Guest blog posts offer writers and bloggers an invaluable tool. However, the opportunity to write for other blog sites shouldn’t be overlooked as only a book launch activity, as in a “blog tour” or a “virtual book tour.” Writing guest blog posts will help you build author platform by increasing the number of readers you attract to your blog.
When you write a post that is featured on another, more well-read blogger’s site, you will benefit by:
- Reaching new audiences with your ideas and products.
- Networking with others writers and bloggers.
- Building links to your website.
- Expanding your expert status and credibility.
- Increasing your blog traffic.
- Driving your site higher up in the search engines results pages (due to the additional links).
- Getting introduced to new and larger audiences.
I just had a guest blog post that ran on Joel Friedlander’s popular blog, The Book Designer, www.thebookdesigner.com, and I saw a large increase in the traffic on my blog. Additionally, www.writersdigest.com ran a guest blog post of mine and, because of the huge readership of that site and the fact that the post was publicized in the Writer’s Digest newsletter, I saw another gigantic spike in my traffic.
It’s also great to host guest bloggers on your own site. I hosted two guest bloggers of note per week on my other blog, How to Blog a Book, last January, and my readership that month grew considerably–and stayed up. Even if they didn’t promote their posts on their blog, they were likely to publicize the post on their social networks. This sent their fans to my blog…and some of them stuck around.
You can find great information out there on how to guest post and how to do a blog tour. I’m about to do one in June, and I’ve relied on John Kremer’s course, Blog Palooza, and Dana Lynn Smith’s ebook, Virtual Book Tour Magic. Another good book is Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition by Michael A. Stelzner.
On that note, I’d like to let you know that this blog, Write Nonfiction NOW!, is now accepting guest blog posts. Previously I’ve gone out and solicited posts from experts in the field of nonfiction writing, publishing and book promotion. However, if you feel you have something unique to say, feel free to submit a post.
Photo courtesey of Johnnyrh
Leave a Reply