If you are wanting to continue to grow your blog, then guest Blogging is still a great idea. The importance still lies within building online community, and this is one of the best ways to do that. Guest blogging should be done as one part of a multi-part list building effort – and in moderation.

You want to be particular about where you guest blog, and how often. But the way you’ll be learning it here will prevent you from churning out low-quality guest posts anyway, so you’ll be safe.

Let’s take a look at how to properly approach guest blogging in a way that you can use it to help you build a loyal following along with an increased subscriber base.

What Is Guest Blogging?

Guest blogging is a great concept when done right. Basically, you’re developing a blog post – just as you would for your own blog – and allowing someone else to post it on his or her blog.

This is unique, original content that you created. It’s not something you use elsewhere. The Blogger posts the blog on his or her site and then either gives you an introduction as the guest blogger, or simply allows you to create a “bio box” just as they do in magazines – with your name, a blurb about yourself and a link back to your site.

Find Blogs You Actually Want to Contribute To

Before you get started with a guest blog post, you have to find a blog that you want to write for. This is not a one day event where you log online, do a quick keyword search, find a blog and pump out content for it.

You want to choose the right blog and the right audience. In order for you to craft the best guest blog post and have it be accepted, it will take a little time for you to observe and find the right content to create.

You want to find a blog with an active audience – one that has active posts that are current – not from three months or three years ago. Check the dates of the blog. If the blogger hasn’t allowed dates on their blog, then sign up and observe and see if they post frequently.

Is the audience active in the comments section? You don’t want to be talking to a blog that doesn’t have a thriving audience. Check to see what the comments are, not just the numbers.

Some poor bloggers don’t know the difference between spam comments and real ones, so look at the comments and see who is commenting, what they’re saying (could be great ideas for a guest blog post or opt in offer here), and how many are in discussions.

How to Approach Bloggers with an Offer

Spend some time on the blog as a participant, get to know the blogger and interact with them, and then later approach them with an offer if the time is right.

You can approach it content-wise in one of two ways. One way is to ask them if you can guest blog for them and if they have any topics they need help with, as mentioned previously.

The other way is to have ready made content available for them. If this is the approach you take, then prepare the blog post. When you message them asking if they’d like to use it, send the post as an attachment for their review.

If they have a WordPress blog (which so many people do), one of the simplest ways to do this is to create a File Upload Form. WPForms has one of the best WP form upload plugins.

You can upload many different types of files when you are reaching out to a blogger, such as documents, images, audio and video. All of these are great ways to make your outreach more personal and creative. You will just need to add a file upload field to your form, and you’re on your way!

This video gives you the inside scoop on how to create a WordPress file upload form:

With this file upload form template, you can really personalize everything you send and make it professional. You can add the file upload field to any form you make. You can click on the file upload field and change descriptions, labels, and styles.

If you prefer some written instruction, you will find an excellent image tutorial here.

Be sure to let the blogger know that if you don’t hear back by a set date, you’ll assume they’re passing and you’ll go ahead and use the content elsewhere (make this polite, of course).

Of course you can also do an exchange request. This works well sometimes if the other blogger has enjoyed your blog as well. The two of you can cross promote to each others’ audiences by writing a guest blog post for each other.

You want to know what the terms are of the guest blog opportunity. For example, will the link be live or un-clickable? It doesn’t need to be a “follow” link, but it does need to be clickable so the reader doesn’t have to copy and paste it into their browser.

As a side note, when the blog post goes live, check to make sure the link is actually clickable and has no typo errors in it. There have been a few cases where the blogger underlined the link, colored it blue and bold, but it was only formatted that way and not an actual hyperlink.

What will happen once the blog post goes live? Will the blogger email out about it, and put it on their social networking accounts? Most will want to do this anyway, but you want to make sure you have the details spelled out.

And the bio box is very important, too. Where will it be located? Some bloggers put it before the content, as a way of introducing you. Others put it at the bottom. You might request an introduction by the blogger and a bio box at the bottom.

Crafting the Perfect Guest Blog Post

What kind of blog post will make blog owners want to host your content so that you can build your own list? The first thing you want to do is make sure it’s uniform for the site.

That means creating a blog post with a similar length, style and tone as the original blogger to some degree. You don’t want to provide a 500-word blog post if the blogger usually has 1,500-word posts.

Likewise, you don’t want to submit a blog post laden with four-letter words and crass humor if the blogger is more professional and vice versa – if the blog is less professional, and your content is too stiff, that won’t go over well with their audience.

You do want your content to be entertaining, informative and cutting edge. Your blog post as a guest has to be some of the best you’ve ever written. It should be something you wish you could put on your own blog because it’s just that good.

Notice specific blog layouts for your blog host. For example, do they use long paragraphs or very short ones? Do they use lots of subtitles? You want the posts to look like they fit in nicely with what’s already there.

Writing and delivering it this way will also make the blog owner instantly feel more at ease with your content and more likely to say yes to whatever you’ve produced.

Post Guest Blog Promotion Strategy

Even though you already have some people on your list, you still want to drive your list to the blog post. The more activity it gets and the more social shares it gets, the more your list will grow.

Once the post is live, go to it and use the social sharing buttons to share it on social media.

Write on your blog to complement the other blog post. Even if it’s not a part 1 and part 2 post, you can put a new post on your blog for a topic that complements the other one, and drive traffic to the other blog.

Guest blogging is just one of many ways you can help build your list. You want a well-rounded approach, not one where you put all your eggs in one basket. That means spending plenty of time researching the best blogs, forming relationships with those bloggers, and crafting amazing content. Use it effectively, build community, and you’ll see results!