Editor’s note: This post was written by Coby Stephens, content writer and marketing manager at Same Day Essays.
Getting guest bloggers to your site is a great way to add to your content without paying for it. The enticement for writers is that it gives them visibility and creates authority for their personal brand.
Here are some practical guidelines to efficiently attract guest bloggers.
Create a Page Outlining on How to Get Published on Your Site
If you want contributors on your site, you need them to know what the requirements are. The simplest way to do this is to post your standards right on your website. Writers and other content professionals who visit your site will need to know what is required for publication before they begin writing. Rather than relay this information via email, you can post it directly to your site in public view. Then, even if you are having an email conversation with someone, you can simply send them a link to your page.
Another good idea is to list benefits of guest blogging on your website: you can write how many visitors you get on a monthly basis and indicate PageRank of your site (if it’s at least above 4). You should mention if the guest bloggers will have the opportunity to add a link to their site and where – in the body of the guest post or in the byline.
Showcase Your Website Contributors, Including Guest Bloggers
“Who We Are,” and, “Meet the Team,” pages are common. You’ve seen them. On these pages, all of your website contributors can be listed, creating the image that real people are behind the great content on your website.
By including guest blogger profiles, or at least bios underneath their articles, you are noting the fact that your authors are given credit for their work. Writers love to be credited for their creations, especially on topics that help them build their personal brands. If you are interested in attracting new authors to your site, making the old authors look good is crucial.
Link to Your “Guest Bloggers” Page From Other Pages on Your Site
If you have an isolated page outlining the information that bloggers need to submit articles to your site, the only way it will become visible is through marketing and SEO for that page specifically. Since guest blogger pages are not uncommon, the competition is high.
Save yourself the hassle and link to that page from other pages throughout your site, including it in your overall marketing plan. Some sites link to the page from their navigation menu while others use anchor text in their current content or a combination of both. How you choose to link to your page is less important than ensuring that it is linked to.
Make Yourself Available for Communication (Email/ Contact Page)
On the page that outlines your submission guidelines, you need to include an easy way to contact you. There are 3 ways to do this:
- Include your email address – Simply listing the email address of the person who is responsible for blog post submissions can be plenty. If you choose this route, make sure and spell out which formats you will accept the documents in.
- Add a link to your contact page – Adding a link to your existing contact page makes it simple. This way, you use one form for all communication from website visitors. The downside is that you will be less targeted in your content on this page, and it could potentially end up requiring more
- Incorporate a submission form – Building a submission form wherein visitors can upload or copy and paste their content directly can make submissions easiest for the bloggers. The content can then be automatically submitted to the appropriate editor for approval.
Focus Your Energy on Becoming an Authority in Your Niche
If you are an authority in your niche, meaning that people find value in what you provide and trust you, writers will naturally want to write for you. In order to become a trusted authority, if you’re not already, there are a few key ingredients you need.
Having a mission is important to your cause. If you’re genuine in your mission, readers will be able to feel this without you having to spell it out. Being able to show your expertise, prove it, will earn you instant trust. Finally, continue to implement an attitude of confidence and honesty to maintain this trust. Quality writers want to write for quality websites, so being a quality website will help you pull new professional authors in.
Creatively Share Your Opportunity on Social Media
It probably won’t work to just post on Facebook, “We’re looking for guest bloggers.” It might, but something more tactical, like mentioning who the author is and what they do (making it clear that he or she is not a member of your regular team), will alert your followers that others outside of your organization are writing for you. If any of your fans are also authors, this could pique their interest. When it does, they will go to your site looking for more information, and that’s where the guest blogging outline page will come in handy.
Offer an Incentive for Quality Articles
Some websites offer money for the guest blog posts with the most views in a month. Whether or not you should pay guest writers can be debatable. Others offer advertising space for some or all of their authors. Depending on your niche, your writers will be interested in different incentives, so be creative here. You can run contests, give away free items, and more.
If you’re running an authority site, incentives for guest posts may not be necessary. In this case, simply being published is enough for most writers. You can try out different things to find out what works for you.
