Guest blogging is one of the most powerful tools in a blogger‘s arsenal for expanding reach, building authority, and driving traffic. But many bloggers dive in without a clear plan and fail to get results.
In fact, a study by Ahrefs found that 66.7% of bloggers who write 1-5 guest posts per month report "strong results" in increased exposure and traffic, compared to just 33.3% who write no guest posts at all. However, publishing alone isn‘t enough – you need a smart strategy to maximize ROI.
As a blogging expert with over 10 years experience and bylines in top publications, I‘ve learned what works (and doesn‘t) when it comes to guest posting. In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll walk you through how to develop and execute a guest blogging strategy that gets real results.
What is Guest Blogging?
First, let‘s define guest blogging – it‘s the practice of writing content for another website or blog in your industry in order to:
- Reach a new audience
- Increase brand awareness and credibility
- Drive referral traffic back to your site
- Build high-quality backlinks for SEO
- Grow your email list and social following
Basically, you provide value to someone else‘s audience while getting exposure and benefits in return. It‘s a win-win when done right.
Benefits of Guest Blogging
Why invest time and effort into guest posting? Because the potential payoff is huge:
-
Expand your reach – Tapping into an established blog‘s readership exposes you to a whole new audience that may never find you otherwise. And if they like what they see, they‘ll follow you back to your site.
-
Boost your authority – Having your name and work featured on respected sites positions you as an expert in your niche. This builds trust with readers and opens up opportunities like speaking gigs and partnerships.
-
Improve SEO – Links back to your site in your guest post bio count as "votes" in Google‘s eyes, which can help boost your search rankings. A study by Backlinko found the number of domains linking to a page "correlated with rankings more than any other factor."
-
Generate leads and sales – Strategic guest posts can funnel targeted traffic to landing pages and offers, leading to more email signups and conversions for your business. Elna Cain used this tactic to grow her freelance writing income to over $5k/month.
-
Build relationships – Connecting with bloggers and influencers in your space can lead to exciting collaborations and opportunities. I‘ve landed paid writing gigs, joint webinars, and even a book deal thanks to relationships started through guest posting.
Of course, to reap these benefits, you can‘t just slap up content anywhere that will take it. You need a plan…
How to Create Your Guest Blogging Strategy
Here‘s the step-by-step framework I use and recommend to clients:
1. Set clear goals and KPIs
What does guest blogging success look like to you? Some common goals include:
- Attracting 100 new email subscribers per month
- Increasing referral traffic by 25%
- Improving Domain Authority by 10 points
- Landing 3 client/customer inquiries per week
Attach numbers and deadlines to make your goals specific and measurable. These will serve as your KPIs to track progress.
2. Identify target blogs and audiences
Not all blogs are created equal. You want to focus on those that:
- Attract your ideal audience and customers
- Have high engagement (comments, shares)
- Publish consistently high-quality content
- Offer clear author attribution and links
Start by making a list of sites in your niche that fit these criteria. Tools like Alexa, SEMrush, and BuzzSumo can help gauge a site‘s reach and authority.
Aim for a mix of tiers – a couple "dream" top-tier blogs to work toward, some middle-tier sites that match your level, and a few smaller blogs for quicker wins. Track your target list in a spreadsheet.
3. Develop standout topic ideas
Look for ways to fill content gaps and add unique value for each site. Effective guest post topics are:
- Highly relevant to the blog‘s focus and audience
- Not already covered extensively
- Timely and newsworthy
- Actionable and useful
- Tied to your expertise
For instance, if you want to guest post on a popular marketing blog, you could pitch:
- How AI Is Transforming Content Creation (With Examples)
- 10 Surprising A/B Test Results to Boost Conversions
- The Ultimate Guide to Repurposing Content for Maximum ROI
Aim to submit 2-4 topic ideas to give the editor options and increase your odds of a match.
