There is no doubt that guest posting is the easiest way to get blog readers to your blog or onto your email list. In fact, it is the key to the success of almost all the popular bloggers on the web.
However, you need to do things right to make the most out of your efforts. If you haven't already, I recommend that you read this post about how to get people to read your blog post, which is really great. However, you need a lot more than a killer headline to keep people's attention.
You also have to have an Awesome Author's Bio to finish the deal!
After all, if your author's bio box sucks, you won't be seeing anyone come to visit, no matter how well your headline and article happens to be written. As I work with my coaching clients, read their guest posts, and try to help them improve their engagement, one consistent problem that I see is bio boxes that do them more harm than good.
This can easily be the most important thing that you write with your guest post, yet it is usually the part the has the least amount of thought or effort put into it. If you want to get blog readers to follow your links you have to keep their attention!
There are 3 Elements that you need to have in your resource box to really snag people's attention.
You need to tell them:
- who you are
- why they should listen to you
- Â include a call to action to check out your blog or website.
On top of that, to really make your bio stand out, and get the clicks, you need to spice it up a little, and make it something worth reading, and take action on.
Following these steps, you can get blog readers to click your links and check out what you have to offer on your own site.
Get Away from Bland and Boring Bios
Most of the time, the bio box is the most boring part of the guest post, but it should be your most interesting and engaging thing that you write. Here is an example of how most bio boxes read:
My name is John Doe. I blog about xyz at my blog XYZ BLOG. Thanks for reading my post.
Blah blah blah…
zzzzzz…zzzzzz….
That puts me to sleep. No wonder people don't see any traffic from their guest posts!
Now, don't take me wrong here, it will get you some clicks to your site. But, it will lose most of the potential traffic that you can get. If you want engaged blog readers, you need to be engaging, and jazz up the wording quite a bit.
Make it interesting, and grab people's attention. Slap them with something humorous, engaging, and helpful to them. Tell them why they should listen to you in the first place. Otherwise, people will ignore you and go elsewhere.
Get Blog Readers to Click! Tell Them What To Do
One of the biggest mistakes that most people make is simply not telling people what you want them to do. If you simply say “ I blog at XYZ Blog” you are going to get people to pass right over you. People online don't want to figure things out for themselves (most of the time anyway…).
You have to tell people what action you want them to take. Instead of saying “I blog at XYZ Blog” you want to tell them what you want them to do. Include a call to action like ” Get More Amazing FREE strategies at XYZ BLOG” and make sure you use that all important Anchor text with your keyword in place.
WOW Your Readers With an Amazing FREE Giveaway
One problem that I see a lot of people doing is that they link to a sales page for their products. Now, this is a great way to get a few one time sales, but if you really want to grab the most people, and build the relationship, Get them on your email list, or into your free stuff instead!
Offer something for free, and link to an opt in for your list. You can even put together something special that is JUST for the people who find you through that particular blog. Your free stuff should be awesome, amazing and worth paying for, not some rehashed PLR crap, like what most people give away.
Potential give away suggestions: Interview the blog owner that you are guest posting on, put together a special report targeted to the needs of that blog, or make a video showing something really cool. What ever you do, give something away that adds value to the community, and brands your business with your expertise. Also, it helps to use something that they can take action on and see immediate results. This way, they see that you can help them while you still have their attention.
Use Landing Pages To Get Blog Readers Attention
One thing that I learned through PPC is how to set up specific landing pages for specific keywords, rather than setting up one page and doing loads of ads to that one page. You can learn more about Landing pages that get blog readers to buy at Search Engine Journal. You don't have to pay for the traffic to get these results.
You can do the same thing with your Guest posts. Rather than just having a random page that you link to for all of your guest posts, set up a landing page with a special bonus just for people who find you through that page.
I use landing pages for my forum signature links, guest posts, profile links in social communities, and everywhere that I want to target specific people who come to my site. Check out this quick video where I show off one of my landing pages.
I did that one with a forum, but I do the same thing with my guest posts as well. I have done it for a long time with my forums, and started testing it with my guest posting over the last few weeks, and it has totally skyrocketed my list, engagement through guest posts, and helped brand my authority, bypassing a TON of competition.
