4 Key Points About Guest Posting
It may sound easy enough, but guest posting is more than just banging out a few hundred words on a topic related to your business. The way a guest post is crafted and executed can make all the difference in how your business is ultimately viewed by potential customers. Some key things to keep in mind about guest posting are:
Guest Posts MUST Be Well-Written
If your guest post is not written well, chances are you and your business won’t gain much credibility. A strong voice, good grammar, and easy readability go a long way, so keep these things in mind when creating and dispatching your guest posts. Be sure to read through your guest post either silently or out loud. Doing so ensures that you haven’t missed any mistakes and that your words flow well and make sense. In addition, have an editor go over your post. One mistake can make your business seem sloppy, which can result in lost credibility, poor growth, and decreased engagement amongst users and potential customers overall.
Guest Posts Should Always Stay on Topic
When guest posting, always be sure to stay on topic. Guest posts are usually about a specific topic related to your business and products or services. Make sure that what you’re writing about is relevant to who and what your business is. Link the topic back to your business by showing how your product or service can solve a common problem your readers may have.
Going off-topic will only confuse or bore your readers, meaning they’ll likely leave the page without further exploring your business or the business your guest posting for. Losing user engagement is the first step to losing a lead and ultimately a sale. For best results, create an outline before ever guest post to help you stay on track.
Guest Posts Must Be Shareable
When a guest post is great, readers are going to want to share it. Most business websites are linked to social media in some way, meaning their content can be easily shared by clicking a link. In addition to this, make sure your guest post is built for sharing. This means it can be read, understood, and summarized in ten to fifteen minutes or less. Sharing increases readership, so do everything you can to enhance this component.
Guest Posts Must Contain Thoughtful Outbound Links
Your guest post should include backlinks, but not just any backlinks. These links must be helpful and relevant to the article, usually offering the reader more in-depth information about the topic or a component of the topic. Be sure that the anchor text over your link is accurate as well. If you link the phrase “a recent study,” make sure that the link takes the reader to a piece of content with more information about the said study.
