So you’ve found a blog to host your guest post. Think the hard part’s over? Well, don’t. For some, it may very well be just the beginning. But do not be discouraged. Writing a guest post can be very easy as long as you put all of yourself into it. Here are some tips to help ensure that you come up with guest posts that will be most beneficial to your own blog.

Make an effort – a real one.
Just because you are not writing for your own blog does not mean that you should put any less effort than you normally do. In fact, one could argue that you should put even more effort since you are trying to show what you are capable of to a different audience. Bear in mind that you will be reaching out to more readers than usual and that this could be a potential goldmine for your blog later on. Your goal should be to reach the ranks of the most popular posts in that blog – and that, my friends, takes a lot of effort.

Don’t be afraid to link out.
This is one of your best bets to make sure that your blog gets some love. A word of caution however, do NOT link just for the sake of linking. Make sure that you are linking with relevance. Whether or not you are linking to your blog, relevance should be at the top of your priority.

Make your byline excellent.
Your byline is what might just make you famous – or attract tons of traffic. That is why you should pay a lot of attention in crafting your byline. Make sure that you include relevant info – who do you want to visit your blog? Why? What do you have to offer? Keep it sweet and short but full of info that will point appropriate readers to your own blog.

In the previous post, we took a look at how to find guest posters for your blog. Now how about taking a look at the other side of the coin? How do you find a blog that you can guest post in? How do you go about applying as a guest blogger?

Let’s first look at finding a blog. It really is quite simple. All you need is to do your regular blog visits. From these blogs, you will certainly get an idea as to which blog you can offer your services to. If there is one thing that I would like to point out, it is this: make sure that you KNOW the blog that you want to write for IN and OUT. There is nothing worse than someone offering his or her services as a guest blogger only to find out later on that he or she does not really know much about that blog.

More so, knowing the blog will increase your chances of getting published. This is because you will find out a lot of important information that will be useful in creating your guest post. In knowing the blog you will be writing for, you can follow the tone and topics of the guest posts that are published.

Also remember that before you send in your e-mail to the blogger, make sure that your guest post is ready. It would be so much better to send your application e-mail with your post rather than to say “Hey can I write for your blog?” without having anything to show.

In the next post, let’s look at how you can maximize your guest post to benefit your blog.

So you’ve been looking at hosting a guest post (or two, or even more) in your blog. You’ve probably read about how guest posting can open up new possibilities for your blog and introduce you to a wider audience range as well. These are both true and are both very good reasons to actually have someone publish a guest post in your blog. But how do you go about it? How do you find a guest poster?

Quite obviously, one way to do so would be to write an “ad” in your own blog. Write a post inviting other bloggers to apply to be a guest poster. It goes without saying that you have to craft your post very well and make it clear as to what you want out of your guest poster. Here are some points you might want to highlight:

1. The topic or range of topics that you will be considering.
2. The tone of the post.
3. The length of the post.
4. Formatting and other similar requirements.

Aside from inviting posters through your blog, there are other avenues from which you can look for expert guest posters. This is quite important if your blog focuses on a specific niche and you want to make sure that the blogger you will be hosting is well-versed in the topic. Here are some ideas by which you can find expert guest posters:

1. Magazines: look up the best writers that you like and contact them. This is a very good idea because the chances are that you will be finding authors who are not bloggers. The content will be fresh as well as the perspective.
2. Other blogs or web sites: look for niche blogs or sites and pick out the writers whose work you like.

One last thing – make sure that you are clear as to what you can give the guest bloggers in exchange for writing in your blog.