Let me share a top blogging secret with all of you. Do you know what most of the successful blogs out there have in common? Well, they’ve all invited guest bloggers to write for their blogs. Let me make one thing clear for you, guest bloggers are not made for successful blogs only. They can do a great job to turn a less popular blog into one of the most popular in a short span of time. If you plan to achieve success with your blog quickly, it's a good idea to consider accepting guest posts from other bloggers.
But accepting guest bloggers or writers for your blog is not something that you can do without careful consideration. It’s important to make sure that the guest authors you choose possess adequate expertise to address the specific needs of your blog’s readers or target audience.
[tweet_box design=”box_08″]5 Key Tactics the Pros Use for Finding the Perfect Guest Blogger[/tweet_box]
I’m a guest blogger myself. Therefore, I can pretty well tell you what qualities you need to look out for while selecting guest writers for your blog. Let’s have a look.
Essential Qualities You Need to Look for in a Guest Blogger
#1. Niche Expertise
While choosing a guest writer, the very first thing you should check out is their expertise around a particular niche. The quality of a writer’s guest post actually depends on the kind of expertise or topic specialization they carry. There’s a lot of difference between a ‘freelance writer’ and a ‘niche expert’. You need to work with a guest writer who really knows about the stuff they talk about.
Do you want to work with a ‘freelance writer’ or someone that’s an expert in a specific niche? This is for you to decide!
#2. Social Media Profile
Working with guest authors can also prove to be a great traffic booster for your blog. Think what happens when you choose a guest blogger that has around 35,000 followers on Twitter, over 1,000 connections on LinkedIn and more than 3,000 friends on Facebook. You can use their network to promote your blog posts and attract a good amount of traffic quickly.
So, it’s wise to have a look at the social media profiles of a guest blogger before you choose to work with them.
#3. Knowledge of SEO
A writer that’s a niche expert may not always be technically proficient too. For example, a travel writer may not have any idea about how using the right kind of keywords can increase the visibility of a blog in search engines. They may not know the difference between a ‘short URL’ and a ‘long URL’. If you accept a guest author that’s also well versed with SEO, it can save you plenty of time and money that you’ll otherwise spend optimizing the posts.
#4. Style of Writing
Every blog has its own tone or style of writing. Likewise, writers too have their own writing styles. In any case, you can’t choose a guest blogger whose style of writing conflicts with the original tone of your blog.
Writing style requirements may also vary depending on the kind of niche your blog caters to. So, make sure you get what you’re actually looking for from a guest writer. Otherwise, you can quickly displease your blog’s readers and drive them away.
One important thing that you should always keep at the top of your mind is that web users need ‘actionable content’. You need to think about what readers should be doing as soon as they finish reading a blog post.
#5. Own Blog
I would suggest – ‘Avoid hiring guest writers who don’t have a blog of their own’. All the professional guest bloggers I’ve come across also run self-hosted blogs of their own. Many have more than one. The best part is that you can gather vital information about a guest writer’s credibility, experience, expertise and style of writing by looking at their blog.
BONUS VIDEO:
If you are using WordPress as your preferred blogging platform, inviting guest to write on your blog is quite simple. Take a look at this video on Inviting Guest Bloggers on WordPress.
Recommended reading:
- Does Guest Blogging Really Build Traffic? The Stats say Yes!
- The Guest Blogging Survival Guide
- How to Diversify Your Blog Content with Different Forms of Expert Interviews
Excellent tips! I always look at the style of the writing on the blog I want to guest on. If the blog has a “popular posts” list, I always look at the posts to see what kind of information would work well on that particular blog, how many Tweets and “thumbs up” it has.
Definitely, the style of writing can speak volumes about a blog. It’s really important that you allow only those guest posters whose tone of writing doesn’t conflict with the style your blog actually stands for.
Glad you liked the tips, Tom.
Obaidul,
This is really a key point you raise.