4. Craft content that wows
Once you get the green light on a topic, it‘s time to write a post that knocks their socks off. Go above and beyond with:
- Deep research and original insights
- Comprehensive coverage (ultimate guides perform well)
- Tactical examples and advice
- Engaging, error-free writing
- Compelling, catchy headlines
- Scannable formatting (subheads, bullets, etc.)
- Relevant images, videos, and other visuals
Review the site‘s editorial guidelines and top posts to match their style and quality standards. Where appropriate, mention and link to the site‘s own resources to show you‘ve done your homework.
Editors can tell when you‘ve put in the effort – and it will make you stand out from the pack.
5. Optimize your bio and CTA
Your author bio is prime real estate to sell yourself and drive action. Most blogs allow at least one link, so use it strategically to support your goals. Some options:
- Link to a custom landing page for that blog‘s audience
- Direct to a relevant lead magnet or email signup page
- Point to a specific product/service page that ties to the post topic
For example, my standard bio looks like this:
"John Smith is a blogging expert and consultant who helps businesses attract their ideal customers through content. Grab his free Blog Post Templates at [Link] to start writing like a pro."
Treat your bio like a mini-ad and include a clear call to action. Just keep it snappy and relevant.
6. Promote like a boss
Your work doesn‘t end when the post goes live. To get the most mileage, you need a promotion plan:
- Share multiple times on your social channels, tagging the site
- Send an email announcement to your list
- Post on niche platforms like Reddit, GrowthHackers, etc.
- Reach out to influencers and experts mentioned to share
Aim to drive as much engagement (likes, comments, shares) as possible in the first few days to trigger the site‘s algorithms and extend reach.
7. Build genuine relationships
The real magic of guest posting comes from the relationships you build. Treat editors and fellow contributors like friends, not just a means to an end:
- Share and comment on their content
- Start email conversations; ask how you can help
- Give shoutouts and recommend their work
- Meet up at industry events when possible
And of course, always be gracious, reliable, and professional with your posts. Being a dream to work with opens up more opportunities than a one-off post ever could.
Mistakes to Avoid
Speaking of being a dream contributor, watch out for these guest blogging don‘ts:
-
Ignoring guidelines – Requirements on topics, word counts, style, etc. are there for a reason. Following them shows you respect the site and their audience.
-
Recycling content – Yes, you can repurpose your existing content for guest posts, but make sure to substantially rewrite and add value, not just copy-paste. Google dings sites for duplicate content.
-
Stuffing links – A link or two back to your site in the body of the post is fine, but only if hyper-relevant. Don‘t shoehorn in links where they don‘t belong, or you‘ll get called out in a hurry.
-
Failing to disclose – If you have any affiliation with a product or company you mention, disclose it. Transparency builds trust.
-
Ghosting – Don‘t disappear once your post is published. Stick around to reply to comments and engage with readers. This extra effort separates you from the guest posting drive-bys.
Case Studies: How Guest Blogging Drives Real Results
Those are the nuts and bolts of an effective guest blogging strategy. But what kind of results can you expect? Let‘s look at a few real-world examples:
Aaron Orendorff – Saving the World from Bad Content
Aaron is one of the most sought-after content writers online. His posts have landed on sites like:
- Mashable
- Content Marketing Institute
- Entrepreneur
- Lifehacker
- Business Insider
All thanks to a relentless guest posting ethic. At one point, he was publishing 2-3 guest posts per week, all while working a day job!
The snowball effect led to regular columnist slots, paid writing gigs, conference keynotes, and a full-time career online. He‘s even been invited by Google to provide SEO insights alongside the world‘s top marketers.
His top tips? Choose sites that energize you and don‘t be afraid to pitch the big leagues. The worst they can say is no – and you might be surprised how often they say yes.
Kayla Hollatz – From Side Hustle to Six Figures
Kayla started freelance writing as a side gig in college. Now, it‘s her full-time business – and guest posting played a huge part in that growth.
