Building up your business’s brand online is a very important aspect of digital marketing nowadays. Part of that digital marketing footprint is the creation of articles/pieces about industries related to your business. Creating that online content can be done for in-house purposes and outlets. However, it can also be done for other online sources unrelated to your immediate business. Known as byline guest posting, it can be very beneficial and important for your business and its online presence. Here, we provide special insight into what byline guest posting is, how it works, and why it’s important for your business.
What exactly is byline guest posting?
Byline guest posting is one type of digital marketing strategy whereby you create content/articles for websites other than that of your business. Topics for these websites vary on your interests, experience, and expertise, but also those of the website. Depending on the outlet, certain topics might be more applicable than others.
Regardless of the topic at hand, your duty as the author is to tailor the piece to the audience. Each website tends to have an overarching theme and target audience. The topic about which you write will be tailored to the interests of the audience, but you must further tailor the voice and tone of the article. For example, some pieces can be opinionated, focused on giving advice, and/or testimonies of personal experiences in business. Other pieces may be straight forward, diving deeply and narrowly into one industry topic. To best engage and execute your byline guest posting efforts, be open to different websites, topics, and writing styles.
How to become a guest poster
As with most aspects of business, getting started is often the hardest part. Once you have a solid foundation of platforms on which to post, your online content and digital footprint will become well-rounded. Be sure to follow each step below intentionally and with determination. There may be roadblocks or hiccups along the way but keep moving forward.
First things first…
Before you strike any deals with different websites, you must first do your research. Find out which websites are the best for guest posting. Viewership numbers, type of audience, common topics, and search engine rank are all important components to look into when qualifying websites for your posts. Additionally, try to find any contact information for the website. This will be important for steps later in the process. If there is no contact information, try finding names of any employees or team members that work for the website. Contacting the right individuals directly could expedite the process to getting your content online.
Brainstorm ideas
Once you’ve done your research on the different websites, you should brainstorm different ideas for potential article topics. You should have at least three solid article ideas that you are familiar with and can further research if need be. Moreover, these ideas should be topics that are not already on the website. Developing new and interesting article ideas will help qualify you to be a guest poster for the website.
If you plan on reaching out to more than one website, which is highly recommended, you should develop different ideas for each platform. While they all should have similarities in their target audience, they should also be unique. This means that article topics and content vary between websites. To best ensure you are chosen for as many sites as possible, you should offer different topics to each one. Moreover, if you were to suggest the same topics to each website and more than one is interested in the same topic, this could create problems for you and your new partners. Differentiate your ideas and content to be successful and appeal to many different audiences and sites.
Reaching out
Launching your byline guest posting presence starts with quite a bit of back and forth. You must reach out to different websites and platforms asking if they are interested in hosting you as a guest poster. When reaching out to sites, be sure they are in line with the efforts, industries, and target market as your business. Reaching out to websites that are seemingly unrelated to you, your expertise, and your business will be a waste of time. Even if you secure those accounts, you won’t be reaching the type of audience your business serves.
In this initial step, you must qualify yourself and your business as experts in whatever field you are working. Byline guest posting is becoming more and more popular, and many sites have a handful of guest posters. Be sure to differentiate yourself and point out the special insight and expertise you and your business bring to their site. You can also use this initial point of contact as a chance to share your ideas for article content for their website. This will catch their attention and show you have already brainstormed how you can be an asset to their site. Moreover, it will give them a look into the practical application of your expertise for their website.
Benefits of byline guest posting
With an understanding of what byline guest posting is and how to start, it’s important to understand the benefits of doing so.
Expanding reach of content
One of the major benefits of guest posting on other websites and platforms is that your name, your business, and your expertise reach a totally different audience. Typically, those visiting your website directly are actively seeking the product or service you provide. The benefit of byline guest posting is that you are able to reach passive audiences. This refers to those who are not actively looking for you but find your name and reputation through secondary means. Now, when they need a service/product, or someone they know does, you are more likely to come to their mind.
Differentiate your digital footprint
Beyond reaching different audiences, guest posting also differentiates your digital content strategy. Your website could have all the latest bells and whistles, but that doesn’t differentiate your digital marketing strategy. Utilizing the endless stream of platforms and websites differentiates where your name is, what information/expertise you share, and who visits those pages. Moreover, you can include guest post pieces on your company’s social media posts to increase cross-platform traffic. Now, your web of online content becomes that much more interconnected and impressive.
Internal and external links
Another benefit of byline guest posting is the ability to include links to either your business or other articles/blogs you’ve written. Be sure to check with the site you are working with because some won’t allow linking directly to your business. However, once you have established enough guest posting content on other sites, you can link to those. This will further contribute to your reputation, competency, expertise, and the caliber of your business. You can also use hyperlinks to connect readers to social media accounts, studies, and/or organizations you and your business are part of.
Growing brand awareness
All the aforementioned benefits contribute immensely to the overarching theme of increasing brand awareness. Byline guest posting increases your company’s brand awareness indirectly by increasing your personal ‘brand awareness’. With your name as the author for many different posts, readers learn more about you, your experience, and your business. Moreover, if you produce enough articles for a website, they often put up an informational page on their site about you. In these pages, they reference your experience, your business, and what you specialize in. Even if internal linking isn’t allowed, you still gain exposure and publicity through these pages and the posts you produce.
Mutually beneficial relationships
Finally, both parties benefit from your byline guest posting on their site. If you can attract more readers to their website with your articles, they benefit greatly. Obviously, the more readers you attract, the more exposure you and your business get. Should this cycle continue with each post you produce, better deals may arise with the websites. Ultimately, your goals line up with those of the sites: increasing readers and article exposure.
Wrapping up
Byline guest posting is an important part of your business’s digital footprint. Creating an effective and efficient digital marketing strategy calls for more than guest posting though. Learn more about how online public relations, online marketing videos, and more can build up your business online. Follow Biz Online Marketing on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter for the latest news and insight into best marketing practices.