You see the value in guest posting, but how do you make it all happen? It takes 5 steps:
1) Be a reader
It’s important you be familiar with the blog you approach for a guest post.
At the basic level, you need to know what the blogger writes about and what kind of guest posts usually get published.
More importantly, you need to look at the most successful posts of that blog, looking for hints.
2) Write the guest post
I won’t belabor the point, but it should go without saying that your guest post be worth caring about. Duh.
The interesting part about this step is where in the process it comes; before you contact the blogger.
3) Send the guest post to the blogger
Your guest post is going to be enough of a headache to read, so don’t bother writing an essay introducing yourself. The biggest concern I have with allowing guest posters for my own blog is not how nice they are, but whether or not their post is going to be kick ass. There’s only one way to find that out.
4) Promote the guest post
You didn’t think your job was done, did you? One of the great things about guest posts is the cross-promotion gained by leveraging both bloggers’ social networks.
The last thing you want is your guest post to be a flop, especially if it’s the first time you’ve written for the blog.
Anyway, guest posting is a perfect opportunity to promote someone else and demonstrate your willingness to leave your blogging bubble. You can’t go wrong with good karma.
It bears mentioning that spam is not welcome! Promote your guest post with the same care and thoughtfulness that you would your own blog.
Whenever I guest post, I make sure to tell my “regulars” through Twitter, because I know they’ll want to hear about it.
5) Stalk the comment section
Just as you should promote your guest post the way you would a post on your own blog, treat every comment on the guest post as if it were on your blog.
Every commenter took the time to read your post, and is a potential subscriber for you to win over. Respond directly and personally to the thoughtful posts, and as early and often as you can.
The bigger and faster the comment section grows, the happier the blogger.
When a commenter is particularly insightful and engaging with your content, shoot him or her an email with a detailed response (or rebuttal).
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