She wrote over 50 guest posts in one year, strategically targeting sites in her niche (digital marketing and personal branding for creatives). This got her name in front of the right people and drove a steady stream of leads.
Kayla focused on building relationships with editors, often pitching multiple posts at a time to become a regular contributor. She also made a point to engage with readers and build her email list.
The result? Kayla‘s booked out her freelance writing services months in advance and topped $10k in monthly income. Guest blogging helped her quit her day job and build a lifestyle business on her own terms.
Nat Eliason – Launching a Brand with Guest Posts
When Nat started his marketing agency, Growth Machine, he knew content would be key to driving leads. But as a new brand, it was hard to get traction on his own blog.
So he turned to guest posting, writing articles for high-traffic sites like Sumo, Zapier, and Ahrefs. This got the Growth Machine brand in front of potential customers and provided valuable backlinks.
In fact, a single guest post for Zapier on content promotion generated 183 email subscribers and 2 paying customers – an immediate return on the effort.
A year later, Growth Machine was a profitable content marketing agency with clients like Patreon, Kettle & Fire, and perfect Keto. All driven initially by strategic guest posting to build awareness and authority.
Ways to Level Up Your Guest Blogging
Once you‘re in a groove with the guest posting fundamentals, you can get more creative with your approaches:
Produce an original study or report
Bloggers love to reference new data points and statistics. Putting together an in-depth report is hard work, but it can pay dividends in links and mentions.
For example, Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media publishes an annual blogging statistics survey, gathering insights from 1000+ bloggers. This research has been cited in over 25,000 websites and driven tons of targeted traffic and authority for the Orbit brand.
Create an infographic or chart
Visuals are a great way to share information in an engaging way – and get more shares and links in the process. If you have data or ideas that could be represented visually, pitch them to blogs in your space.
I‘ve seen infographics and charts from guest posts get picked up by big sites like Huffington Post, Forbes, and Fast Company. Even a simple graphic can boost the views and shareability of your guest post.
Publish ultimate guides and resources
Pillar content will always outperform short, surface-level listicles. Identify a pain point or hot topic in your industry and write the definitive guide on it.
For instance, Backlinko‘s Brian Dean wrote a massive 4,500-word guest post for Ahrefs on link building. This single post ranks for over 2,200 keywords and has driven nearly 350,000 organic visits to date. Now that‘s evergreen content!
Get input from influencers
Including quotes and insights from experts can give your guest posts more credibility and distribution power. After all, they‘ll likely share the finished piece with their audiences.
One way to do this is to send a short survey to influencers, rounding up their best tips on your post topic. This is a win-win – they get exposure and authority by association, and you get a more authoritative post.
Update and republish popular posts
Keep an eye on traffic patterns and social shares of your guest posts. If one is performing particularly well, consider updating it with new information and examples down the line, then re-pitching to the original site (or a bigger one).
I‘ve done this several times, and the updated versions almost always outperform the originals. Blogs are happy to get a fresh take on a proven topic.
Ready to Get Started?
We‘ve covered a lot of ground in this guide. Building a successful guest blogging strategy takes some trial and error to find the right fit for your goals.
But no matter your experience level, you can generate real results for your blog and business by following the proven framework:
- Set specific goals
- Target the right blogs
- Craft stand-out content
- Optimize your bio/CTA
- Promote heavily
- Build relationships
Stay consistent and keep at it, even if the response isn‘t quite what you hoped at first. The cumulative effect of publishing great content across multiple trusted sites is incredibly powerful.
I‘ll leave you with a parting tip: Always focus on providing immense value to your target blogs and their audiences. Don‘t think of guest posting as a "hack" or shortcut, but as a way to build real authority and influence. That mindset shift makes all the difference.
Now get out there and start landing those guest posts! If you want more hands-on help developing your strategy, check out my Blog Boost consulting services at [Your Landing Page].
Happy Guest Posting!
[Your Name]