Once you set this up, you can optimize the page for the people who come to you from that specific site, and you will be more engaged with those readers. If the blog you guest posted on has their own product, you can include an offer with a special bonus to buy their product through you, or use the landing page to get them on your free email list.
“But, I thought Guest Posting was About SEO Rankings”
I am glad you brought that up. That is a common mistake that people make. The fact is that guest posting is about engaging the community, and building relationships, although it can help you with your SEO as well. When you engage the community every step of the way, you will get blog readers to check out your site, and follow what you have to offer.
Most blogs will allow 2 links in your bio. If you do one link to your blog for SEO purposes, and one link to a landing page for that specific blog, you can get a TON of leads into your sales funnel and still get the SEO benefits.
As you do your guest posting bio, always keep in mind that guest posting is not about seo links, and more about branding yourself and the direct traffic that you can get. When you take this mindset, you will get a better direct connection with people, and you will be more interesting to potential leads.
Its time to get out there and start bending the web to your will. If you are still struggling to find sites that allow you to guest post on them, I recommend checking out this list of guest posting opportunites from IBlogZone, (an awesome blog that you should be reading anyway…)
Although these are IM related blogs, one thing that I have found is that if you just have a few guest posts that you can link to as a reference to a potential blog, it will help you get more guest posting opportunities, even in a different niche.
How do you get more traffic through your bio boxes? What kind of click throughs are you getting? share your experiences, questions, and comments below!
I think I need to work upon a Landing page for my site…useful tips. Have browsed many articles and love the info about effective blogging here.
It is something that I actually figured out by accident. I did the landing page Idea with one of my forums a few months back, and noticed my sales through that forum increased, almost over night. So, I started doing it with other forums, guest posts, and other places I go as well. Over all the landing pages have increased my conversions, and helped me to build my email lists.
Great post – I’m going to RT it. I just did my first guest post over at GrowMap:
http://bit.ly/n9rhAy
Care to check out my bio to see how I did 🙂
Hey, I was wondering if my bio is good or not, may be you can take a look at my blog and give me some advice. It took me a long time to craft it though. Now that you say about landing page, I’m going to plan how to do that just right, thanks for sharing this awesome information about bio!
Your bio looks good. Personally, I always write mine in first person, and it is like a mini conversation. I am introducing myself to the reader, and why they should listen to me. I don’t claim to be an expert, I am just extremely passionate about marketing and love talking about it. I would drop the EZA “expert thing, but thats up to you, and a personal dislike for EZA on my part (90% of their authors are “experts” )
The one thing I would look at is where are you linking to on your site. You have a free giveaway, link to a page about that. People clicking your bio want to know more about you, and this is where the landing pages come into play. that is your chance to tell people about you. You can use these to invite people to check out your other content (EZA, Hubs, Twitter, Fan Page, etc….) or to get your freebie.
One of the biggest impacts to mine has been puting together a freebie that is just flat out given away on the landing pages, with no opt in required. Usually that freebie is a teaser or a highly related topic that will get people onto my squeeze page or to one of my products.
Great, I will drop the EZA thingy and as for the landing page, I will have to plan it out, thanks for the advice! 🙂
Hi James,
Great post!
I just realized that I need to do so much more than I already am, as a freelance writer- after reading your awesome post! I had never given a thought to Landing Pages,which sure is great advice.
Thanks for sharing such an informative post 🙂
As a freelancer, talk about your services, and how people from that specific site can benefit the most from them. Try to relate to the tone of that blog, and get into the minds of your readers.
Hey James,
I have just been accepted for my first guest post on a blog and hope that my bio helps me get more exposure. And of course the article!
In the bio I link to my blog but also to a free report on list building. You are right about the community thing. Just networking and building relationships is far better than the SEO aspects. I find SEO takes too long anyway.
Its not the search engines that will be parting with money for your products and information but real people, so if you make a good first impression and a real connection with them.
You will have raving fans for a very long time
Craig
Hey Craig, that is so true. of course, SEO only takes so long when you are trying to do all of the work yourself. One of the biggest things that Guest posting has done for my blog is that it is getting people building natural links to my site, which is really what Google is all about anyway.
I have seen many things on-line saying you have to do this do that, this is dead, that does not work etc…….
