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Last Updated on September 29, 2011 by Work In My Pajamas
Blogging guides rarely discuss the difficulty of building the readership for a new blog. They often focus on methods to maintain a blog with already high traffic. But what about the blogger who’s just getting started? How do attract viewers, starting from scratch? Of course a successful blog has to have an intriguing subject and strong writing with which to draw first time readers. Strong SEO and vigilant keyword usage can also help bring in new readers. But what do you do when you’ve followed these rules to little or no success? You may want to consider advertising for guest posts. Guest posting has a lot to offer to a fledgling blogger. Below are a few of the many reasons why guest posting could increase traffic to your blog.
Bring in fresh perspectives
Most immediately, guest posting brings in a different perspective to your blog. Your readers may welcome a guest post featuring new opinions on a particular subject or theme. The opinions of the guest poster don’t even have to be the same as yours to attract interested viewers. In fact, editorial guest posts that (respectfully) challenge the status quo of your blog’s theme might foster a worthwhile debate among your readers and attract more to join in on the conversation. If you run a political blog focused on supporting one political party, for example, it might serve you well to feature guest posts from writers who sympathize with the opposing party. A dissenting guest post could galvanize your readers into interacting with the author. Of course it’s up to your job as the webmaster to ensure that guest posts encourage constructive dialog; if the guest post blatantly disrespects your blog, don’t hesitate to reject it.
Draw readers familiar with the guest poster’s work
Guest posts from more popular writers in the blogosphere can attract a wealth of readers loyal to the author. Search the web for more popular blogs related to your theme of interest. Write to the webmaster of those blogs and offer to feature a guest post on a topic of their choosing in exchange for a backlink to their site. As most bloggers are always on the lookout for more exposure, you should have little trouble finding at least one writer willing to accept the task. As you may have figured out, guest posting can be as beneficial for the writer as for the host of the article, so bloggers have little reason to turn down a chance to share their opinions (and market their blog) to a new audience.
Guest post elsewhere to market your own blog
Just as guest posters write for your blog to get exposure for their work, so can you guest post on other blogs to advertise your blog. Browse popular blogs that may be interested in your opinions on a related subject. Don’t be afraid to aim big: if you’re a food blogger, offer to guest post for high-end food blogs; if you’re a business blogger, don’t hesitate to request a guest post from marketing guru bloggers. At the very least you’ll have an article rejected that you could reuse on another viable blog. Best case scenario: you get the chance to influence a much wider audience.
This guest post is contributed by Barbara Jolie, who writes for online classes. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: barbara.jolie876@gmail.com.