Not accepting guest bloggers that dont’ have a blog.
It should almost be one of the bloggining 10 commandments.
Also,
Don’t let the social proof experience of the guest blogger weight to much in your decision making
As people some people are unknown – and can surprise you.
I agree with Tom, excellent tips. In addition to the SEO and Social advice, I’d say that utilizing the rel=author tag is going to be extremely important in the future. It already helps with click through rates for the webmaster, but now guest bloggers can actually build some Google-recognized online reputation.
Great post there , these are good tips only if you are looking to post in blogs like problogger and high end blogs , for me my normal posts get accepted in pr3-4 sites.
i think have a own blog and niche expertise are main points to get traffic from other blogs.
These are great tips! I have been getting a lot of requests for guest posts on my blog and more and more of them are not people that I am familiar with so I’ve been figuring out what works and what doesn’t. I like your tips because I can use them to qualify guest authors with more ease. Thanks!
I hope to see guest posts on your blog very soon!
Hiring guest bloggers that own their own blog is the “best” point in this article.
Couldn’t agree more. The last thing you want to do is hire a “so-called” guest guy who doesn’t even write a good article.
As I think style of writing is one of the most important factor for any guest blogger. If the style should reach the heart of the reader to attract and impress them. It comes with the experience of writing.
The SEO knowledge is a must have point for any blogger. They would know how to handle keywords in a guest post. Anyway the points you brought up are great.
If you’re consistent with the style of writing on your blog, you can quickly create an emotional attachment with the readers.
Thanks for commenting, Sajith.
Hi Obaidul,
I haven’t considered yet to open for guest posting in myown blog. But I really like to have them for next year blogging plan.
For now, I am a guest blogger :). And I found very strong tips from you about “actionable content”. That’s so true … this important factor that bring me to get 7 guest blogging acceptance in high rank blog.
That sounds good!
And don’t forget to invite me when you begin. 🙂
These are really true, we all know that there are many blogger around the world who doesn’t have this quality. you have proven to us how important to have good qualities whenever you need to blog or to share brilliant idea to others.
Hi Obaidul,
Spot on!
The thing I like most? Your tips come from a place of authority. Nope, you are not desperately chasing guest bloggers.
You know your blog is a valuable portal, and you will give away a piece of that portal only to folks who know the value of your blog.
This attracts more readers and of course, both parties prosper if you hold this mindset.
Thanks for sharing!
Ryan
Absolutely, guest posting is a win-win situation for both the parties.
Thanks for your comment, Ryan!
Wonderful tips indeed!
Though I haven’t yet started with guest posts, something that I need to really soon – I do get a lot of people asking to guest post on my blog. I still need to chalk out things to get that chalked out as well.
I think it matters a great deal that the guest blogger you allow on your blog is known to you or has his or her own blog, so that you can know more about them before allowing them to guest post on your blog. And it always helps if they have a lot of fan following or are well connected on the social media too.
These wonderful tips would help a great deal. 🙂
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Those are some interesting thoughts. I can say that I haven’t done any of that for the one blog I actually allow guest posts on. I read the content, check to see if it’s original, verify some of what they say, and either approve or not. Since most of the requests are for existing websites that may not necessarily be their own, I haven’t worried about it. I do have a guest posting policy listed, but I might need to think about some of what you’ve stated above.
Glad you liked the tips, Mitch!
Awesome tips Obaidul and I truly agree with you. Having this qualities would really make someone’s blog standout
Hi Obaidul,
thanks for the nice tips. I agree with you.
If I may suggest something else, every guest blogger should also say something personal, as it has been discussed many times about blogging, SEO or internet marketing.
And then a duty should be to respond to the comments of his own guest post: I have seen articles in my blog, with guest bloggers who do not visit the article page at all.
Obviously, I take note of who fulfills the rules of a good guest bloggers and those who do not, for any future requests.
