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Stop Being a Lazy Guest Blogger in 3 Steps

Posted By Guest Blogger 11th of July 2012 Blog Promotion 0 Comments

This guest post is by Kelsey Meyer of Digital Talent Agents.

You’ve finally made it big! The Washington Post or SocialTimes has picked up your well-crafted, thought-provoking article, and you see your name in shining lights (or at least in the author byline).

Is your job done? No way.

Now is the time for you to stop gloating and get to work. Getting a great article published in a reputable publication is only half the battle; if you stop there, you are not only being disrespectful to your readers, you are doing yourself and your brand a disservice.

Here are three ways to follow through on an article that has been published.

1. Promote conversation

If you’ve written an interesting piece and had it published on a site with a decent readership, your article will likely attract a few comments. Some of these comments will be positive, and you should spend time and real effort reading these and thanking the people who wrote them. Don’t just thank them, but comment on what they liked within the article and expand on it—if they liked what you gave them to start, give them more!

You’ll also run into people who don’t care for your article. They may even hate it. Address these people as well, no matter how much you may want to ignore them. Don’t tell them they’re stupid for disagreeing with your article or that you hate them. Instead, a more mature tactic is to welcome their viewpoints and try to address anything they may have misunderstood about your article.

Addressing comments, both good and bad, promotes conversation and engages your readers on a deeper level. Guest bloggers who can take it just as well as they can dish it out are golden. A great example of this is an article one of my company’s clients, which was published on Under 30 CEO. My client had readers who agreed and others who disagreed, but he responded to every comment and it sparked great conversation.

2. Thank your sharers

It’s a great ego boost when you see that your article has drawn over 100 tweets. You get all warm and fuzzy inside, and you may even mention it to your co-workers.

Now it’s time to make those who shared your article feel just as special. There’s a great tool at your disposal, called Who ReTweeted Me, which you can use to see exactly who tweeted your article and easily thank them.

This way, you’ll make new friends on Twitter and encourage people to continue sharing your content. Everyone likes to feel acknowledged—you’re living proof!

3. Make sure the link ranks for your name

If you’re the author of a great article, you should be credited. Most publications will insert a link back to your website or your social media accounts in the author byline so readers can find out more about you.

Go one better: sign up for BrandYourself.com and include the link to the article in your optimized links. That one small move will help the article rank higher in Google search results for your name. BrandYourself.com is a free service, so there’s no excuse not to sign up and start making the most of your posts.

Get more exposure for each post

Take these three steps after each of your articles is published, and you will gain more exposure with each one. You’ll also engage your community and up your attractiveness to publications looking for guest contributors. And what’s more appealing to a guest blogger than another opportunity to blog?

Kelsey Meyer is the VP of Digital Talent Agents, an online PR firm dedicated to helping entrepreneurs, authors, consultants, corporate leaders and experts establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry.

About Guest Blogger
This post was written by a guest contributor. Please see their details in the post above.
Comments
  1. Hey Kelsey,

    Great post! I’m checking out brandyourself.com, I actually was unfamiliar with that site until now.

    I’ve just started guest posting. Had my first ever guest post go live last week, I have another scheduled to go live, and I’m working on getting others as well, so I always appreciate the pointers.

    Thanks!
    -Brock

    • We can create only 3 links using BrandYourself.com (free service). If we’ve to submit unlimited links, we must have to be a premium member, duh!

  2. It’s the actionable posts that I care about. Link to resources, like these, is exactly what I need. perfect.

  3. Fantastic article, Kelsey

    I used to write guest posts and just sit back and wait for traffic. Then one day it occurred to me that I could start sharing my guest posts and that made such a HUGE difference. I love it. Now my guest posts are shared like crazy, where before they barely got a visit.

    Thanks for the tips.

    Kimberly

  4. Good tips, especially following up with all the comments on the post. I hadn’t heard of Brand Yourself. I’ll check them out (even though their primary testimonial quote comes from Fox News!)

