Guest blogging has been an activity some marketers have participated in for quite some time. Recently, however, you might have heard that it is not a worthwhile practice. As you might guess, there are both pros and cons associated with providing content this way. Before you decide whether or not you want to participate, here are a few things to consider.
What is Guest Blogging?
In a nutshell, guest blogging is when one blogger publishes their content on another blogger’s site. Why would you do this? Well, if you’re trying to build your brand or gain more attention to your own website, it can be beneficial to ‘ride on the coattails’ of another, more experienced, and more well-known blogger’s website traffic. Ideally, the relationship between the guest blogger and the host blogger should be mutually beneficial. In exchange for high quality, done-for-them content, the hosting blog will provide backlinks and exposure.
Pros and Cons of Guest Blogging
Pros
It Gets Your Name Out There
One of the biggest advantages to guest blogging is the fact that it exposes you to new readers. This is especially true when you write a post for a site that caters to a large audience. If you send out a newsletter of your own, chances are high that interested readers will subscribe. This is a zero-cost way to build your email list.
Diversifies Your Visitor Traffic
Search engines prefer to see your visitor traffic coming from a variety of reputable sources. Each incoming link to your own blog typically helps to boost your overall traffic in a gradual manner.
Increase Your Social Media Presence
Most blogs promote their posts on social media regularly and if the blogger you are guest posting on has a large following, it can be very beneficial to you. If you’ve written a high-quality article that will be interesting to your host blog’s readers, it is possible that it will be shared widely throughout social media channels.
Cons
Added Research
It can take some time to find the right blogs to guest blog on and acquire permission to do so. You don’t want to put your content on any old site that accepts guest blogs, but on ones that cater to the same audience as you do, are not in direct competition with you, have a good reputation, and have a steady flow of website traffic. You’ll also need to research the guest posts they already have on their blog so you can avoid repeating the same type of content that has already been covered.
Many Guest Blogging Opportunities are Unpaid
While things are improving in this area, the majority of guest blogging opportunities remain unpaid. It’s totally up to you to decide if your want to put in the time to write an informative post without getting paid for it.
Post May Not Be Published as Agreed
It’s very disappointing to write a guest post and send it to the person who’s agreed to publish it on his or her blog only to find out that it never got posted or got posted too late take advantage of trend-related or seasonal traffic. Although you might be able to find another blogger willing to post the content, it will take up your time in the process.
Done strategically, guest blogging can be extremely beneficial for both you and the blog accepting your guest posts. Remember, though, it’s extremely important to choose your guest blogging gigs carefully. Never post content on a site created expressly for guest blogging purposes. Even though it’s technically ok, Google could very well penalize your blog for doing so.
