The benefits of guest blogging
This may change your opinion on writing for “free”
By Mona Andrei
When it comes to guest blogging, there are two schools of thought. There are those who believe that they should never (ever) write anything for free. After all, dentists and plumbers don’t give their expertise away! The other school of thought is that the more you write, the better you get at it. Guest blogging gives you an opportunity to practice the craft of writing.
Following are a few more reasons why guest blogging is beneficial to your mental writing health:
Writing for other sites and markets is an opportunity to expand your knowledge base and flex your writing voice. One day you can be writing for a site that caters to entrepreneurs, another day you may write for a blog on real estate. One site’s readers may appreciate a thoughtful tone, another may resonate with a less formal writing style. While a recognizable voice, such as Stephen King, Jenny Lawson, and Melissa Agnes is every writers’ dream, guest blogging exposes you to a variety of reader styles and expectations, in turn leading to the development of your own unique voice.
Writing for other sites and markets is an opportunity to expand your knowledge base and flex your writing voice.
Writing for other blogs will expand your reach as you introduce yourself to new audiences. Maybe you’re not in the real estate market. Well guess what? Readers of real estate blogs have other interests too. They may ‘find’ you while reading your article on real estate but by writing for a variety of niche blogs you improve your chances of being read again and again. Seeing your byline on diverse blogs and sites is one of the best ways to gain recognition.
Writing great content that resonates with readers generates what I call “interweb magic”. This is when your words get ‘liked’ and ‘shared’ and the spider web effect comes into play, which introduces you to another level of content consumers. Remember the old Faberge Organics Shampoo commercial? Even though this commercial aired in the 80s, the model’s line (“… You’ll tell your friends about it and then they’ll tell their friends about it and so on and son on …”) captures the exponential power of the internet.
‘Writing for other blogs will expand your reach as you introduce yourself to new audiences.’
Writing for other blogs is a great way to promote yourself, your services, and your expertise. In today’s world, the internet serves as a great tool for positioning yourself as an expert in your field and establishing your personal brand. Keeping in mind that the goal is to build relationships, the more that readers see your name, the more they’ll feel that they know you, which helps to build trust.As mentioned, the best way to practice your writing craft is to sit down and write. As a former Martial Arts instructor of mine used to say, “Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.”
‘In today’s world, the internet serves as a great tool for positioning yourself as an expert in your field and establishing your personal brand.’
This is not to take away from the art of journaling or private writing. In fact, I believe that writing for yourself is one of the best ways to discover who you are and what your inner voice is telling you. That said, writing for an intended market and audience gives you guidelines and helps you to understand what editors and readers are looking for. And what better way to perfect your practice of writing than with a real audience in mind?
Previous articles by Mona Andrei
• The Business of Writing Today
• Confessions of a Top 100 Humour Blogger
• Is blogging for business worth the effort?
Image: HAMZA BUTT via StockPholio.net
Mona Andrei is a digital copywriter, writer, and social media strategist with over 20 years of experience, both on the advertising agency and corporate sides of the communication spectrum. When she’s not working on client projects, she likes to write irreverent posts for her personal blog, Moxie-Dude, where she writes about life updates gone wrong. Or right. She’s undecided. You can connect with Mona on Twitter or email her at Mona@MonaAndrei.com
I never thought of this earlier. Articles like this are always teaching me something new and it is always worth reading about trendy information. I too have had a great experience with allowing others to publish their ideas on my site. I know other people are using the guest post to get links and don’t mind at all as long as they are ok and understand this ‘guest blogging’ idea.
Anyways, thank you so much for sharing this great article which includes many useful links for people wanting to be guest bloggers. I already shared one of the links. I think it is great how your article is so easy to follow and gives so much information. Thanks again : )