You’re absolutely right, Erik. If your personality doesn’t shine through your writing, you are yet to become a writer.
Thanks.
Great post Obaidul, the guest blogging is the beneficial for both sides, the guest author and blog owner. One of the best qualities is to know your niche (subject) of writing, since people want to know more from people that have experience and more knowledge.
thanks for sharing
Hi,
Great article, I have always have been the niche expert believer and would continue to be the same. And we should not forget keyword research when providing articles for other sites too.
Nice tips out here! To be honest, once the blog is famous, the guest post doesn’t really have to be on a specific niche. Check out ComLuv! I mean…you can write about anything there, right?
Hi Obaid!
Its been great compilation of list analysing the guest writer and I think the most important factor to check is that knowledge of SEO and writing style matters a lot than the having blog off their own. I am always checking the writers by taking personal interviews and writing them four or five testing article to check the writing style and using of the keywords provided to him.
These are some Fab tips. I’m gonna keep them in mind while preparing my next guest posts.
Hi Obaidul Haque. I have just started accepting guest Bloggers on my blog, but as my blog isn’t very famous so It isn’t easy for me to get guest Bloggers. It doesn’t matter what qualities of guest Blogger is! We have to look at our own blog too that will we get a guest Blogger to write for us or no.
Thanks for the article anyway.
These are the five qualities of EVERY blogger who wants to be successful. I should take the time to do more guest posts to increase my exposure.
I have read a lot about guest blogging lately. So far I have not done any guest blog posts – yet.
Inviting another blogger (paid or not) to write a great post on my blog would be something like sitting next to a person driving *your* car. I would suggest doing some research on the guest blogger and to ask for credentials.
It works the other way around to. If you are hired to do a post you *must* investigate the way the blog you are going to write for works. What do the readers / clients normally expect from that blog.
Writing something that is totally incomparable with the original ‘message’ the blog is sending out can be a disaster..
// Jan
Thanks for the five tips! I would have loved to read a little more about a guest blogger having a niche. Perhaps on what are some of the most interesting niches to readers. Of course, your one point on having a style is important as well. A good blog will feature unique writers.
Well, I might soon write a new guest on a topic related to ‘choosing niches’ or ‘niches that are most appealing to readers’.
So, stay tuned! 🙂
And thanks for your comment, Elena.
Those qualities that you have mentioned are must. At the moment there are so many so you will need to distinguish from the perfect from the not so perfect. The perfect guest writer must know SEO and will have the ability to drive traffic to the article.
Thanks for your visit, Shalu.
I totally agree with your perspective. From my point of view, guest posting is a serious matter, not jut an easy way to gain a valuable backlink. Therefore, we should write useful posts in areas we have a great knowledge.
I have sent a guest Blogging request to MS. Ileane ones and she replied me quickly and she asked from me about my blog, my old guest posts and some other questions. As I am a new Blogger so I didn’t write any Guest post yet that is why she rejected my request and said that she will accept guest Blogging request from me after sometime because “Success doesn’t comes in one day r even in one month”.
After reading this post now I think she did absolutely right by rejecting my request!!
She replied to me that’s a lot for me. I will learn and improve my writing first than I know she will accept me. I lover BasicBlogTips anyway.
That’s exactly the reality. Without having some experience in guest posting and knowledge about a topic you want to cover, it’s almost impossible to get your guest article published on a popular blog.
Thanks for your comment, Ehsan.
Yeah Obaid, Now I know it that I have to start with small Blogs first.
Thanks for your reply
Nice tip – you usually hear about why you should guest post but not why you should have guest bloggers. You must let go of ego too if you have guest bloggers. It’s a great way to get new viewers and topics into your blog. I’ve had several on my blog when I went on vacation and it was so nice not to worry about posting and I knew the styles of the writers I invited to guest post. I would do it again.
Yes. Hiring guest bloggers is an excellent way of keeping your blog frequently updated even during your absence.
