Question: We are looking into opportunities to share into other communities beyond our own. We have heard guest posting is a great approach. If so, what are the benefits and can you offer any tips for getting brands to guest share our content?
In the past I have talked a lot about the upcycling of content. This is more or less looking into ways to take a single piece of content and take it further (Learn about upcycling).
In short, the idea is really a lot like guest posting. The best reason for most brands to consider guest posting is to get more of their content in front of more of their potential prospects, clients and brand supporters. I always say, even if a million people are reading our content a day then there are several billion that aren’t.
So why guest post, and where should you start?
In terms of the why, guest posting is, as mentioned above a great way to put you in front of new audiences. While I do a mix of syndication and original submissions to other sites, I personally guest post more than a dozen times a month and it is highly worthwhile. For your company that is the first question you need to ask. Who are we trying to get in front of and why?
Once you determine the right people to get in front of then a great way to start is to come up with a list of potential sites to guest post. For example, we work with a lot of B2B technology companies, so for them, the places they would want to guest post would be places where their target audience is reading. As an exercise we may consider popular trade publications, companies up and down stream from where we live in the supply chain and then industries that have complimentary audiences. Once we run through that, we check out the companies to see who have active blogs and if so how well trafficked they are (note: better traffic isn’t the only key, but obviously you don’t want to crank out a bunch of great content for a site that no one is reading). Once we come up with a list of companies that we want to target, then it outreach is the next key. In terms of outreach I suggest coming up with a nice e-mail form letter that explains your interest in a content partnership. Include examples of the content that your brand currently creates along with some ideas as to how you think cross-promotion may work (for instance sharing some of their content in your community).
Another great method for outreach is to find the companies you want to partner with on Twitter or Facebook. Often times, if you tell them you have solid, reputable and original content to share they will be open to working with you.
While it does take a little effort to get into the guest posting game, if you find the right partners and communities to share your content the return can be tremendous in terms of new visibility and business development opportunities.
Has your company considered guest posting as a way to draw more exposure?
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