The Benefits of Guest Blogging

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Blog content is an amazing way to give you increased exposure and a rich online reputation. The more blogs you offer on various topics, the more people will want to pay attention to what you are saying and doing.

The number of blog topics is unending. You can write on all sorts of things, from marketing to finance to all sorts of obscure and interesting topics that many people don’t know much about but would definitely like to learn about. Many people come across blog topics accidentally. They are not necessarily intentionally searching for some of the more obscure topics but rather, might be searching for something else when they come across an interesting blog article that is in some remote way connected to what they originally wanted to search for.

Variety, variety, variety

Not only is it exciting to have numerous blog topics available to anyone who wants to read them but it is also really wonderful that many blog articles are written by guest bloggers and the perspective that they bring to that particular blog is unique, fascinating, and offers intellectual angles that many people would never think of on their own. When blogging first started to become popular, there might have been some negativity connected to guest blogging. It was regarded as a dilution of the consistency and reliability that people had come to expect and depend on from the blog owner. Nowadays, however, the perspective has changed dramatically.

Guest bloggers are now regarded in a much more positive light. First and foremost, kudos go to the blog owner for having the innovative spirit to embracing other viewpoints from fellow bloggers. Those viewpoints enhance the blog and offer a great deal of additional, valuable, informative information to the readers, which in turn, strengthen the relationship that they share with the blog owner. After all, social media (and blogging is certainly included in that) is all about relationships. The myth that guest bloggers are motivated on revenue that can be generated is just that—a myth. There are many more valuable results that can come out of offering excellent content—strong business relationships, networking opportunities, invaluable business contacts that will go on indefinitely, etc.

Using guest bloggers very often enhance the marketing message that the blog owner is trying to convey and add a great deal of credibility to the offerings of his or her business. Guest bloggers help to boost the online presence and strengthen the reputation of the blog owner.

Your ability to be found

If you want to increase your traffic, you need to be found easily by people who are searching. The more traffic you generate and the more easily you are found on the Internet, the higher your business will rank in the search engines. The traffic connects back to your website; however, that is not the only place that they are going to connect with you and your business. Volume of high-quality content is extremely important, not just in the present but also as a list of archived blog articles that people can search for and draw from. The archived blog articles have a long-term benefit.

High-quality traffic

The quality of the traffic that will be generated for your and your business as a result of guest blogging is very high. The visitors are appropriate regarding what you are discussing, they stay connected to you online for a good amount of time, and they interact with you.

Expanding your market

Guest blogs have the potential to reach all sorts of people and places that cannot be reached otherwise. Once you add syndication of those blogs to the list, the possibilities are virtually endless. The more content that is on the Internet, the greater the potential for fresh ideas and fresh angles.

Loyal, long-standing online connections vs new online connections

On your online journey to build relationships, you will acquire fans and followers who will stick with you forever and hang on your every word anytime you post content. Those people are incredibly valuable to you. However, your newer online connections are just as valuable and are certainly worth cultivating. It is true that you will have to earn credibility in the eyes of your newer connections so that you will be able to relate to each other for a long time into the future. There is one element that is present in people who have not been following you for a very long time—there will be a level of excitement from your readers based on what you are sharing with them and by virtue of the fact that it is all new and fresh to them. Before you know it, those connections will have become loyal to you and your business.

All work and no play

Just because you write blogs for business does not necessarily mean that you can never write about anything personal about which you are passionate. Relationships work only if there is an emotional element in them. If you are not able to touch the other person on some emotional level, you will not succeed at keeping the connection with them. People have a variety of different interests and there is a great chance that some of the things that are exciting to you are also exciting to other people and they may very well want to discuss those things with you. There is nothing wrong with mixing some personal and business topics, as long as they share a relevance.

The power of guest posts

Well-written guest posts have a lot of power in certain situations. The guest bloggers often gain a lot of business for themselves by posting on a blog that is owned by someone else through a call-to-action. The guest blogger is building up his or her reputation at the same time as building up the reputation of the blog owner. It is very important to keep in mind that blog content is not promotional in nature. The content can never be about the “hard sell.” The concepts will sell themselves through the excellent writing.

