Don’t just pitch a guest post - BE A CASE STUDY
I get a ton of questions about guest posting. I talk about guest posting as an incredibly powerful list-building and blog growth strategy, but lots of new bloggers want to know how to actually get started with these audience and list-building gigs.
Just this week, I received these questions from readers:
"How do you guest post effectively? I've tried it before but nothing really happened. What am I doing wrong?”
"I started guest posting a while back but it didn't really lead anywhere. But it's something I've always wanted to do, and know how beneficial it can be. Do you have any tips for starting and finding places to guest post on?"
"What if I already have a blog? Should a link back from a guest post go to a landing page? Or just the regular homepage of our site?"
"How do I start guest posting if I’m totally new?"
We all look up to the biggest blogs in our niche and think how awesome it would be to be featured by them. To get that juicy backlink. And not to mention all the popularity and email subscribers it would lead to!
But then the fantasy ends, because you start saying things like “how would I even approach them?” or “I’m a nobody, why would they ever let me guest post for them”.
You don’t need to be an expert or a “known” blogger to pull this off. That’s why it’s so effective.
This will help you...
- get guest-post gigs without being a recognized “blogger” (even if you’re new)
- build your email list
- build relationships with other bloggers you want to collaborate with
- grow your blog and audience
In Your First 1K® we cover 3+ ways to get guest posts and use them to grow your list. Today we’re looking at just one of those strategies - one of my faves.
This has worked wonders for me in terms of connecting with bloggers and influencers, getting features and backlinks, and growing my email list when combined with some of the other methods you’ll learn.
Why you’re guest posting efforts sucked before:
- Your pitch sucked and sounded like a robot because you used a “script” someone gave you (yuck)
- You failed to build the relationship properly and in a not-super-creepy way beforehand, so the person totally blew you off as a weirdo
- You were thinking more about how that guest post was going to help you than how it was going to help THEM
- You thought that YOU actually had to pitch and write the guest post, which isn’t always the case
Okay, so how do you avoid all those major gaffes and do it right?
The first thing you need to do is make a list of all of the blogs you might want to guest post on (we go into very specific techniques for doing this in Your First 1K®, but for now just make a list of 5 people that you can think of in your niche or industry).
WHY THIS WORKS
Experts and educators NEED success stories to make themselves look good. Your case studies and testimonials literally sell their product or “brand” for them. It’s a symbiotic relationship where they look good, you get some eyeballs on you and your business, and everybody wins.
Step 1:
Find a tutorial or ACTIONABLE ARTICLE on a blog that you read and are subscribed to. (If you’re not subscribed to this blogger’s email list already, do it now).
Find something that is relevant to what you need to be doing now. Need help marketing your blog? Find an actionable article or step by step tutorial for marketing your blog and start implementing.
Want to grow your Twitter following? Search for the best guide and get to work.
Want to grow your email list? Oh have I got the thing for you!
Seriously, pick something you know you need to improve on and work on and implement and take action.
I love this strategy in particular because even without the guest-posting / case study element, it gets you DOING and IMPROVING which is so important. It’s a double-whammy!
Step 2:
Document everything you do and MEASURE the results.
This is CRUCIAL. You absolutely must be able to quantifiably show how this other person’s blog post/article/guide/advice helped you.
Otherwise, Step 4 will not work at all.
So, once you start implementing this tutorial or actionable article, keep notes on what you do. Make sure you are measuring your results.
Are you growing your email subscribers? Take a before (and after!) screenshot of your list growth stats. And keep track of what works best for you.
Trying to gain muscle? Take photos, measurements, etc throughout the process.
Designing a website for the first time based on a tutorial or how-to? Document the process step by step. Before and After is always awesome!
Remember, you'll want to have: