As many of you already know, I {love} giving you bloggy tips and tricks to help you out, especially the newbies. Trust me, I know how overwhelming it is in the beginning. For some, it’s like learning a foreign language.
Blogging is a world of fun with a fabulous community! It can, however, start to feel like a juggling act for a lot of us. We’re busy… with work, family, school activities, sports, church, and so forth. Soooo, it’s important to know how to make the best use of our time, posts, opportunities, etc. I thought I’d share some guest blogging tips I recently learned directly from Laurie, the Tip Junkie, at Bloggy Boot Camp (held here in St. Louis). Are you ready? Grab that pen and paper… let’s go!
We’ve all heard of it and some of us have even done it . Sometimes it’s successful and other times, it sucks {booooo!} What we don’t think about is this — who we’re guest blogging for is giving us a piece of their virtual ‘retail space’ to use. WOW! They’re giving us exposure to their readers, their SEO, their social media, their traffic, and so forth. That’s a pretty BIG DEAL. Wouldn’t you agree? Therefore, we want to make that guest post shine and ‘work’ for us in hopes of getting us a little more exposure. Here’s how we want to do that:
{one}
Clearly communicate and understand what the expectations are from the invitee. Do they want new material, or can it be older? If you’re providing newer material — when can you re-post it on your blog? Be courteous and respectful of what they expect and/or ask of you as the guest blogger. For myself, I like to ask that guest bloggers wait at least one week before publishing it on their blog (and that’s if they choose to even to do so).
{two}
Pictures. Introduce yourself with a picture! Maybe its a candid, a family picture or your logo/avatar — or both! Let the readers see how stinking cute you (or your blog) are so they can put a name with a face (and your blog). Also note that if your post is a tutorial and will include pictures, make sure they’re good pictures. You don’t want to ruin a perfectly good guest blogging opportunity with sub-par pictures.
{three}
Link back to your blog at least four times. A lot of time we’re guest posting in hopes of gaining readers, meaning we want them to visit our blog. A simple text post is NOT going to do that. So reference other items of interest or relevant posts from your blog that might interest those readers.
{four}
Plan ahead. Let’s say you’re guest blogging on the painting technique you used to paint your study. Maybe the week or two before your guest post goes live, you can post about how you picked the color to paint your study. So, when you’re guest posting on your painting technique, you can back-link to the post on how you picked your paint color. Does that make sense?
{five}
Teaser. At the end of the post, put one TEASER. Use a fabulous picture of one of your most popular projects/posts/ DIY/tutorials. Entice the reader. WOW them… make them want to click on over to your blog and see what you’re all about and what you have to offer.
There we have it — some Guest Blogging tips that will
help your blog get a little extra exposure and {love}.
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Amanda {at} Royal Daughter Designs says
Great tips my friend! I think a lot of people don’t realize how important good pictures are…so frustrating!
Kelly says
Thanks so much, Amanda. Unfortunately, a lot of bloggers don’t. Pictures sometimes make thee first impression. Have a fabulous day 🙂
Karen at Little Red House Designs says
Thank you!! These are things I have never thought of!!
Kelly says
So glad they will be of help to you 🙂 Thanks so much, Karen! Hugs.
Claire says
Wow, Kelly! What a great resource. So concise and full of great tips. When I was just starting out I had two people offer a guest post spot on their blog but that seemed so . . . big. Now that I’ve gotten my feet wet I think I could definitely follow your “formula” 🙂 Pinning this awesome information!
Kelly says
Excellent news! Always glad to hear that readers find this information helpful 🙂 Have a super great day! Hugs.
KCoake says
Thanks for the tips. Very helpful!
Kelly says
You’re so very welcome 🙂 Have fun and wishing you all the best! xo
megan volnoff says
Thank you!! LOVE the teaser idea. Genius, yet so simple! Thanx again!
Kelly says
I know, right? Thanks for stopping by. Have a lovely day. xo
Megan says
Fantastic tips! I also love the teaser idea. 🙂 Megan
Bliss says
Great post! My very first guest spot was a mere couple weeks after I started a blog. I had no idea what I was doing and when I look back now I did everything wrong.
~Bliss~
Kelly says
Well, we’re all learning as we go. Happy blogging, Bliss! Hugs!
AmberS says
I’ve read all these things in every guest blog spot but I never would have been able to identify or artuculate any of them myself. Thanks for sharing!
Kelly says
Thanks for stopping by and leaving some comment {love}. Have a great day! Hugs.
Laurel @ SoPo Cottage says
Wow, this is incredibly helpful! I’m working on a guest blog now and will use all these great tips right away!
Thank you! Laurel
Kelly says
So happy to hear that these tips are helpful 🙂 Happy blogging.
The Tiny Librarian says
Thanks for the tips. Always looking for ways to improve my blog and posts. The teaser idea is great!
Meegan says
O LOVE these ideas!! Thanks for posting them, Kelly! You are awesome!!
I will be sure to use your tips in the future 🙂
Make it a great day!
Meegan@what meegan makes
Leslie @ ASG in the SLC says
Thanks for the great tips – I just wrote my first guest post, and I really needed the help!
Vicky says
Great tips! I’m guest blogging in a few weeks tip #4 is GREAT!! Thank you so much, I would have never thought of that one.
Have a great week!
Kelly says
Hi Vicky! You are so very welcome 🙂 Good luck on your guest post. HUGS!!
Stephanie says
Great post! This is good info, not just for doing a guest post myself but also to help ask those who might do a post for me. Speaking of that, if you’d like to do one, let me know! 🙂
Stephanie
Fresh Picked Vintage
Selina@CreativeJuicesDecor says
saw you at Anns (on sutton place) blog hop – GREAT info – thank you!!