  5. thanks nice tips

    regards
    -arnoldwebs.com

  6. I agree; promoting a conversation on your blog posts is important, as well as thanking people for sharing. Hint hint… :))

  7. Great advice, it’s really helpful and useful information too. I plan on using this information. My link already ranks for my names, and I’ve done number two also so now I only need to work on #1.

  8. Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts on ProBlogger. I love this site and will continue to read it and gain valuable insite. I would love any feedback if anyone disagrees with some of the points in this article let’s chat!

  9. Wow these are awesome services I didn’t know about!

    I have my Tweet button set up to mention me when someone tweets my post, and I always thank those who do. I didn’t know about that Brand Yourself service though, and I’m sure my articles don’t rank for my own name as of yet. I could definitely use that tool!

    Thanks a bunch,
    -Gabe

  10. Hi Kelsey,

    We should treat guest posts as we treat our posts. Promote, engage and thank all commetors and share’ers, as this forms the foundation on which powerful connections are made. Excellent tips.

    I promote my guest posts and intent to develop a strong relationship with the blog owner. I added value to their blog and the person was kind enough to offer me the opportunity to do so. Sounds like the beginning of a prospering relationship.

    Thanks Kelsey!

    Ryan

  11. Well said Kelsey.

    Apart from join in the conversation by answering every single comment, it is also essential to prepare a pillar post that is similar to the topic that you discussed in the guest blog. So, when the readers visit your site, the first thing they read is the pillar post you prepare especially for them, which will greatly help to increase the conversion (email signup or RSS or any link you would like them to visit).

    Cheers,
    Ming

  12. Hi Kelsey!

    I agree with you on the point of promote sharers and that’s an essential part because that’s how you get to know about your readers and they will be checking that you answering their each tweet and conversioning when needed. Its all about joining the conversation and responding to the comments increases your credibility on internet.

  13. Short but comprehensive article of getting the attentions of the readers on your guest post. Follow up plays a huge role on getting the attention of your readers and benefiting the full potential of your guest post by converting readers into regular visitors.

  14. Wonderful advice! Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts on ProBlogger. I’m a new blogger myself, I love this site and will continue to visit it.

    I would love any idea or technical support for a new blogger like me. Thank you for your good work, to me it’s appreciated and I plan on using this information.

  15. i love guest posting, and spend a lot of time sharing my guest posts – on social media, in our newsletter, etc. it’s your responsibility to help spread the word! the site for whom you’ve guest posted will be glad for your extra efforts. great advice here!

  16. Hi Kelsey,

    Thanks for an awesome post with a lot of pointers. I have been writing guest posts for a while now and I must add a few things that I have learned:

    – Always always add a byline about yourself and a couple of links to your great articles. Even if the host hasn’t explicitly asked for it. I can’t tell you the number of times my post has been published without so much as a link to my blog…forget about a flattering intro. I had to intervene and ask the host to add a link after the post went live. Don’t leave it to the host’s common sense to highlight your blog and your popular posts. Like we see so many other times – common sense is pretty uncommon.
    On the other hand, as a host we should show the courtesy of either writing a good intro of our guests or at least asking them for a byline and adding it to the article. We are getting a free post from a fellow blogger, the least we could do is introduce them properly to our readers.

    – I always make it a point to promote my guest post same way as mine. If I find something worth written and published then its worth promoting as well. It takes time but in my mind its well spent time.

    By the way, I signed up for brandyourself. Seems like a great resource. I wish it had more options for free users. It seems like it only allows you to add 3 links to your blog.

  17. Good one Kelsey! I am not aware of brandyourself.com, but looking at it seems helpful. I am compiling my tutorials to send to different blogs for guest post, hoping to gather more exposure to my blog. Thanks for the list, it will be helpful!

  18. Points well taken! Good advice for all writers out there.

  19. Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and
    wished to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts.
    After all I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again very soon!

  20. Hi. I had started my blog a month ago and I am planning to make a blog post. Is it ok to start guest posting if I have fewer articles in my blog? Thanks for this tip and for the comments above, it gives me some ideas on how to start working with it.

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