Guest Blogging Can Help Increase Your Traffic

We all want to get paid what we’re worth, especially when our blogging evolves into a paying career. However, there are times when giving away your content is a good thing. When you guest blog, your host’s readers will be exposed to your work, maybe for the first time. If they like what you wrote, hopefully they will follow the link back to your blog, like what they see, and become regular readers. This way you increase your traffic and recruit new readers.

It’s one way to get exposure for your blog, though the joke is that one can die from exposure. It’s also worth doing to help out at a friend’s blog or a cause you believe in. Maybe you want to guest post to gain some link love or to build up your blogging resume. (There’s something to be said for getting published on a big site like the Huffington Post.)

Guest posting can be done as part of a blog tour for a book or product, too, like Jennette Fulda of the Pasta Queen did for her book, Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir. (You can see her guest post on eating healthy on a budget at my blog, This Mama Cooks! on a Diet.)

What ever the case may be, how do you go about guest blogging?

How to get the gig
You want to get the most out of your guest blogging efforts by posting at blogs that get better traffic and have a higher Google page rank (more authority in Google’s search engines) than your blog. But if you’re not an A-list blogger how do you get asked to guest post on a popular blog? It may be about getting their attention.

Let’s say you want to do a guest post on “Jane Cool’s” blog? (Let’s call her Jane for short.) You could contact her, of course, and beg. But she probably gets thousands of emails a day, and many guest posting requests. Instead, you need to find a way to get on Jane’s radar. Besides sending her a bribe (just joking) you should read Jane’s blog religiously, comment regularly, and participate in all the things she offers from contests to her enewsletter subscription – probably things you already do since you’re a fan.

Yes, it’s work, but here are a few shortcuts. Next time Jane posts on something you disagree with, let her know in your comment. Try to get a debate going, but remain respectful. The discussion could go off line and you might get an email from Jane. Keep things professional and friendly, agree to disagree, and maybe throw in a little humor, too. Tell Jane that you enjoy her blog (it’s true, right?) and ask if you could guest post for her sometime. You never know, she may say yes!

Besides leaving comments on Jane’s site, you could elaborate on her work by writing about it on your blog. (Make sure you link back to Jane’s original post in your blog entry.) She might find your post via a Google Alert, Twitter or a referrer in her tracking software. However, there’s nothing wrong with emailing Jane to let her know that you wrote something inspired by her post. You can leave a comment on her original post that you wrote about it, too, though some people find that overly self-promotional.

Having guest bloggers to write for you
Going on vacation or feeling a bit burnt out on posting? Look for guest bloggers to write for your blog. Find bloggers you admire with similar traffic to yours. Email them and ask if they’d be interested in doing a guest post for you. If you’re shy about contacting your favorite bloggers, post an open call for guest posts on your site. You’d be amazed who you get to volunteer.

Hosting a guest blogger is a win-win situation for everyone involved. Not only does it help both of you grow traffic, but it’s a great way to get to know other bloggers, network a little, and gain some healthy exposure for both of your blogs.

Anne-Marie Nichols is the Social Media Manager at Mom Central Consulting. You can also find her blogging up some healthy recipes at This Mama Cooks!

Anne-Marie Nichols