A guest post by WC Porter from The Writer’s Coin
When it comes to blogging, there are a few time-tested techniques to grow your site and readership. One of the most useful ones I’ve found is to piggy back onto the success of an existing blog.
That’s right, I said it.
Hey, that’s why I’m here on Write to Done! It’s a blog devoted to a topic I’m passionate about that has a LOT more readers than my site does. By sharing my content here, the odds of drawing some readers to my site are pretty high.
As long as the post is good.
So I’m a big believer in things like guest posts and expanding your reach by writing for other sites in your niche. Since my blog deals with writing and personal finance (hey, a writer has to make a living with the scraps he makes, doesn’t he?), I also write for WiseBread, a top PF site.
So all’s well that ends well, right?
Not quite. You see, when you have this many platforms to show your content off, it can sometimes create some conflict about where you want your content to show up.
The Struggle
Let’s say you’re a blogger with a small following that writes about writing, and you come up with a fantastic post on five unbeatable tips on crafting a great pitch letter. The more you think about it, the more you realize this isn’t just any run-of-the-mill post – this is brilliant.
Now comes the question: where do you want it to go?
- On your own site, where it will give your small group of readers a very good piece of content and hope they’ll share with others and draw attention to it?
- Do you seek out a bigger, better site about writing and offer it up to them as a sacrificial lamb? That’s what all the guest-post FAQs say, isn’t it, to make sure the article is “your very best”? The hope is that the larger readership will go, “Wow, this dude is a great writer and this is a fantastic topic. I want more of this!” And then they go to your site and subscribe and – boom! – new readers.
- Do you offer it up to your partner site you sometimes write for, which pays you a little bit more than what you can make on your own site because they drive more traffic? This way you expose your content to more traffic and you make some extra cash, even though the odds of converting these readers to become regulars over at your site is pretty low.
As you can see, there are a lot of questions involved.
You want readers but you don’t want to leave money on the table. And you definitely don’t want to sell out.
My advice is to always think of the reader. Which set of readers is best served by the piece of content you are going to publish?
There are no hard-and-fast rules for this, but try to get into the head of the people reading the different sites and you’ll eventually figure out where it should go.
In this case, it was easy to offer this up as a guest post because I don’t really write about blogging over at The Writer’s Coin- it’s more about the process of writing fiction and the struggles of the writing life. And my partner site is about money, so it was a no-brainer to seek out an elite site like Write to Done.
If you make it a habit to keep your readers in mind when you decide where to post your content, you’ll get some good karma (and hopefully some readers) coming your way.
Now you just have to go out and write some brilliant copy. Go gett’em!
WC Porter is a writer and blogger based in Chicago. He writes about writing and money over at The Writer’s Coin. You can check him out on Twitter.
Photo by Jen SFO-BCN
18 Comments, Comment or Ping
Charles Bohannan
Your post touches a fundamental question of being an online writer — how can we best serve our readers? How can we get to know them better and know what they want to read?
Deciding where to publish your content should come before you even write it. If you’re committed to creating high-quality content consistently, then where you ultimately place it should become a strategic decision. This is an editorial function.
The post was good and thoughtful, though I think you could have omitted the first half of it and still made a powerful statement.
Apr 9th, 2009
Barry Welford
Good post that poses a very real dilemma. However I believe you hit the nail on the head with your advice, think about the audience.
I have four blogs with different audiences so I have that dilemma whenever something comes up on the radar screen. Some decisions are clear-cut but sometimes it depends on what has been happening on each of the blogs. I also encourage guest posters as well so that problem arises for them as well.
Apr 9th, 2009
Samar
One way to come up with killer guest posts is to study a blog and figure out ways you would have written a published post differently.
Another option could be to choose specific blogs for posting and then write posts about topics that are relevant to it.
The idea of a guest post is to establish yourself as a serious writer/blogger, make yourself visible, drive some traffic to your blog and entice the readers of that blog to yours.
All that will only happen if your post is relevant to the niche topics of the blog you’re guest posting on. The key element of a guest post is to convince the readers to visit your website.
