for good measure, it may backfire and people might not click it. Relevance is key!
Funny that you mention about being passionate. I contacted a blog about guest posting, my first request to do so and the topic was exactly that, being passionate in our writing. If that is missing, no one will ever want to visit your own blog linked in the guest post.
Hi Brian – thanks for the comment. 🙂 Good point. Do send me a link to the guest post – I’d be interested to read it.
You’ve laid great tips Ben! But tip no.3,I think,we should rephrase it. It would be better to make it “Avoid mistakes as possible”. Mistakes are part of our lives and thus, they thought us important lessons to make us wiser, stronger and better. I love your thoughts about blogging and somehow they are really helpful.
Hi Jerry – thanks for your comment. 🙂 I see your point, and I agree we shouldn’t aim to write a perfect post. However, spelling mistakes, punctuation errors and bad grammar should be edited out during the proof-reading stage. It looks awful to publish a post that’s full of mistakes. We can learn from our mistakes, but these are kind of mistakes we should edit before other people see them. The learning part is that we won’t make so many mistakes in future 🙂
Knowing your audience while showing them your passion would be the best combination that a blogger can give to the readers. At the same, you could prove to your readers that you really know lots about the topic being discussed by you.
Thanks for your comment Samantha. Great points!
Hello Ben,
Very nice to see you here ! Keep contributing for Hot Blog Tips 🙂
Thanks Sai 🙂
Well you were right about the picture. It caught my attention before I even started reading the article. I have been blogging for a few years now and I feel like my blogs have gotten stale so maybe this will help spice things up. Great tips.
Hi Eldorado – thanks for your comment. I like the way you worded it. Nice to stick to the food theme 😉
Loved the way you have written this article..
Mixed cooking and blogging…lol
Thanks Vineet 🙂
True indeed. In fact, right before submitting your guest post, you have to take note that you have to provide the readers something that will truly help and something they could use in the long run. Great ideas Ben! Truly appreciated.
Hi Argie – thanks for the comment. 🙂 I would say you need to think about that before you start writing the guest post. Not sure if that’s what you meant, but either way, it’s a good point. Thanks!
Oh, yes! A guest post with mistakes? Very BAD impression, not to the readers, to the host because that host will not publish an article with mistakes on his/her blog. 🙂
And now I have completely understood the importance of using interesting images in articles. It speaks more than words. 🙂
Hi Abhi – thanks for the comment. 🙂 You’d be surprised: some bloggers accept and publish guest posts with mistakes, and maybe don’t even know they’re there. Maybe it’s just because they’re too busy. But do they make time to proof-read their own posts? Hopefully. We all make mistakes, but it never looks good if you let them make it into a published post.
Thanks your your tips! My favourite advice is about passion for the blog’s subject!That’s the main receipt of the success!
Thanks Daniel 🙂
These are some good tips. I am have been looking for some guess writers as I find it hard to put out captivating material daily. I will use these tips as a starting point! Thanks a bunch!
Thanks for your comment Jordan – glad you found the post useful. 🙂
Show your passion is the best thing in what you said. If you do love what you’re writing and really have a burning passion on it. It will all comes automatically. You will write quality posts easily. You will develop good relationship with your readers. And you will always look confident on what you’re writing. This will make you stand out to others!
Thanks, Kee G 🙂
Thanks Prakash. You should give it a try!
Knowing the audience is one of the great thing in blogging whether you are writing for your own blog or other’s blog. If you write for your own blog then its easy to understand your audience but when you write for other’s blog as a guest author then its a bit tedious to figure out who are the readers of that blog. If you get to know this then success is at the next step.
Thanks Puneet – it’s easier if you’re already a reader of the blog you wish to guest post for 🙂
Rocking tips… best one was provoking a discussion.. its a great way to engage your readers and stay in their minds..
Thanks Pankaj 🙂
Your advices are really useful as Iâm working on it recently
I have just published one guest post.
Guest blogging is very important for building links, reputation, getting new viewers at least to your brand if not yet to your website.
Thanks Adlen 🙂 You should try writing more guest posts.
“Know Your Audience” – yes, knowing your audience is one of the most important things, because as an author you need to now what to write about, what is interesting for those people.
Thanks for this article.
Thanks Wiesiek 🙂
hi Ben,
Actually I also started guest posting recently.I want to know more and more about it.The tips will come handy to me.
Thanks Shanky – good luck with your guest posting.
The first advice was the best advice. If someone comes to your site requesting to guest post and they offer a subject that isn’t even on your site is a complete joke to me. I respond with a polite no, but can’t understand why they don’t read the topics clearly stated on my site. Or better yet, did they even read my blog to know who my audience is?
Guest blogging doesn’t have to be a hard task, but trust is extremely important to me. Your audience is like gold and when you post stuff that they don’t understand or has no relation to your niche, you could fail miserably.
Thanks Sonia 🙂 Sometimes I think people just write a blanket letter that they send to several people – rather than writing a specific email to each person. When it’s generic and totally irrelevant to my blog, sometimes it’s also spammy. So in that case, I wouldn’t reply. Otherwise, no problem honouring guest post requests 🙂 I won’t accept posts that aren’t relevant to my readers or that are poor quality.
yup Ben Guest posting will really make us a good traffic because these are really standard methods in which our site will be live for a longer time and i agree with all your 5 tips ..and the first 2 tip are really important …”Know your audience” and “show your passion” ..this words are really poerful
#2 Show Your Passion – A completely agree. Thanks for the tips m8!
Great post Ben Barden, I need to start guest posting soon, but it seems like a very time consuming task though.
Hey Ben,
Great Post as always.
I think that content is what that makes your guest posts awesome (Well, everything plays an important role – choosing a good place to blog, finding images etc.).
For me personally, I think the most difficult step is to customize the post to fit a certain keyword (I usually write just for my readers; not for search engines).
Thanks for the comment 🙂
It is necessary that you know who your audience so you’ll know how you will create a connection with them.
In certain topics where things are quite technical I usually input a bit of my experience in them to make it easier for the readers to relate and understand.
It shows that I know what I am doing as well as I am passionate about the topic as well.