In my mind I think they are all connected and what Internet Marketing really boils down to is Advertising! Provide good content and then that content will go viral and as you said everyone else will be giving you the backlinks you want.
I am still in the infancy of guest posting but it is something I am looking into a lot more
I here the “this is dead” all the time about various tactics. Usually you hear that when someone is trying to sell you something else. Honestly, Its the relationships you build that determine whether you succeed or not, the tactics we teach are just the various mediums you use to build those relationships.
I’ve only done two guest posts so far James but they have both received over 100 comments even though I did NOT have a very good bio. I’m really horrible at crafting those so do you suggest doing a different bio for guest posts then the one on your blog? I’ve yet to create one of those too. See, I’m still a work in progress.
Appreciate the tips and I’ll definitely be reviewing the posts you suggested in your article. I do love to learn and continue to improve my online presence.
Thank you James.
Adrienne
Hey Adrienne, Yes, I use a different bio, not just for guest posts vs my blog, but for each different site you guest post on. Part of it comes to getting to know a bit about the blogs you guest post on before guest posting. Write your bio in a tone that resonates with the readers. If they are used to humor, use that, if it is strictly professional, write that way. Always look to be unique yet mimic the style of the blog that you are posting on. This is a hard balance to find but when you do, it rocks.
Early on some of the guest posts I did got loads of comments but very few visitors to my site. Part of that is building your reputation on the blog itself.
Doing more guest posts on that blog will help brand yourself with those readers, and will get more clicks to your site.
One thing that I have realized is that we are ALL a work in progress. The worst thing that you can do is to wait until you are perfect. My blogs aren’t perfect, yet I still get more traffic and sales than others simply because I get out there and start promoting, then perfect it as I go.
Like anything, writing a good bio is something that will come with practice. Try writing out 10-15 different ones on your own, then share them with a few friends and see what they say. Feedback from people who are involved in your niche already will be best. The more you practice, the better you will get at it. Testing is also important. Try different ones, and see what gets the most clicks for you.
Thank you so much James for taking the time to really share that with me. I appreciate that and I see your point. Instead of just jumping all over the place I should do my best to stick with one blog and guest post several times there. I understand now how that can be a real benefit.
I’m going to work on those bio boxes now. You’ve really helped kick myself into gear and do a much better job of that from now on. I need to start with my own blog and work from there.
Again, thank you for taking the time to respond. It’s greatly appreciated.
Adrienne
Well, I do recommend guest posting on mutliple blog, but part of it is a matter of branding yourself. For example, I have about 5 blogs that I regularly contribute to, plus a lot of smaller blogs that I post on ocassionally. The more guest posting that I do, the more requests I get to post on other blogs.
Part of it is about your time too. How much time do you have to put into guest posting? If you have a ton of time, you could do 1 a day, and really kick your site into gear. however, most people are doing this part time while they work another job. if that is you, one or two a week is probably more reasonable. (Don’t forget, you also need time to respond to comments, and engage readers, so if you try to do too many at once, you won’t have time to work on your own site, and other tactics for generating traffic)
I recommend getting a few blogs that you contribute to regularly, say once a month or so. As you build your business, and go at it full time, you can ramp it up, if you have the time.
Something I often wrestled with is whether the bio link should goto an optin box or blog homepage, but from reading this I got an idea to possibly make it go to page on the blog that has an optin form on it descring a valuable free offer so I fullfill seo needs and list building efforts 💡
Most places will allow 2 links in your bio. do 1 to your home page for SEO and one to a landing page set up to get opt ins. that would give you the best benefit.
I went ahead and implemented this for the bio on my Don’t Shoot The Messenger guest post here on BasicBlogTips..tell me what you think?
Btw,
Thanks for informative comments you left on that same guest post as well 😉
There is so much information here, and I like the links. I checked out the link for guest blogging and marked a couple where I might be able to do guest blogging.
I am also going to go over my bio and see how I can make it better after reading this. Thanks so much for this article. Sally
Thanks for coming by Sally. That list is mainly for bloggers in the IM niche, although many IM bloggers are into personal development, so you can get some good qualified traffic that way. Like your post on how to be happy. I love using affirmations myself.
Hello, James,
I guess it only sounds easy to make a relevant bio, but in practice it takes some skills to do it correctly, so that the reader’s attention could be grabbed.