Thanks for your visit, Lisa!
Hi Obaidul,
This post is very timely for me. I will be publishing a guest post on my blog for the first time this week. The person who is writing the guest post has all of the qualities that you’ve mentioned in this post. I am really looking forward to sharing this post with my readers because my guest poster is awesome. 🙂
Number 5.5 not only should they have their own blog their blog should be ranking in niche they operate in. It would be a huge plus if guest blogger was actually more successful than you at blogging.
Useful and unique points, Guest blogger can certainly increase your blog exposure if he/she has strong presence on social media network. In this scenario, both blogger and publisher has win-win situation.
Not only can guest bloggers boost your social ranking, that post is helpful to him or her, too. Also, the blog owner is always grateful for a break. Like you said, it’s a win-win for all.
Great tips! Reading your post gave me a lot of idea how to find a perfect guest blogger. I really agree with you about the expertise that a guest blogger should have since they are also holding the reputation of you site and prevent them to be mark as spam.
Hi,
I think this post is one of the best I’ve read in a long time about guest blogging. I would like to have some guest bloggers on my site, but wasn’t sure how to go about it. Thanks so much for this information. I’ll be bookmarking this to refer back to. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know. Thanks. Sally
You forget #6 Comes back to reply to comments rather than posting his guestpost and then disappearing into the night. 🙂
Yeah, Replying to comments.
Helps keep aged posts alive and kicking.
Maybe he’s resting, replying tires people out.
If you plan to achieve success with your blog quickly, it’s a good idea to consider hiring guest bloggers.
Hi Obaidul,
Thank you for the five tips. I wanted to relay the impotance of your 5th tip. When I iniatially started my search engine optimisation blog I accpected virtually anyone who expressed an interest in guest posting. Ultimately, this turned into a massive failure since I ended up with many bloggers simply attenmpting to promot their own products and services, but adding little value to the blog itself. I will admit my failure here and rather than allow guest bloggers simply elected to write all the content for the blog myself. I intend to start a blog centered around guest bloggers in the future. I strongly advise others to take into account your 5th tip. I will certainly factor in the other 4 tips as well. Thank you for the informative post.
Quite a well written post. You are right we should not hire guest bloggers who don’t have a own blog.
can give me some tips to improve unique style of writing for every blog niches.
Hello Obaidul! I appreciate your say. I also think that a simple content can be enjoyable for it’s nice presentation and I think it’s the key quality of a blogger what motivates the readers to follow the post entirely. Thanks for sharing your opinion.
If you hire a guest blogger for your blog, make you he/she is capable enough for commenting relevant to a specific blog topic. Exchanging ideas with other bloggers too is essential.
Nice tips, thank you, Obaidul.
Besides this, I often check comments to the post. If they are informative and well-formulated and if there are a lot of replies from the writer, than this blog is still alive and writer is interested in his readers’ opinion.
That tip on checking their social media profile is excellent, I hadn’t thought of that.
You are obviously talking largely about paying for guest writers, but I’m wondering what you think about sites like my postrunner and myblogguest? Do you think they are worthwhile for finding content, or would you steer clear?
Thanks.
Guest blogging helps you branding your blog. I think, this is important for bloggers to get backlinks as well as building brand awareness. Guest Posts help in two unique ways.
Awesome!
I am trying my luck on guest blogging. I hope this will help me big time.
Great post! I think it’s important to choose guest bloggers who have a blog of their own however I feel that if they have enough experience I will omit this requirement. Only because blogging can be time consuming and writers who focus more on writing for others may not have the time to maintain a blog but still have exceptional blogging/writing skills.
Great post out there. But I have some doubt about point 3 “Knowledge of SEO”. I have a friend who is really a good blogger but he’s really bad at SEO. But luckily he outsource it to outsider and focus on writting good quality content instead.
Well explained!
If done correctly, Guest Blogging can work like wonders (Y)