When you first start out online, it can be hard to get any traction. You know you have a great message and you know who your ideal audience is, so why is it so hard to get their attention? In order to begin growing your list and attracting customers, you need a large platform to send traffic to your website. You can borrow someone else’s platform (and their traffic) by guest posting on a popular website. Here’s how to do just that….
Find Popular Blogs
The first thing you’ll want to do is create a list of popular blogs. You can find these sites by using a search engine. Look for your niche and the word ‘guest post’ or ‘guest contributor’. For example, your search might look like this: “natural skin care + guest post” or “skin care + guest contributor” (without quotations).
Once you find a few websites, look at the blogger’s platform. How many subscribers do they have? How many followers on Instagram and Twitter? What about their Facebook page or group?
Ideally, you’re looking for bloggers that have 10K-100K in followers and fans. You can reach out to bloggers with millions of followers but it can be much harder to get their attention since they typically receive hundreds of guest posts.
Read the Posts
After you’ve found a few bloggers that look like they might be a good fit for you, start reading their posts. You want to read the past 2-3 months of content. This ensures that you don’t pitch an idea that they’ve recently covered.
As you read, look for gaps that the blogger may have forgotten to cover. For example, Keri found a keto blog that would be a great fit for her audience. As she read posts on the site, she quickly discovered that the blogger hadn’t talked about how to handle the holidays without abandoning the keto diet.
Engage in the Community
The next step you want to take is to interact with the blog’s readers. You can do this by commenting on posts, participating in Twitter discussions, and joining in Facebook groups or commenting on Facebook Live videos.
Spend a couple of weeks on this task. Take your time to really get to know the community. Keep in mind that many of these people may very well become your subscribers in the future.
Follow the Guidelines
Many bloggers have submission guidelines on their sites. They explain what the blogger expects and gives you inside information that can be useful. For example, some bloggers prefer to only receive a “pitch” or short idea from you rather than a long blog post you’ve already written. Knowing this saves you time and effort.
Reach Out to the Blogger
Once you’ve read the guidelines, it’s time to contact the blogger behind the scenes. The best way to do this is usually by email. However, some bloggers may prefer you fill out their contact form. When in doubt, use the method that the blogger asked for.
In your message, let the blogger know that you are a regular reader. If the blogger prefers a pitch, let her know what your idea is and give a brief outline of your post. If the blogger prefers to receive the full post, send it in the body of your email. This makes it less likely to be flagged as spam since you haven’t added an attachment.
Guest blogging is a simple way to grow your mailing list. But it’s not an instant process. It takes time to find good blogs and build a rapport with the communities behind them.
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