As for the other, I definitely have to work on setting up specific landing pages for specific keywords.
Like anything, practice is will make you better definitely. Not ALL of my bio’s knock it out of the park, but as I do more guest posting, I tweak and test, and watch how people react to get the maximum impact. One reason so many people fail is because they do something, because someone tells them to but they are too lazy to track the effectiveness, so they waste time on things not working for them.
TESTING and Practice are critical to long term success as a blogger.
Nice article and I think you made some very valid points about the Bio Box… And I do agree that guest posting shouldn’t be about SEO… there are better ways to do SEO or at least faster. Relationship building is key. But dude, you are really long winded 🙂
Thanks Donnie, I have often been told that I talk too much. This is actually one of my shorter posts 🙂 I have some over 2k words long.
I like your idea for linking to a free product. A lot of times I simply link to my homepage, but guest posts can be be a great way to begin a sales funnel and presell. I have one tip to add too:
If your bio box is just a few lines at the end of your post like an article in Ezine, you can take the last sentence of your article and make it the first sentence in your bio box to get more people to read it and thus click through.
Hey Ben, thanks for stopping by, and sharing that tip. I agree to a point, but most blogs now have you sign up as a user. You will have the same bio for every post that you do on their site, which limits the ability to use a sentence from your article, unless everything you write is on the same topic, which would get old after a while.
IF every post you do has a separate bio, thats a great strategy, but in most cases it doesn’t work with guest posting.
Personally, I like to reference the information in my bio-box at the end of my article.
That way, not only do I get credit for a link, I also increase my click thru rate.
Great read, James…:)
Mark
Yes, that works best Mark, but only when you are allowed a different bio box for each article you submit. Most Blogs now have you set up a contributor’s profile, and your Bio there shows up on all of your articles. Unless you just rehash the same article over and over again, which would probably get you kicked out, you really can’t do that.
great tips, i will surely add new tips of Bio box in my post.
Well said.
As the main aim of doing guest post is getting new traffic for our site or blog and this comes from only one way that is from AUTHOR BIO box.
So this small box really plays an very important role inorder to promote our site if done correctly and catchy.
Thanks a lot for this important sharing and suggestion concern to this.
hey Meg, thanks for your kind words. it really does help to have a great bio at the end of your articles, especially if you really want to woo people to your site.
Hi James,
Wonderful tips about the bio section of a blog! Often it is not given the attention it needs. Thanks for putting up this article for us.
Hello James. Zzzzz indeed! Guest posting is not about backlinks, for me, it’s about getting your name out there and becoming a trusted source of information. Of course, c all to action won’t hurt 😉 I’m going to consider throwing something quirky and funny in there, just for good measure.
Thats the ticket. hit them with some good humor, and it really helps especially if you used some in the post as well.
The Bio box is no doubt important. Not nearly as important though as the quality of the content that it is published alongside of. I can see a mediocre Bio box still getting plenty of click throughs from an article that really makes people think or really opens their eyes.
I cannot see a good Bio box increasing click throughs all that much from an article that is below average quality.
I guess maybe that depends a lot on the positioning of the bio box. If it is at the top of the article like it is here on Ileane’s blog, then maybe a great one bio would influence the reader’s perception more. But, you are going to have a hard time convincing a reader who just read a low quality article, that you are a super genius or expert about anything.
Hey TEd, that is absolutely right of course, your bio wont do you any good at all if you have a bad article. However, if you have a bad bio, combined with a great article, you will lose a lot of great traffic. a combination of both is needed to really get the most out of your guest posting.
Also use a good avatar on your bio page. You can write a great bio but if your profile photo is poor it won’t make a good first impression. Make sure the portrait is clear and bright and it has a tight crop as it will normally appear very small on screen. Don’t use cartoons or logos- just looks like you are hiding behind it!
Hey event. that is really great tip. thanks for sharing. SO many people use a logo or cartoon for their avatars. its a joke. your guest post is about you and should always reflect that in every aspect of your post including the images you use.
I just wrote my best post, in my opinion, as a guest post. I decided if I was going to offer content for another blog, I should give my best. It’s funny, I spent twice the time I normally spend writing a blog post and didn’t gave the bio a moment’s thought. In fact, I just had to go back and look at it because I couldn’t even remember including a bio at all.
