This is a guest post written by Cat Nilsson. Want to contribute? Check out the 2018 publishing calendar.

The marketing landscape is constantly evolving. Today, a vast majority of marketing strategies have become mainly content driven. Content now includes everything from infographics to surveys, eBooks and more. Best of all, great content can (and should) be published across multiple sites and platforms. An increasingly important tactic for creating content and reaching a broader audience is guest posting. In this article, find out how to grow your business through the use of guest blogging.

Basic overview

Guest post content marketing is an underused business strategy that’s sole purpose is to create high-quality content in order to be published on other sites and social media platforms. The key is to make sure that the content being created will offer another website’s readership some type of value. This will help a business to reach other audiences, instead of solely marketing to one, as well as enable a brand’s name to gain more exposure online.

1. Find the right guest post ideas

When coming up with guest post content ideas, start to think outside of the box; the more creative, the better. In order to generate fresh, new content, you want to brainstorm ideas around topics that are highly useful and informative for your ideal coaching clients, those looking to get coaching, as well as important pain points that should be addressed. If you’re looking for content ideas, tools such as Answer the Public or Ahrefs Content Explorer are easy to use and very insightful.

Look into what others in the industry are writing about. It is helpful to draw inspiration from companies that are also creating non-branded blog posts.

Consider these three examples. In certain industries that may not be super intriguing, but are relevant to everyone, such as retirement, a blog post like this one can be very beneficial. Whereas someone interested in making a career change may find an article like this useful.

It’s also important to consider that blogs are not the only place to feature guest post content. Other great places to keep in mind are social media platforms or other third-party sites, offline publications like magazines. You also want to consider producing live content, like webinars, workshops and teleclasses.

2. Don’t be overly promotional

As a business, it can be difficult to generate content that isn’t too self-promotional and that is considered neutral enough to post on another site. If the content feels more like a sales ad, your marketing team will have a hard time finding someone who will be willing to publish it. Here is a guide to guest blogging that explains everything you should know before guest posting.

It also is possible to repurpose content that has been used previously on a coaching blog or site for other guest posts. For example, create several shorter articles from an eBook or try to integrate engaging videos or infographics into a post.

3. Research and reach out to sites with similar audiences

Time is money. Don’t waste it reaching out to other blogs that don’t fit your target niche. The primary business goal from guest posting should be to establish thought leadership in a certain industry. It is vital that your guest posts are reaching the consumers that are most likely to be interested in your services.

Be sure you have a good understanding of the website and the audiences that you are writting for. Know their mission and the values of their readers. Work to create content that adds value, while fitting into their tone and style.

Also, make sure that the site hasn’t already written about a certain topic or try to think about it from a different angle, to ensure one of your guest post ideas will be accepted.

4. Establish a guest post content schedule

Many businesses already have content that is in the process of being created. Guest posting can be integrated with other content marketing efforts easily by creating a schedule that is easy to follow. For example, set a goal to create four blog posts for the business’ site and one post for a third-party site each month. Be careful to not reuse the content word-for-word, as there would be a duplicate content issue.

Many companies have not taken advantage of guest posting, much to their detriment. According to Orbit Media’s Blogger Survey, 34.5% of bloggers never guest post.

5. Accept guest bloggers for your site

Accepting guests posts for your site aids in building up content and generates more shares, all of which helps grow a business. However, don’t just accept anyone; create industry-specific guidelines that will help to establish what types of posts and topics will be expected.

Another idea to consider is to establish a content partnership, where both parties publish, share and comment on each other’s content.

6. Be active after a guest post has been published

Actively read, comment on and share the content of websites that align well with the business. Whenever possible, participate in roundups, podcasts and webinars.

Benefits of guest blogging

Increased traffic

Site traffic has the potential to increase exponentially from gaining views on other websites. As traffic increases, other site conversion metrics may benefit, such as email capture, number of subscribers or social shares. More views also allows companies to test conversion rates and other metrics.

Establishing thought leadership

Through contributing to other well-known and authoritative sites, a brand will be recognized as a credible information source. Companies can leverage these placements to help grow consumer trust and loyalty. A great way to do this is by adding an “As Seen On” section of your site.

Future business connections

In addition to flexing your industry knowledge muscles, guest blogging is a great way to make important business connections that can be leveraged in the future, gain insight into how other companies are using content marketing for success and create networking opportunities that could potentially lead to lucrative deals.

Guest blogging is a way to show a brand’s expertise and to contribute to the larger community. Through guest posting, a brand is able to build upon its own audience by generating new leads, establishing credibility and enhancing its visibility online. By following these tips, guest posting can be a company’s most effective and least expensive content marketing tool.

Other ways to grow your business

Use social media publishing platforms, such as LinkedIn Publishing and Medium, in addition to the coaching business’ blog in order to re-publish guest post content for more views.

Present at conferences when possible. Create a presentation based on the business’ best content and present it at physical conference or in a webinar. This is a great way to generate more leads by creating an email database of potential customers.

About Cat Nilsson

Cat Nilsson is a Managing Editor at 365 Business Tips. She is an expert in content marketing and non-branded growth. She enjoys writing on a plethora of topics, from SEO to social media.

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