The benefits for the guest blogger

In addition to the benefits of guest blogging to the blog owner, there are also great benefits that are gained by the guest blogger. First of all, guest bloggers should always be given full credit for the article that they have written, including their name and biography. Another wonderful benefit is that everytime the blog owner posts one of their articles, the guest blogger is having his or her online reputation boosted and they are increasing their online exposure.

Building the relationship

Patience is important when it comes to any and all relationships. It takes time to gain the trust of another person. That applies to in-person and online relationships. It takes time for people to interact with you on a consistent and regular basis. It takes time for people to be willing to invest more than a tiny amount of time and energy in another person. People will not trust you from the second they either meet you or speak with you online. It takes several interactions and a great deal of effort to accomplish that. All relationships take work.

Conclusion

If you are looking to build long-term, meaningful relationships that will sustain over time, social media, and blogging in particular, is the way to do it. The more other people get to know you and your brand, the more they will trust you and want to interact with you. It is an established fact that blogging (and guest blogging) has a direct and positive effect on making your online relationship soar.

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Author

  • Carolyn Cohn

    Carolyn Cohn is the Co-Founder & Chief Creative Services of CompuKol Communications. Carolyn manages CompuKol’s creative and editorial department, which consists of writers and editors. Her weekly blogs are syndicated globally. She has decades of editorial experience in online editing, and editing books, journal articles, abstracts, and promotional and educational materials. Carolyn earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo.

7 Responses

  1. Jim Sellers says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Informed Ideas For Writers
    Discussion: The Benefits of Guest Blogging

    I agree Carolyn. I started contributing to other blogs that share an interest with mine and I have found the links to my site follow immediately after.
    Posted by Jim Sellers

  2. Rhoberta Shaler says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: For Women Entrepreneurs
    Discussion: The Benefits of Guest Blogging

    Guest blogging is a wonderful way for one to get visibility while contributing to worthwhile conversations and topics. 
    Posted by Rhoberta Shaler, PhD

  3. Marcelo Martins says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: SES Conference & Expo
    Discussion: The Benefits of Guest Blogging

    I disagree, especially is you expressing opinions that aren't based on facts and data!
    Posted by Marcelo Martins

    • Michael Cohn says:

      Marcelo,

      All our opinions are based on facts. We use several guest bloggers within our CompuKol Connection blog. Both the guest bloggers and us benefitted from this setup. We both getting exposure and increased traffic.

  4. Sandra Beckwith says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Writers World
    Discussion: The Benefits of Guest Blogging

    Thanks for such a helpful, column, Carolyn. I agree with you about the value of guest blogging. Just one example of how it generates tangible value: I wrote two guest columns on different virtual book tour topics for different blogs; each one got such a great response that I turned the content into a free report that I'm now offering authors. I probably wouldn't have had this report idea if I hadn't agreed to write the guest blogs.

    Thanks again!
    Posted by Sandra Beckwith

  5. Becky Flansburg says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Informed Ideas For Writers
    Discussion: The Benefits of Guest Blogging

    Great topic! Guest Blogging is great way to grow your blog and spread your brand. Plus I love having guest posters on both my blogs as a way to intriduce other "voices" and keep things fresh and fun. I guest post on "mom topics" and also on business related-sales topics. Carolyn, what type of guest posts are you looking for??
    Posted by Becky Flansburg

  6. Sharon Hohler says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Informed Ideas For Writers
    Discussion: The Benefits of Guest Blogging

    I am hosting my first guest blog starting August 1. It was great fun and Christine Schwab gave a great interview about living with rheumatoid arthritis. She was gracious and so kind==a lovely lady who lives a glamorous Hollywood lifestyle. I will definitely have more guest blogs in the future. My website is about wellness, health. If anyone deals with chronic illness or would like to blog about wellness and health, let me know. Thanks
    Sharon
    Posted by Sharon Hohler