Many people a decade ago thought that blogging wouldn’t last. Well, the same was said about rock music and computers many years before that. Blogs have become wonderful ways to communicate opinions, commentary on the world, and write out frustrations. Fortunately for business owners, it is also a great way to get the word out about their companies.
However, for some people the thought of committing to 300 words or more per week of writing is intimidating. What if you miss a day? Your customers may be expecting your voice and they will be let down. You can’t afford that.
Your solution may be guest blogging. As guest authors are sometimes invited to write op-ed pieces or small articles on other authors’ sites, you can be a guest blogger on other peoples’ blog pages. This way, you can try it out before you commit and also learn to add to your writing schedule gradually without the pressure of regular entries.
Step One: The Right Blog
If you want to increase exposure for your sewing company, say, you would not want to do a blog about the business on a plumber’s blog. You want to find a relevant blog on a blog site with good exposure to the people you want to reach.
Step Two: Getting In
Lisa Barone has some excellent advice on getting into a guest blogger position: “Pay attention to the bloggers in your niche and the folks you read on a regular basis.” This means one thing–if you want to write a blog, you had better be reading them.
Barone says that as you read you will find out dates they may be going on vacation, taking a break for personal reasons, or otherwise leaving the blog site for a bit. This is a great opportunity for you to offer to step in for a bit. They will appreciate the uninterrupted flow of blogs for their regular readers, and you will get a toehold in the blogging world. An additional benefit is that they will remember your efforts, and consequently they will remember your business.
Step Three: Measuring Results
Remember: although your blog only costs you a few minutes to create and no money down, it is still time you could be doing other work. In that respect, it costs something. So measure results. Someone may say, “I ordered a product because I read your blog at….” Be ready to ask that question of people who order or product or service, and have it as part of the ordering process. Not everyone will answer it, but you may get enough information from most of them.
The top rules for guest blogging are: have a few blogs prepared so you can post to the guest blog right away, make sure it is an established blog with a lot of readers (you can check through Technorati, as Barone says), and give it your best writing. Once you have done a few blogs, see how you feel about it before you commit to writing one regularly. If you didn’t like it that much, simply stick to guest blogging: writing a few blogs with love is much better than writing a lot of them half-heartedly.
Source: “Increasing Your Exposure With Guest Blogging,” Lisa Barone, http://smallbiztrends.com/2009/07/guest-blogging.html