Apr 9th, 2009
Lisis | Quest For Balance
I sure do appreciate this post. I was just having a debate about this very issue with a group of bloggers today. You must have read my mind!
Thanks!
Apr 9th, 2009
Writer's Coin
@Charles: I agree about deciding beforehand, but sometimes I get surprised and realize: “hey, this would be a great guest post.” That’s actually what happened with this post, believe it or not.
@LIsis: THanks for the kind words…yes I’m reading your mind…and wow you’re brilliant!
Apr 9th, 2009
Miguel Wickert
You right, it can be a struggle… but I like your reply, “think of your readers.” Short, sweet and to the point. :) Thanks for sharing.
-Mig
Apr 10th, 2009
janice
Another thing you can do is create somewhere to be yourself, create a blog that expresses all of you, whether there’s money to be made or not, and then anything you write will always have a home.
We can’t assume that everyone who writes is only doing it with the ultimate intention of making money from it. So much written recently about turning fellow writers into readers into traffic into statistics into buyers.That way entropy lies.
For me, the key element of a guest post is to contribute something worthwhile to the host and readers of the blog you’re guest posting on, to touch, move, inform, inspire, entertain, surprise or support, regardless of whether readers want to visit your blog afterwards or not. If they do, it’s a win/win bonus.
Thank you, ‘WC’ for a thought provoking post, and Mary and Leo, for your continuing generosity in showcasing other writers.
Apr 10th, 2009
Nadia - Happy Lotus
Thank you for writing an interesting post. In my experience, I sometimes have an idea that I think will work better on another blog than on my own. For me, it boils down to the writing.
I love to write so if another site is a better venue for one of my pieces, I love to share it. It usually ends up being a win-win situation for all involved.
Apr 10th, 2009
Terry Heath
The same thing goes for deciding if you want to post a piece on a blog at all. A longer piece could be sent to a literary journal or a magazine.
In that case, I think the question of quality comes more into play.
Apr 10th, 2009
Sheila Atwood
My blog is fairly new. To start this I am inviting other bloggers to post on my blog. I hope this works out that I will be invited to write for them.
Sheila
Apr 10th, 2009
Kevin
Is there any etiquette rules that say you can’t post to one blog and link from your own? That way, your readers get exposed to a blog which, obviously, you appreciate; and further, everyone who the piece benefits, gets a chance to see it. I even envision going as far as posting the teaser on your own site; at which point, the “continue reading,” link could carry readers to the other blog. Am I missing something?
Apr 10th, 2009
cheryl
OK, I DID try to follow the link to The Writer’s Coin embedded in the post, but it sent me to a 404-Not Found page. :-(
Apr 12th, 2009
Ian
Good advice. I hope it works for me. I’m publishing one of my better posts on Dark Roasted Blend next month, and they assure me that the link will bring a lot of new readers to my blog. I’ll keep you posted.
Apr 12th, 2009
Writer's Coin
@Cheryl: Yeah, there was a bad link in the post but we fixed it. Sorry about that!
Apr 12th, 2009
Russell D'Souza
@Writer’s Coin
I really love the idea of writing guest posts because its a win / win situation. It adds a fresh perspective to a blog and also exposes the writer to a new audience.
One piece of advice, though, when you write a guest blog you should feature your name more prominently. I think that your link was only featured in small print at the bottom of the article. It wasn’t even clear when I started reading the article that this was a guest post. Maybe next time put a small intro paragraph about yourself and where you write for.
Apr 24th, 2009
Jeremy Head
No dilemma. I don’t think you ‘get’ the web if this is seriously causing you issues. You post on your own blog… and then you offer links to the piece in other places if you think readers won’t find it…
But… if it really IS such a great post they will find it anyway. That’s the fantastic thing about the internet – good stuff rises to the surface very fast.
May 8th, 2009
Danielle Ingram
It think the main point of this blog is really important, for any type of writing whether an article, press release, newsletter, blog or feature.
Think about your reader, because ultimately they can make or break your success. If you aren’t engaging with them they aren’t going to keep reading, if the piece isn’t in the right place they won’t read it at all. Getting inside the mind of the reader is a great piece of advice for any writer.
Aug 6th, 2009
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