I can see how these tips could help in article marketing as well.
Hey Brian, thanks for your comments. When I do article marketing through other methods, I don’t use the landing pages because those are more for SEO than for direct traffic. otherwise I agree, the same tactics work really well there too!
James,
Great post.
I have not done any guest posting but also do not have a bio written for either my blog or for guest posting.
I think I need to spend some time on this and at least have an idea of what I would do if in the future I do a guest post. I also need to write one for my blog.
I found your information very helpful to get me started in the right direction. I have already checked out several of the sites you recommended.
Thank you.
Dee Ann
Thanks for the insight Illeane. This was one of the field where I never concentrated. Will surely work upon this so that all my visitors will no miss to read my BIO 🙂
James – this is some helpful stuff, thanks! I never thought that a bio could be THAT important so I’ve never paid too much attention to mine, but I think a little makeover is definitely in order now. I appreciate the advice! 😀
I can see the importance of the Bio or About now. I usually don’t have such a page but now I realize that I also visit other people’s about and bio pages and if I consider that interesting I may stick around. So its a definitive MUST, whatever the niche. Just one of that many points you need to check if you want any online success.
As the main goal of creating good posts is getting new traffic for our site or blog and this comes from only one way that is from AUTHOR BIO box . So this small box really plays an very important role in order to promote our site if done correctly and catchy .
Thanks for all the insights you shared here, James. I’m now re-assessing my about page in my blog keeping your pointers in mind. Would definitely use this once I’m able to complete my drafts for my guest blog posts as well.
Solid advice for anyone. What it really comes down to (at least for me) is being genuine! Let your personality shine through your biography. Don’t be boring, and like you mention – “entice” the readers by sharing a call to action.
By bringing these methods into Twitter and other social networks, I really saw an increase in follow-through traffic. You’re making me want to go through and check all my bios now! 😉
James,
Thanks for these tips on how to have a better author bio box. I just added a strong call to action in my author bio and am strongly considering using landing pages moving forward. This is the second post today I have read that advises using landing pages to increase conversion rates. There is a lot to learn if we want to be effective communicators but with sites like Basic Blog Tips the information is out here for anyone who wants it!
I must say I’ve never actually thought too much about what I put into my bio box, but I guess it is essential, especially if you are guest posting and want to get people to click through to your site.
I like to keep my bio’s light hearted and amusing, avoiding the “bla bla zzz” as you put it
hmm….Great Post ! Gravatar plays an important Role !
I believe that a good bio instills a great respect about the writer in the reader.
good one!
There are times that bloggers get overwhelmed in writing a great post and fail to introduce themselves to the readers. It is vital that you write a good bio so people will recognize you. In that way people will keep on coming back to you. When blogging you don’t only promote your brand but yourself too.
Excellent post!
Could you please send me in a direction where I could get help to design an author box similar to the author box of the author of this post?
I have an author box, but I think it’s just the styling thereof that I’m not satisfied with.
Thanks a mil!
Hi Ruan, I’ll step in here to answer your question. The author bio box here on Basic Blog Tips is part of the Thesis Awesome Blogskin I use. If you have Thesis theme, this is a fantastic skin for it. You can read more about it here: https://basicblogtips.com/thesis-blogskin-sale.html
Hi Ileane,
Thanks for replying; much appreciated. I am using the Thesis Theme yes, but what I have on my site is through my own customizations, and took my days and hours. Surely you can think that to use another skin just to get the nice author box would be a little extreme.
There must be an easier way though and I’ll keep on searching. Thanks a mil for the suggestion though!
Take care!
Ruan – try the Better Bio Box plugin. I think that’s the name of the one I had before I got Thesis Awesome. Let me know if you can’t find it.
Thanks for the info Ileane! I’ll go and have a look. 🙂
If you have a blog, guest posting seems to be mandatory. If you don’t have time to guest post, why blog? A blog is no good without respect and visitors–guest blogging gets you both.
You have shared a lot of valuable information here. I especially like your blah, blah, blah….. for the author bio. Your point is well taken. We need to take humor seriously!
lol this is awesome…because I read your bio & loved it before seeing this article. I first saw you on another article. Genius 🙂 Thanks James. I think it’s time I spice up my boring bio lol.